Crowds gathered at the port of Saint-Nazaire to watch Royal Caribbean’s new ship guided out to sea by six tugs on Thursday.
The mammoth 120,000-tonne vessel, which is due to sail to the UK in two months, has 16 decks and at over 360 metres long – is 50 meters longer than the Eiffel Tower is high.
Around 500 people, consisting of crew members, company officials, engineers and suppliers, will be on board for the test voyage which will conclude Sunday.
Once ready to set sail for real, the ship will accommodate more than 6,000 passengers with nearly two thousand crew members catering for their needs.