CRUISESHIP TAILORED TO CHINA MARKET

Constructed at the Papenburg yard of Meyer Werft, the new addition to the Royal Caribbean fleet is scheduled to sail from Barcelona on April 18, beginning a four-stage, 46-day revenue-earning positioning passage to China.

The 18-deck Spectrum of the Seas accommodates 4,246 passengers at double-occupancy, and represents a further advance in cruiseship technology, encapsulating the Miami-based owner’s Quantum Ultra concept. This builds on the Quantum generation, which hosted important developments in energy saving, including an under-hull air bubbling system, and refined new series of Azipod electric propulsors, together with unprecedented onboard activity and entertainment features.

The bloodline runs from 2014, when the Quantum of the Seas was brought into commission, followed by Anthem of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas from Papenburg in the consecutive years.

The first steel parts for Spectrum of the Seas were cut to size at the yard’s Laser Centre in August 2017, and the final ship assembly came to realisation through the production of 74 blocks, employing the state-of-the-art, largely undercover shipbuilding systems and procedures synonymous with the Meyer name. The machinery room block was fabricated at the group’s Neptun Werft in Rostock as a floating engine room unit(FERU) and towed the 296 nautical miles along the coast, making a Kiel Canal transit, and up the River Ems for integration into the newbuild at Papenburg.

The first steel was cut for a second Quantum Ultra newbuild at Papenburg on February 1 this year. To be named Odyssey of the Seas, the vessel is set to debut in the US market during the autumn of 2020.

The power station-type plant in the diesel-electric Spectrum of the Seas is based on four main generators driven by Wartsila wide-bore, medium-speed engines in vee-form configuration. Two of the aggregates have 16-cylinder Wartsila 46-series diesels, and two employ 12-cylinder models. Each of the pair of emergency sets has a Caterpillar 3516C high-speed prime mover. Hybrid scrubbers ensure compliance with the toughest sulphur emission control regimes in existence and planned.

Four extremely powerful Brunvoll bow thrusters confer the level of manoeuvrability required to meet the demands of working such a large, high-sided vessel in and out of restricted berths, confined channels and exposed harbours, and to dispense with tug assistance as far as possible.

Progression encapsulated by the Quantum Ultra breed is largely related to onboard design, amenities and the service offering. For instance, Spectrum of the Seas introduces the line’s first private enclave for luxury-suite guests, new stateroom categories including a two-level family suite accommodating up to 11 guests, a three-level main dining room and Chinese specialty restaurants, and new entertainment venues and experiences.

Once Spectrum of the Seas arrives in Shanghai, she will introduce itineraries that take in ports such as Hakodate and Niigata in Japan, Ilocos, in the Philippines, and Vladivostok, Russia. During the 2019 winter season, the vessel will be redeployed southward to Hong Kong, and commence a programme of round-trip cruises that will include Okinawa and Vietnam.