Today the keel laying ceremony for the first block of Royal Caribbean’s new cruise ship, Odyssey of the Seas, was held at NEPTUN WERFT. At the ship yard, the ship’s engine room unit is produced. Odyssey of the Seas is scheduled to be delivered by MEYER WERFT in Papenburg in autumn 2020.

Representatives from Royal Caribbean International and Stephan Schmees, Executive Board Member Project Management at MEYER WERFT, placed the lucky coin under the block of the new ship before it was lowered into position. With that the building of the next cruise ship for Royal Caribbean starts only a few weeks after Spectrum of the Seas was delivered by MEYER WERFT.

“With the keel laying for Odyssey of the Seas at NEPTUN WERFT it becomes clear again, how well our teams at the different locations are working together. It is our great pleasure to build these innovative ships for Royal Caribbean International and to continue our long-standing business relationship”, said Stephan Schmees.

This block is one of a total of 79 blocks for the new luxury liner and weighs altogether 970 tons. The keel laying ceremony marks the official start of construction for Odyssey of the Seas. The ship will be one of the five largest cruise ships in the world with a gross tonnage of about 169,000.

The first steel parts for the Odyssey of the Seas were cut to size in the MEYER WERFT Laser Center already back in February 2019. Royal Caribbean took delivery of the similar sister ships Quantum of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.