.It is the widest cruise ship ever built, while its 1,187ft length makes it 164ft longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower
- .The immense floating town, which cost close to £800 million to build, has 18 decks and can carry 6,360 passengers
- .Attractions on board include a giant climbing wall, rope slide, mini-golf, surf simulator, floating jacuzzis and casino
The world's biggest-ever cruise ship, the 227,000-tonne Harmony of the Seas, a luxury home on the waves for 8,500 passengers and crew, was handed over by a French shipyard on Thursday after a 40-month engineering feat.
At 218ft, it is the widest cruise ship ever built, while its 1,187ft length makes it 164ft longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower.
The immense floating town, which cost close to one billion euros (£800 million), has 18 decks and will be able to carry 6,360 passengers and 2,100 crew members.
The world's biggest-ever cruise ship, the 227,000-tonne Harmony of the Seas, capable of accommodating more than 8,000 passengers and crew in the most luxurious conditions, was delivered today from a French boatyard
At 218ft, it is the widest cruise ship ever built, while its 1,187ft length makes it 164ft longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower. Pictured are crew members today at the delivery ceremony
The auditorium inside the Harmony of the Seas. Built by STX France for the Royal Caribbean International, the vessel is the world's largest cruise ship
The ship was built for the US-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) by the STX France boatyard in Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast, where a spectacular ceremony marked the handover on Thursday.
'It's not only the biggest cruise ship in the world, it's also the most expensive ever built,' said Richard Fain, head of RCCL, during a ceremony which featured blaring music and tightrope walkers performing splits over the aquatheatre at the back of the ship.
Harmony of the Seas will leave the port on Sunday, weather permitting, for Southampton in southern England. From there, it will embark on for its official maiden voyage on May 22 to Barcelona.
RCCL already operates two giant sister liners to the Harmony of the Seas called Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas. They are only marginally smaller than the new ship.
Among the onboard attractions are 'The Ultimate Abyss', a 10-storey slide from the top deck to the boardwalk which RRCL bills as the world's biggest ship-mounted slide. The purple slide can be clearly seen at the rear of the ship.
Harmony of the Seas will leave the port on Sunday, weather permitting, for Southampton in southern England. From there, it will embark on for its official maiden voyage on May 22 to Barcelona
The vast ship will boast 18 decks in total, with 16 of these being passenger areas. And if you feel like a ten-mile run, just do 25 circuits of the track on deck five, waving to the yoga and spinning classes in the new studios bolted on to the side of the ship
A giant climbing wall, a rope slide, mini-golf, surf simulator, floating jacuzzis, casino (pictured) and 1,400-seat theatre playing Broadway musicals are among the other attractions
It took 2,500 workers at STX France a total of some 10 million work-hours to complete the enormous vessel after work began in September 2013
The contract marked a major boost for the boatyard after several lean years.
STX has built 120 cruise ships over its 150 years, and has another 11 lined up for the next decade.
RCCL has already ordered another sister ship of the Harmony to join its fleet in 2018.
Dazzling surroundings: The ship features a state-of-the-art theatre that will put on award-winning Broadway-style productions and aerial acts
After its maiden voyage, it will dock in its new home port of Barcelona a week later, after which it will begin regular cruises through to late October
Laurent Castaing, President of STX France, attends the delivery ceremony in France, watched by crew members on board
Ocean entertainment: A game table inside the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship, photographed during the delivery ceremony
The ship is more than three feet wider than the previous two largest cruise ships in the world, Allure of the Seas and the Oasis of the Seas. Pictured are finishing touches being applied to the purple water slides
This diagram of the ship gives an idea of its size and the number of areas onboard which passengers can visit and explore
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