Why is it that big things get so much attention?  It’s not a new interest really; traveling through Egypt and Jordan with luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent, the gigantic Giza Pyramids have stood the test of time and are pretty hard to miss.  When Royal Caribbean’s Empress of the Seas debuted in 1990 as the Nordic Empress, the ship was considered huge at 48,000 tons, but then so was ill-fated Titanic, a bit smaller at 46,000 tons.  But we don’t have to go back too far to see how cruise ships have swelled, a nod to the popularity of cruise vacations and an ever-changing business model that works nicely when more people are taken to sea on each and every sailing.

 

Just looking at Royal Caribbean International, Voyager class ships of 1999-2001 came in at about 137,000 tons ahead of three Freedom class ships in 2006, 2007 and 2008 at 154,000 tons before Oasis class starting at 220,000 tons led to Harmony of the Seas tipping the scale at 227,000 tons.  This illustration gives a good idea of how new Harmony of the Seas stacks up to other big things

 

Infographic: Royal Caribbean International

Cover photo, Flickr member photosteve101