The story takes place on the high seas on Friday with the launch of the largest ship in the world.
wonder of the seas of Royal Caribbean International embarks on its maiden voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The ship took three years to build and it’s huge, with new restaurants, the tallest waterslide at sea, and a 10-deck zipline.
It can carry nearly 7,000 passengers in over 2,800 cabins, but with COVID-19 protocols still in place, there’s plenty of room.
“What’s amazing is being able to get on such a big ship while it’s still sailing at reduced capacity, it’s really unique,” said cruise industry veteran Stewart Chiron. “And we had to go through all the health protocols, get our COVID tests, our negative test, two days before the cruise. So those things are still very important.”
“There are plenty of things people can enjoy on these ships,” he said. “Being able to do it with a reduced capacity makes it even more special.”
Chiron founded The Leisure Pros, a travel marketing company specializing in the cruise industry. He is known as The Cruise Guy.
Chiron will be aboard the Wonder of the Seas seven-day voyage. This is her 13th cruise since June 2021, when the industry got back to sailing during the pandemic.
Wonder of the Seas, the largest ship in the world, embarks today on its maiden voyage from Florida. Photo credit: Royal Caribbean International
He says with COVID protocols like vaccination and negative testing still in place, mask requirements relaxed and capacity reduced, now is a great time to cruise.
“They stayed ahead of the science to make cruise passengers as safe as possible,” Chiron said. “There is availability from Galveston. There is availability from Florida, which has the three busiest ports in the world – Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral. You have a good plane ticket in these ports and that’s where you’ll be able to maximize your savings.”
