The first China-made cruise liner saw the completion of her hull structure in Shanghai, marking the 135,500 GT Vista-class vessel's entering the 2nd-half production phase and a technological breakthrough for the cruise shipbuilding sector of the country.
A ceremony to celebrate the hull structure completion was held on Monday, October 18, at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd, where the cruise ship is being built.
To date, 45% of the total construction on the newbuild has been completed, and the vessel is about to take floating in the shipyard in December 2021, another key step in the construction before the scheduled delivery in September 2023.
Since her steel sheet cutting ceremony a couple of years ago, the liner has been transformed from 60,000 drawings into a total of 675 sections, with the final product to be 37.2 m (1220 ft) wide and 323.6 m (10617 ft) long.
Facilities within the хеу cruise ship feature a large performance & arts center, bars, restaurants, cafes, an art gallery, a shopping mall, a water park, a kids' center, and more.
Building the cruise ship involves 25 million components which is 5x that of the single-aisle C919 aircraft as well as 13x that of a Fuxing bullet train.
Some of the interior decoration works have already started. 500+ windows and doors have been installed.
According to industrial experts, interior decorations will be the most challenging part of the process.
By the end of this year, ~3500 people are expected to work simultaneously throughout the ship, equipping the 40,000 m2 of public space with a variety of functions and trying to make the passenger rooms as cozy as advertised.
The first domestically-built large cruise ship will be delivered to CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping, the joint venture company between China State Shipbuilding Corp and Carnival Corporation, the largest travel leisure company in the world.