Royal Caribbean's next Quantum class cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, has reached a construction milestone that brings it one step closer to entering service.

Royal Caribbean Australia & New Zealand shared this photo of Ovation of the Seas to show that she is almost half way to being completed.

OVATION UPDATE: construction of #OvationoftheSeas is almost half way! pic.twitter.com/Pp9ZmWGXP8

— Royal Caribbean AUNZ (@RoyalAUNZ) October 16, 2015

It has been thirteen months since the steel cutting ceremony took place and if all goes well, she will be ready for conveyance down the River Ems for sea trials in the middle of March 2016.

Ovation of the Seas is under construction at the Meyer Werft ship yard in Papenburg, Germany.  Ovation of the Seas will be debuting in April 2016 and will be offering cruises in Asia and Australia.

Royal Caribbean has posted some new photos that showcase the construction progress being made on its third Quantum-class cruise ship, Ovation of the Ses.

Ovation of the Seas will be debuting in April 2016 and will be offering cruises in Asia and Australia.

These photos were taken at the Meyer Werft ship yard in Papenburg, Germany. All photos are copyright Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas features two glass enclosures for either side of the ship's upper-deck pool, patio and bar area that was made by OpenAire and it has become a popular spot on the ship.

Photo by OpenAire

The retractable roof retracts into a central core and wall panels that slide down to railing height that allows the space to go from indoor to outdoor easily and quickly.

When it's cold outside or the weather does not cooperate, both of these 3,706-square-foot structures close automatically and silently, letting guests continue enjoying all of the ship’s amenities. The design has brought extremely positive reviews for both Anthem of the Seas and OpenAire.

Anthem of the Seas is the second collaboration between Royal Caribbean and OpenAire.  OpenAire created a similar retractable roof for sister ship Quantum of the Seas.  The work done on Quantum of the Seas made the work on Anthem of the Seas much easier.

Photo by OpenAire

The retractable roof will also create significant future operational savings for Royal Caribbean, as the thermally-broken aluminum framing is maintenance-free and resistant to corrosion caused by an outside atmosphere of salt air and the moist chemical aquatic inside environment. By allowing the ocean’s sunshine and breezes into the pool area, it also reduces HVAC energy use by 27% compared to a traditional enclosure.

OpenAire will complete work on a retractable enclosure for Royal Caribbean’s upcoming Ovation of the Seas ship this fall.

Two sections of Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas were floated out earlier today at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and we have a photos of what will eventually be part of the third Quantum class cruise ship.

Photographer Björn Haß took these photos as the blocks were floated out of the construction building to make way for a new Norwegian Cruise Line ship.

All photos by Björn Haß

Royal Caribbean's third Quantum class cruise ship is under construction and earlier today we got a view of two of its "mega blocks" floated out of the shipyard.

Photo by Björn Haß

Photographer Björn Haß took this wonderful photo of the two blocks at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany as the blocks were floated out to make way for the Norwegian Escape to be floated out.

Once the Norwegian ship is out of the building hall, these two mega blocks will be brought back into the hall for further construction.

Ovation of the Seas is scheduled to be delivered in April 2016.

Royal Caribbean's third Quantum class cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, had a a block moved out of the construction hall earlier this week.

Ovation of the Seas is being constructed and is scheduled to be delivered in April 2016

All photos copyright Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean opened bookings for its third Quantum-class cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas today.  Guests can now book cruises for the ship's maiden season in Australia and New Zealand.

Ovation of the Seas will arrive in Australia on December 6, 2016 when she docks in Perth.  Ovation of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship to ever be homeported in Australia.

After arriving in Australia, Ovation of the Seas will visit Adelaide and Hobart, before arriving in Sydney to begin her official Australian season.

Ovation of the Seas will offer four sailings from Sydney during her summer season starting from December 15, 2016, including:

• A 15-night New Zealand cruise beginning with an overnight in Sydney on December 15, 2016 followed by calls at Hobart, the Milford Sounds region, Dunedin, Wellington, Picton, Tauranga and Auckland.
• A 10-night New Year cruise around New Zealand departing December 30, 2016, with calls at the Milford Sound region, Dunedin, Wellington, Napier and Picton.
• A 14-night cruise during the January school holidays with visits to Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Auckland, Wellington, Picton, Dunedin, and the Milford Sounds region.
• Ovation of the Seas leaves Australia on January 23, 2017 with a 14-night Sydney to Singapore cruise visiting Brisbane, Darwin and Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang).

Royal Caribbean commercial director for Royal Caribbean Australia & South East Asia, Sea Treacy, commented on the arrival of Ovation down under, "At USD$1 billion, Ovation of the Seas represents the single largest investment in Australia and New Zealand cruising by any cruise line. This ship truly ignites the imagination about what is possible on a cruise holiday – from skydiving in the middle of the ocean, robot bartenders, to North Star, an observation capsule that transports you more than 90 metres above the sea providing stunning 360 degree views."

"Being the imaginative and adventure-loving nation that we are, it is not surprising that over 20,000 Aussies have pre-registered their interest since we first announced her local deployment. Ovation of the Seas’ first season will be historic and we can’t wait for Australians to experience the world’s most advanced ship right on our doorstep," Treacy said.

"In her first season alone, Ovation of the Seas is projected to inject more than $20million into the Australian economy with 14 total calls across the country, and almost 30,000 guests are expected to experience the new generation of cruise ship. Some of the other delights her guests can look forward to include bumper cars, a circus school, spectacular shows in the custom-built Two70 entertainment venue, 18 different dining options including Jamie’s Italian by Jamie Oliver, Broadway shows and high speed internet."

Royal Caribbean's third Quantum-class cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, will offer two cruises out of Southampton, UK before she makes her way east to be homeported in China.

A five-night and seve-night cruise are available to book, with the first going from Southampton to France and Belgum on April 17 and the second going to northern Spain and Gibraltar on April 22.

Following those sailings, Ovation of the Seas will embark upon a 56-night global odyssey cruise to Asia on May 3.  Ovation of the Seas will sail from Southampton to Barcelona, then Barcelona to Dubai and Dubai to Singapore.  Finally, there will be a quick 3-night cruise from Singapore before she heads to Tianjin, China.

The Ports of Auckland, New Zealand might be saying "no thank you" to Royal Caribbean's brand new cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas.

Earlier this week, the porth authority decided not to build a wharf extension that is necessary for a ship the size of Ovation of the Seas to dock at.  Now the Auckland Council has taken over negotiations in an effort to have the ship stop in Auckland.

Royal Caribbean still believes Ovation of the Seas could still stop in Auckland after meeting with port and council representatives yesterday.

"Absolutely, after that meeting I believe Auckland will be a possibility.  It was very positive, we put our requests and got the promise they will look at that, and come back with a final answer," Royal Caribbean port captain Nik Antalis told Radio New Zealand.

A flurry of political warnings and maneuvering began on Friday when Ports of Auckland announced the 98-metre-long Bledisloe 3 extension would not be completed and thus, Ovation of the Seas would not be able to visit.

Royal Caribbean announced that Ovation of the Seas, the third Quantum-class cruise ship, will be homeported in Sydney, Australia for the winter of 2016-2017.

When she arrives, Ovation of the Seas will become the largest cruise ship to ever sail out of Australia and will also be the most technologically advanced ship in the region.

Ovation of the Seas will be the fifth ship in the Royal Caribbean Australian fleet for winter 2016-17, joining four other Royal Caribbean ships:Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas in Sydney and Legend of the Seas in Brisbane.

Additional details for the Royal Caribbean’s winter 2016-17 season will be revealed at the end of April.

“Royal Caribbean has been breaking the boundaries in Australian cruising since we arrived in 2007 but today, we have completely changed the face of the cruise industry, making the single largest investment in Australia by any cruise line,” said Gavin Smith, regional vice president, Royal Caribbean, Asia Pacific. “Ovation of the Seas will completely redefine the idea of cruising in Australia, taking the industry to the next level by offering a host of incredible never-before-seen features and technologies. This demonstrates our belief in, and long term commitment to, the Australian cruising market.”