On Saturday morning, September 5, at 7 am, the world's largest cruise ship - RCI-Royal Caribbean International's Wonder of the Seas - was successfully floated out.
The newbuild, not yet having her engines, went to Basin C at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, helped by 7 tugboats. Wonder OTS' maneuvering lasted one hour. The tugs then positioned the liner just in front of Basin C.
Following her transfer, Wonder OTS will remain in Basin C until her delivery. Initially scheduled for spring 2021, the completion was postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic. RCI's Wonder ship will set sail for Shanghai China, her homeport.
Wonder is the third "Oasis-Plus" class passenger liner, with sisterships Harmony OTS (2016), Symphony OTS (2018) and TBN OTS (2023). The Royal Caribbean Wonder ship just slightly exceeds in size the original Oasis-class ships Oasis OTS (2009) and Allure OTS (2010). The vessel has a building cost of USD 1,35 billion (2019 ship order rates).