Spectrum keel laying

THE start of construction on Royal Caribbean International’s new cruise ship Spectrum of the Seas was celebrated with an official keel laying ceremony this week.

RCI’s Kevin Douglas & Sebastian Brunila were on hand to place a lucky coin under the block of the ship.

The vessel will be the fifth largest cruise ship in the world when it debuts in 2019, boasting a gross tonnage of 168,800 and capacity of 4,200.

Pictured are: Thomas Murken, DNV GL; Thomas Weigend, Meyer Werft; Carsten Pengel, Meyer Werft; Mathias Kopitzki, Neptun Werft; Stephan Schmees, Meyer Werft; Raimon Strunck, Neptun Werft; Kevin Douglas, Royal Caribbean & Sebastian Brunila, Royal Caribbean.

MEANWHILE Royal Caribbean International has released its itineraries for the 2019/20 season, with the big ticket items in the program to include four new ports of call in Europe and the announcement of the first Quantum Class ship to set sail for Alaska.

The European stops available for the first time in the next itinerary will include Visby in Sweden; Zadar, Croatia; Portofino, Italy; and Porto in sunny Portugal.

The Alaskan segment will include seven-night sailings on Ova on of the Seas from Juneau to Victoria, British Columbia.