TURKU - With cruise bookings seeing a resurgence after the Covid pandemic caused luxury liners to mothball, a Finnish shipyard is putting the final touches on what will be the world's largest cruise ship.
Royal Caribbean's luxurious new vessel Icon of the Seas is nearing completion in the Turku shipyard on Finland's southwestern coast, its maiden voyage scheduled for January 2024.
"This ship is as of today, as far as we are aware of, the biggest cruise ship in the world," said Tim Meyer, CEO of shipbuilder Meyer Turku tasked with the construction.
While some have labelled the colossal structure a "monstrosity", citing its vast climate footprint, others are in awe of the sophisticated engineering integrated into this floating holiday destination and flocking to buy tickets.
Resembling a village more than a ship, the mammoth vessel boasts colourful waterparks, more than 20 decks and can carry nearly 10,000 people.
A distinct feature of the new ship, which went into construction in 2021 and entered sea trials in June, is a gigantic glass dome that covers part of its front section.
The pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the industry, raising questions about whether it would ever recover.
With a gross tonnage of 250,800 -- five times the size of the Titanic -- Icon of the Seas will snatch the title of the world's largest cruise ship from Royal Caribbean's current flagship, Wonder of the Seas.
Meyer Turku also has two more similar sized Icon-class vessels in their order books.
"We have seen over the last decade that cruise ships have become bigger," said Alexis Papathanassis, professor of Cruise Management at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences.
Papathanassis noted that "there are obvious economic benefits" to mega-sized ships, reducing the cost of individual passengers.
With its seven pools, a park, waterslides, shopping promenades, ice skating rink and "more venues than any other ship", larger vessels like the Icon of the Seas also offer more options for spending money on board.
This "in turn enables cruise companies to be more profitable," he added.
The extra income is welcomed by the cruise lines -- in order to survive Covid lockdowns the cruise lines "had to take a lot of credit" they now have to pay back.
"It's going to be a challenging time with financial austerity for cruise companies," Papathanassis said, adding that he expected ticket prices to rise.