It'll be a big day for the cruise world as Royal Caribbean's record-breaking Symphony of the Seas sails with paying passengers for the first time.

The 206,912-tonne vessel - the largest cruise ship ever - is departing Barcelona Saturday evening on a five-night voyage to Italy that features stops in Naples and Civitavecchia, the port for Rome.

Designed for holiday-makers who love big, bustling mega-resorts, Symphony is built on the same platform as Royal Caribbean's 22-month-old Harmony of the Seas, the previous size leader in cruising. But it eclipses its sibling by more than 1,000 tons and offers several new features.

Julien Rambaud/ANDBZ/ABACAPRESS World's largest cruise ship Symphony of the Seas leaving Shipyard STX in Saint-Nazaire, France, on March 24.

Among the additions are a first-of-its-kind, two-deck-high family suite with a slide between floors, a revamped Boardwalk amusement area, a new laser tag attraction and a new-for-Royal Caribbean seafood restaurant. Symphony also has more cabins than Harmony.

READ MORE:

* A taste of luxury on board the Crystal Symphony

* Thinking about trying a cruise? Advice for first-timers

* The 10 best places to cruise in New Zealand

* Discover almost anywhere on a cruise

Symphony can hold up to 6,680 passengers and sails with a crew of 2,200, meaning that on busy weeks it could be home to nearly 9,000 people.

1 of 6 Julien Rambaud/ANDBZ/ABACAPRESS World's largest cruise ship Symphony of the Seas has everything. 2 of 6 Julien Rambaud/ANDBZ/ABACAPRESS How about taking a nap on one of these loungers. 3 of 6 Julien Rambaud/ANDBZ/ABACAPRESS You can even surf on the world's largest cruise ship Symphony of the Seas. 4 of 6 Julien Rambaud/ANDBZ/ABACAPRESS World's largest cruise ship Symphony of the Seas is ready for its maiden voyage. 5 of 6 Julien Rambaud/ANDBZ/ABACAPRESS There's something for everyone on the world's largest cruise ship Symphony of the Seas, even a water slide. 6 of 6 Julien Rambaud/ANDBZ/ABACAPRESS World's largest cruise ship Symphony of the Seas is heading off on its maiden voyage.

Symphony has been under construction since early 2015 at the giant STX France shipyard in St Nazaire, France - the same shipyard that built Harmony. Built at a cost of more than US$1 billion, it was delivered to Royal Caribbean in St Nazaire on March 23 and has spent the past week re-positioning to Barcelona.

Symphony will spend its first few months sailing in the Mediterranean out of Barcelona before moving to Miami to operate cruises to the Caribbean.

Symphony and Harmony are the latest, biggest vessels in Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class series. Two other Oasis Class ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, debuted in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class vessels have made waves in the cruise industry since they began debuting in 2009. All of the Oasis Class ships are in excess of 225,000 tons -- more than 30 per cent larger than the next largest cruise vessels.

With the addition of Symphony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean has 25 ships.

- USA Today</s>LONDON (AP) — A cruise carrying relatives of some of the more than 1,500 people who died aboard the Titanic nearly 100 years ago set sail from England on Sunday to retrace the ship's voyage, including a visit to the location where it sank.

The Titanic Memorial Cruise, carrying the same number of passengers — not including crew — as the Titanic did, cast off from Southampton, where the doomed vessel left on its maiden voyage. The 12-night cruise will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the White Star liner.

Waving passengers crowded the decks as the ship prepared to set sail, many dressed in period costumes as first-class passengers, crew members, steerage passenger and stewards.

Graham Free was dressed as an Edwardian gentleman and described his excitement for the cruise as he waited to board.

"I have been a fan of the Titanic since I was nine years old and this cruise is the closest you are going to get to it," said the 37 year old. "The trip has cost a considerable amount, but I wanted to do it."

Fellow cruiser Carmel Bradburn, 55, who lives in Australia, described herself as "fanatical" about the Titanic and struck back at accusations that retracing the doomed voyage is in poor taste.

"I don't think the cruise is morbid. It's like saying Gallipoli is morbid or commemorating the (Crimean) war," she said. "Remembering those who died is not morbid."

With 1,309 passengers aboard, the MS Balmoral will follow the same route as the Titanic — though the Balmoral had to leave two days earlier than the Titanic did because it is a small and slower vessel.

The Balmoral is operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, whose parent company, Harland and Wolff, built the Titanic in Belfast. It has been chartered for the event by Miles Morgan Travel, which specializes in tailor-made holidays.

The organizers are trying to recreate the onboard experience — minus the disaster — including the food and a live band playing music from that era, in a tribute to Titanic's musicians who reportedly played their instruments until the ship sank.

People from 28 countries have booked passage, organizers said, including relatives of some of the more than 1,500 people who died when the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, in international waters in the North Atlantic. Other passengers include relatives of the around 700 survivors, along with authors and historians.

The tickets varied in cost from 2,799 pounds ($4,445) to 5,995 pounds ($9,520).

Over the course of the voyage, passengers will attend lectures by Titanic experts such as Philip Littlejohn, grandson of a Titanic survivor. Littlejohn said he is sure his grandfather would be proud to know his story would be shared with passengers on the Titanic Memorial Cruise.

"It will be an emotional moment when we are over the wreck site, where I dived in 2001 and where my grandfather left Titanic rowing Lifeboat 13," he said.

While on board, passengers also will dine on meals based around dishes served in April 1912, with a formal dinner on April 13 made up entirely of dishes served aboard the Titanic.

Cruise organizers have set up a special memorial service on April 14 to start at 11:40 p.m. to mark the moment Titanic hit the iceberg, and later at the exact moment when the ship sank.

The cruise is among an abundance of commemorations and memorials to the reputedly unsinkable ship that have sprung up to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's doomed voyage.</s>Protests break out in Majorca at the arrival of Symphony of the Seas

Around 150 demonstrators held up banners with messages including ‘Stop Cruises Palma’ and ‘Horror of the Seas’ shortly after the Symphony of the Seas, which can carry up to 6,680 passengers and 2,200 crew, docked at Palma Port yesterday.

Organisers of the midday protest, backed by local environmental groups including GOB, claimed holidaymakers on the giant cruise ship would add to the contamination and tourist saturation the Majorcan capital is already experiencing.

Symphony of the Seas, the latest ship from the Royal Caribbean cruise line to claim the record as the largest in the world, will make a number of stops in Palma between now and the end of summer as part of seven-night Med cruises.

GOB spokeswoman Margalida Ramis said: “It’s contamination you don’t see but ends up affecting air quality.”

Protestors claimed the thousands of tourists that end up on the street of Palma every time a cruise ship docks make it difficult for locals to go about their daily lives.

The protest coincided with a regional environment minister’s insistence the arrival of tourists had to be better regulated.</s>What's it like on Royal Caribbean's new Symphony of the Seas — the world's largest cruise ship? See for yourself with a look at the video above. It offers a first peek at some of the ship's hottest new features, including Symphony's first-of-its-kind, two-deck-high family suite, revamped Boardwalk amusement area and more.

Designed for vacationers who love big, bustling mega-resorts, the 228,081-ton Symphony is built on the same platform as Royal Caribbean's two-year-old Harmony of the Seas, the previous size leader in cruising. But it eclipses its sibling by more than 1,000 tons. it also has more cabins than Harmony and carries more passengers at double occupancy.

Symphony has been under construction since early 2015 at the giant STX France shipyard in St. Nazaire, France — the same shipyard that built Harmony. Built at a cost of more than $1 billion, it was delivered to Royal Caribbean in St. Nazaire in late March and is just starting up cruises out of Barcelona.

RELATED: Five things to love about Symphony of the Seas | Why we love giant ships like Symphony | Yes, an even bigger sister to Symphony is coming

Symphony will spend its first few months sailing in the Mediterranean out of Barcelona before moving to Miami to operate cruises to the Caribbean.

Symphony and Harmony are the latest, biggest vessels in Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class series. Two other Oasis Class ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, debuted in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class vessels have made waves in the cruise industry since they began debuting in 2009. All of the Oasis Class ships are in excess of 225,000 tons — more than 30% larger than the next largest cruise vessels.

With the addition of Symphony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean has 25 ships.</s>Royal Caribbean International's Quantum of the Seas can carry almost 5,000 guests.

Royal Caribbean International's Quantum of the Seas - Asia's largest cruise ship, carrying up to 4,905 guests - will be back in Singapore for six months from November next year to April 2020.

This will be the cruise line's longest deployment in Singapore for a Quantum Class ship.

Quantum of the Seas was last in Singapore in 2015 during her first visit to Asia for two voyages out of Singapore.

During her 34 voyages with Singapore as her home port, Quantum of the Seas is expected to add some 150,000 guests to the local cruising scene, increasing Royal Caribbean's capacity in Singapore by 30 per cent.

President and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean International, Mr Michael Bayley, said bringing in bigger and better ships such as Quantum of the Seas demonstrates Royal Caribbean's confidence in the region to continue experiencing record-breaking growth.

In a press statement, he said: "In response to the strong demand from Singapore and the region, we have decided to bring in longer cruises for Quantum of the Seas' return.

"The season will feature cruises starting from four nights and the first-ever seven-night round-trip cruises on a Quantum Class ship here."

The ship's itineraries include four-night cruises to Penang or Phuket, five-night cruises to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Phuket, a seven-night cruise to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Phuket with an overnight stay and a seven-night cruise to Bangkok with an overnight stay and Ho Chi Minh City.

Before her arrival in Singapore, Quantum of the Seas will undergo a multi-million-dollar refurbishment project.

Royal Caribbean International's senior vice-president of international, Mr Gavin Smith, told The New Paper at a media session yesterday that one of the main investments of the project is to add eight tender boats to the ship.

Tender boats are small boats used to transport passengers to islands and can carry about 120 people each.

Mr Smith added: "Currently, the ship must be next to a wharf so she can't go to Phuket, for instance. But after the project, passengers can get to islands like Phuket on tender boats. This gives us more itinerary variety as we can access more ports."

Quantum of the Seas' 2019-2020 Singapore cruises is now on sale.

From now to Thursday, customers can enjoy a special promotion - with the second guest in the same cabin paying only $1. The first guest pays the full fare.

For more information and reservations, visit www.royalcaribbean.com.sg or call 6305-0033.</s>Around 150 demonstrators held up banners with messages including ‘Stop Cruises Palma’ and ‘Horror of the Seas’ shortly after the Symphony of the Seas, which can carry up to 6,680 passengers and 2,200 crew, docked at Palma Port yesterday. Organisers of the midday protest, backed by local environmental groups including GOB, claimed holidaymakers on the giant cruise ship would add to the contamination and tourist saturation the Majorcan capital is already experiencing. Angry campaigners carrying banners and shouting messages like "City for those who live in it, not for those who visit it" greeted passengers as they came into the island's capital of Palma at lunchtime today. The 'floating city', weighing 228,081 tons and capable of carrying 6,680 passengers, is touring the world as part of its debut voyage but pressure groups fighting mass tourism have told it go "go home".

"We have come to say 'hello' and 'adiós'," said a spokesman. "Our islands need to put limits on the intensification of mass tourism. " "We do not want this monster in our port," declared another of the protestors who held up banners saying "Mallorca will be the tomb of tourism" and "Stop poluttion of the seas" . The groups claim the cruise liner consumes as much energy in THREE DAYS as the local airport does in one year. Vicenc Vidal told local news website mallorcadiario.com in an interview: “I’m not opposed to tourism. What happens is that excesses have consequences.” Insisting regional government officials had their hands tied by central government policy, he added: “I would like to regulate the flow of tourism. The impact of cruise ships in places like Palma for instance could be very different if six weren’t turning up at the same time.” Tensions over tourism in places like the Balearic Islands and Barcelona have increased in recent years. Vandals daubed buildings in the Majorcan capital Palma including a four-star hotel with anti-tourist messages in April 2016. One on the four-star Palma Suites Aparthotel in Palma old town, written in English like most of the others, said: “Tourist Go Home. Refugees Welcome.” Others carrying the same message had been daubed on walls and waste paper bins in the same area including one on a private tourism school.

Today's protest in Palma follows similar scenes in Barcelona yesterday under the banner of #StopCreuers. The campaigners say mega ships like the "Symphony of the Seas" are "monsters" which contribute to environmental damage and mass tourism". The liner has 2,759 rooms distributed in a total of 18 decks and seven areas. It takes a crew of 2,175 people. Amongst its novel features is the longest slide in the world on board a boat (with a 28 metre drop) and a bionic bar where cocktails are served by robot waiters. It has 20 restaurants, ten jacuzzis and five pools. The cruise liner is expected to make 30 stops in Barcelona this year and become a regular sight in Palma. The Balearic Group of Ornithology and Defence of Nature (GOB) says the Symphony of the Seas represents everything it dislikes - "pollution, mass tourism and labour exploitation."

In a video posted on its social network pages tagged "Bye bye cruises", the GOB says cruise liners pollute the air, destroys local people's health, contaminates the sea and produce more traffic on the roads. "The Balearics have a problem with mass tourism. Is this the model we want! Say NO!" it has told its supporters. Protest group, Fin says it wants to draw attention to "the pollution caused by the ship, the mass tourism involved in its presence in the city and the conditions of alleged exploitation labour suffered by their workers."
MV Symphony of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship at 206,912 tonnes, begins its first voyage with paying passengers.