Quantum-class cruise ship

Quantum of the Seas on the Elbe River near Wedel in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Class overview
Builders:	Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany
Operators:	Royal Caribbean International
Preceded by:	Oasis class
Succeeded by:	Icon class
Building:	0
Planned:	5
Completed:	3
Active:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Cruise ship
Tonnage:	168,666 GT
Length:	348 m (1,142 ft)
Beam:	48.9–49.47 m (160–162 ft) (max) 41.2–41.4 m (135–136 ft) (waterline)
Draught:	8.5–8.8 m (28–29 ft)
Decks:	18 (16 passenger-accessible)
Installed power:	2 ×  Wärtsilä 12V46F (2 × 14,400 kW) 2 ×  Wärtsilä 16V46F (2 × 19,200 kW) 2 ×  Cat 3516C HD (2 × 2,500 kW)
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric 2 ×  ABB Azipod XO thrusters (2 × 20.5 MW) 4 ×  3,500 kW (4,694 hp) Brunvoll FU115 bow thrusters
Speed:	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity:	4,180 passengers (double occupancy) 4,905 passengers (maximum occupancy)

Quantum class is a class of cruise ships from Royal Caribbean International, previously known by the code name Project Sunshine. The Quantum-class ships surpass the earlier Freedom-class ships by over 14,000 GT, becoming the second largest class of passenger ships behind Royal Caribbean International's Oasis class ships on a gross tonnage basis. The first two ships of this class, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas were delivered in November 2014 and April 2015, respectively. The third ship, Ovation of the Seas, was delivered in April 2016.

Quantum of the Seas spent its inaugural 2014-2015 season sailing from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, United States, before repositioning to China in May 2015. Beginning late June 2015, the ship began sailing three- to eight-night itineraries year-round from Shanghai to Japan and South-Korea. Anthem of the Seas spent its inaugural 2015 season sailing from Southampton, Hampshire, UK, before repositioning to Cape Liberty in November 2015.Ovation of the Seas will have Sydney as its home port, sailing Australian and New Zealand itineraries in the summer of 2016-17. In May 2015, Royal Caribbean signed an agreement to build a fourth Quantum class ship and agreed to build a fifth ship in November of the same year.

On February 11, 2011, Royal Caribbean announced that they had ordered the first of a new class of ships from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany scheduled to be delivered by Fall 2014. At the time, the project was code-named "Project Sunshine". Later that year, two 20.5-megawatt ABB Azipod XO propulsion units were ordered for that ship. On February 29, 2012 the company announced that a second "Project Sunshine" ship had been ordered and would be delivered by Spring 2015, and ordered identical Azipod propulsion units shortly thereafter. Just under a year later, on January 31, 2013, steel cutting for the first ship began with a silhouette of the ship being cut by laser. The same day, Royal Caribbean announced the official name of the new class of ships, Quantum Class, as well as the names of the first two ships in the class, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas. These names were among a series of names that Royal Caribbean had filed for trademarks on in late 2012, including Passion of the Seas, Vantage of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, and the Pulse of the Seas (these other trademarks were abandoned as of January 2014^[update]). Details on the major features of Quantum of the Seas were announced on April 16, 2013.