[imagesource: Sigrun Sauerzapfe AKA Siggi]

There’s a new cruise ship about to hit the Mediterranean and it will take up more space than the Eiffel Tower.

The record-breaking ship, Wonder of the Seas, is basically a giant floating island of pleasure, complete with more places to eat, sleep, and play than the usual land-based resorts.

She is made by Royal Caribbean International, which likes to outdo itself, aiming for bigger, bolder, and outlandish ships to sail the seas.

Wonder is the fifth in a series of Royal Caribbean’s world’s biggest ships but is by far the largest.

The Telegraph notes:

Its immediate predecessor, Symphony of the Seas, is a mere 228,081 GT (gross tonnage) and can host up to 6,680 passengers. Wonder clocks in at 236,857 GT and up to 6,988 passengers.

That’s several thousand more than many a UK village.

The Wonder is nothing like a small village and rather a massive, thriving city, one in which you can basically remain completely anonymous if you so choose – “it’s so big that you rarely see the same people twice.”

See?

It is so big you won’t really need the onboard gym, either, because walking from your cabin (of which there are 3 000 in what they like to call a “neighbourhood”) to the dining area will provide more than enough sweat.

More about those cabins:

Most ships have simple choices when it comes to cabins, with rooms inside (with no window), outside (with a fixed window) or with a balcony. Wonder of the Seas is not most ships.

It has all the above, but inside cabins also come with a virtual balcony or a view over the Royal Promenade, a parade of shops, bars and cafés that runs through the centre of the ship. If a balcony appeals, take your pick from a view of the sea, Central Park or the Boardwalk.

There are also Royal Genies, or butlers, who take care of your suite in the “neighbourhood”. There is also a sundeck and plunge pool, a bar, a private lounge, and a restaurant:

The dining options are just as vast:

Steaks in Chops Grille, fish in Hooked, Italian in Giovannis, fine dining in posh 150 Central Park.

Mason Jar Restaurant and Bar is new and adds a touch of southern comfort with its cosy porch, swing and dishes such as green fried tomatoes, cinnamon rolls, crab beignets, shrimp and grits, while those with a taste for the fanciful can go down the rabbit hole in Wonderland and dine on liquid lobster, baby vegetables in ‘soil’ and snap, crackle and pork.

All that’s before you even get to the main dining rooms, burger bars, grab-and-go Mexican tacos, Playmakers’ pub grub, various cafés and more.

So you will be well exercised and well-fed, that is for sure.

In between all that, there are also bars and bars and bars:

 The Vue, a new cantilevered watering hole above the pool deck, is best for sea views and sunsets, while poolside Lime & Coconut has live music with a Caribbean vibe.

Vintages in Central Park is for wine lovers. On the Royal Promenade, cocktails are shaken but not stirred by robots in the Bionic Bar and the Rising Tide Bar carries drinkers up and down between the promenade on deck five and Central Park on deck eight.

Behold, the Vue:

And the Sundeck bar:

The entertainment doesn’t stop with eating and drinking as there are clubs for all ages, pools galore, a surf park, zip wire, rock-climbing walls, and a completely over-the-top boomerang-style water slide.

There’s even an Aqua Theatre featuring high diving stunts into a pool of water:

The whopping Wonder will launch from the Caribbean in March before relocating to the Mediterranean in May.

It will then cruise out of Barcelona and Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) to top spots in Italy, France, and Spain.

A seven-night cruise can cost upwards of £799 per person (just under R20 000) excluding flights.

[source:telegraph]