Sovereign class cruise ship

For the Star Trek starship class, see Sovereign class starship

For the Royal Navy warships, see Royal Sovereign class battleship.

Class overview
Builders:	Chantiers de l’Atlantique; St. Nazaire, France
Succeeded by:	Vision class
Built:	1987-1992
Completed:	3 Ships
Active:	3 Ships
General characteristics
Tonnage:	73,192 gt -73,941 gt
Displacement:	47,508 tonnes
Length:	268.33 m (880.3 ft)
Beam:	Template:Convertt
Draft:	7.55 m (24.8 ft)
Decks:	12
Installed power:	4 × 9-cyl, Pielstick-Alsthom diesels combined 21844 kW[2]
Propulsion:	Two controllable pitch propellers rear; two thrusters each side forward
Speed:	21.5 kts
Capacity:	2,744 passengers
Crew:	833

The Sovereign class is Royal Caribbean International's third generation of cruise ships.

The three ships of the class were built in Saint-Nazaire, France at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards. The first modern "megaships" to be built, they also were the first series of cruise ships to include a multi-story atrium with glass elevators. They also had a single deck devoted entirely to cabins with private balconies instead of oceanview cabins. The first ship, the Sovereign of the Seas launched in 1988, was the world's largest passenger ship in service, breaking the record held by the SS Norway (originally designed as an ocean liner. Sovereign held this distinction until 1990 when Norway succeeded her after being refurbished with the addition of two more decks. In 1991, Royal Caribbean International launched a slightly modified sister ship, the Monarch of the Seas. In 1992, the line launched its third and final sister ship, the Majesty of the Seas. These ships were among the largest modern cruise ships to sail during the late 80's and early 90's.

During that time, other major cruise lines also followed suit, building ships that included many of the same features and similar dimensions as the Sovereign-class. Carnival Cruise Lines launched the Fantasy class in 1990, comparable in size to the Sovereign-class and also featuring a multi-story atrium with glass elevators. Princess Cruises also countered by launching two ships in 1990 and 1991 to compete with the Sovereign-class, the Crown Princess and the Regal Princess. They also featured an atrium and two decks devoted to cabins with private balconies instead of windowed "oceanview" cabins.

Since then, newer and larger ships have succeeded the Sovereign-class size. In comparison with the largest cruise ships afloat today, they are less than half the size of the Independence of the Seas, which is about 154,000 gross tons, and about a third the size of Oasis of the seas. In 2008, Royal Caribbean relocated the Sovereign of the Seas, transferring her to their Pullmantur Cruises branch. Other cruise lines have also displaced their older tonnage displaced with new ships introduced into the high growth areas.

In 2007, Monarch of the Seas became the first major cruiseliner in the world to be captained by a woman, the Swede Karin Stahre Janson, who remained the only one until 2010 when the British captain Sarah Breton took charge of MS Artemis of P&O Cruises.

Ships

• MS Sovereign of the Seas was the largest ship in the world at the time of its completion in 1988. Transferred to RCL's company Pullmantur Cruises
• MS Monarch of the Seas, delivered in 1991, completely refurbished in May 2003.
• MS Majesty of the Seas, inaugurated April 26, 1992