Today at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, Royal Caribbean held its keel-laying for Quantum of the Seas and put down a 430-ts block in place in the yard's covered building dock.
Royal Caribbean Executive Vice President Maritime, Harri Kulovaara, put down the lucky penny before the ship's block was lowered by the 800-ts crane.
The first of a total of 74 blocks of Quantum of the Seas weighs 430 tons. This keel-laying marks the official start of construction of the Quantum of the Seas. For the time being the 167,800-gt Quantum of the Seas is the biggest ship the shipyard has built so far.
Quantum of the Seas will be able to accommodate 4,180 passengers with 2,090 staterooms. She will enter service in November 2014.
UPDATE: 11:11AM: Newly minted coins were placed under the keel which then stays in place until the end of construction. Once the ship is nearing completion the coins are retrieved and presented to the ship’s Captain and crew to be placed onboard the ship. According to maritime tradition, the coins are said to bring luck to the ship during its construction and then to its Captain and crew when she is at sea.
