History is happening on the high seas Friday with the debut of the world's largest ship.
Wonder of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International sets sail on its maiden voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The ship took three years to build and it's massive, with new dining venues, the tallest slide at sea and a 10-deck-high zipline.
It can carry almost 7,000 passengers in more than 2,800 staterooms, but with COVID-19 protocols still in place, there is plenty of room.
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"What's amazing is to be able to go on a ship this big when they're still sailing at reduced capacity, it's really very unique," said Stewart Chiron, a cruise industry veteran. "And we had to go through all the health protocols, get our COVID tests, our negative test, two days before the cruise. So these things are still very top of mind."
"It's jampacked with things for people to enjoy on these ships," he said. "To be able to do it with reduced capacity, it makes it that much more special."
Chiron founded The Leisure Pros, a travel-marketing company specializing in the cruise industry. He's known as The Cruise Guy.
Chiron will be onboard the Wonder of the Seas' seven-day voyage. It's his 13th cruise since June 2021 when the industry went back to sailing during the pandemic.
He says with COVID protocols like vaccination and negative tests still in place, mask requirements loosened and reduced capacity, now is the perfect time to take a cruise.
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"They've been staying ahead of the science to make the cruise passengers as safe possible," Chiron said. "There's availability out of Galveston. There is availability out of Florida, which has the three busiest ports in the world - Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral. You got good airfare into those ports and that's where you're going to be able to maximize your savings."
