The Wonder of Conveyance – How and Why Do Royal Caribbean Ships Sail Down a Narrow River

March 2021 – The journey of a cruise ship begins long before it sets sail with guests around the world. At Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, every Royal Caribbean International cruise ship built in the last 20 years has first needed to make its way 20 miles (32 kilometers) down the narrow Ems River, while backward, to reach the ocean. This winding adventure called “conveyance” is a process unique to the ships built at the leading shipyard, which is located inland for protection from storms in the North Sea. Watch how it’s done and hear the details about this major cruise ship milestone from the captains, engineers and experts who have managed to flawlessly take these ships, as large as 1,138 feet long (346 meters) and 136 feet wide (41 meters), out to the open sea throughout the years. To date, Royal Caribbean’s 169,000-gross-ton Odyssey of the Seas is the largest ship to complete the process, along with sister ships Quantum, Anthem, Ovation and Spectrum of the Seas.