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Asia Pacific
Unique features unveiled for Spectrum of the Seas
Royal Caribbean’s newest ship Spectrum of the Seas will be the first of the cruise line’s vessels to include a suite-only area.
Built especially for the Chinese market, the ship is the first in the Quantum Ultra class and have some never-seen-before-at-sea features, including a Sky Pad.
Accommodating 4,246 passengers, it will be the largest and most expensive ship in Asia when she sails from Shanghai in June 2019.
"When Quantum of the Seas made her debut in Shanghai three years ago, it changed the face of cruising in China. Fast forward to today, and we are revealing just how we’ll transform the cruise market, yet again, with the debut of Spectrum of the Seas," said Royal Caribbean International president and CEO Michael Bayley.
"The introduction of our highly anticipated Quantum Ultra Class will represent a quantum leap forward in ship design and experiences specifically tailored to Chinese guests."
The new Sky Pad is a virtual reality, bungee trampoline experience where guests don a VR headset to ‘transport them to another time and planet’.
Other innovations include a karaoke venue, the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea including bumper cars, roller skating and basketball, and sky diving and surfing simulators.
Spectrum of the Seas will sail a 51-night Global Odyssey from Barcelona to Shanghai next April, taking cruisers to 13 countries.
Guests can choose to sail one or more of the five separate segments on the Global Odyssey.
From June 2019, she will introduce new itineraries with visits to new ports, such as Hakodate and Niigita, Japan; Ilocos, Philippines; and Vladivostok, Russia. In winter 2019, the ship will reposition to Hong Kong to offer special holiday cruises.
Meanwhile, the Quantum of the Seas will move to Tianjin next summer. Voyager of the Seas is set to return to Hong Kong and Shenzhen for the summer, and will sail a variety of itineraries calling on Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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