The $1billion boat arrives in Britain: World’s biggest cruise ship Harmony of the Seas rules the waves as it docks in Southampton ahead of maiden voyage

.Harmony Of The Seas is a 1,188 foot and 227,000-ton cruise ship - the newest and biggest the world has ever seen

.Worth £800m, it boasts the Ultimate Abyss - the tallest slide at sea - as well as seven separate ‘neighbourhoods’

.Stood on its stern the ship would soar above the Shard, the Eiffel Tower and the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai

.It is 330ft longer than the Titanic, and can carry a human cargo of 8,880 including 2,100 crew from 77 countries

Welcome: A small crowd turned out to wave in the Harmony of the Seas as it sailed into Southampton shortly after 6am this morning

The Harmony of the Seas, pictured arriving into Southampton, is the biggest cruise ship in the world, with a length of 1,188ft

The largest cruise ship in the world measures more than four football pitches in length with a maximum capacity for 6,780 passengers

Stunning aerial photos of Harmony of the Seas' arrival in Southampton reveal the scale of the 227,000-ton cruise ship

Harmony of the Seas is slightly larger than Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas, two sister ships from Royal Caribbean International

Well-wishers, still wearing their pyjamas, rushed out of bed to welcome the ship as it sailed up Southampton Water, the tidal estuary

The gigantic vessel's amenities include the 10-storey Ultimate Abyss (pictured at the back of the ship), the tallest slide at sea

Harmony of the Seas (right) dwarfs many other vessels of its kind. Royal Caribbean now has the world's six largest cruise ships

Royal Caribbean says 2,500lbs of fresh salmon and 2,100lbs of lobster tails will be eaten on board on an average seven-night cruise

Harmony of the Seas: The impressive ship will spend the week in Southampton for final preparations ahead of its maiden voyage

It took 32 months to build Harmony of the Seas, which is the 25th cruise ship in Royal Caribbean International's fleet

Miami-based Royal Caribbean International ordered Harmony of the Seas in December 2012 and it took 32 months to build the ship

Harmony of the Seas represents a shift by cruise lines to push the boundaries when it comes to size, passenger capacity and amenities

The Ultimate Abyss, a 10-storey slide that is the tallest ever built on a cruise ship, takes thrillseekers on a 100ft plunge

Harmony of the Seas will spend a few days at port in Southampton before paying customers are taking on two brief cruises

In addition to the tallest slide at sea, the massive ship boasts 23 swimming pools, 20 dining venues, a casino and two surf simulator

The 18-deck ship has set new records for staterooms (2,747) and passenger capacity (5,479 at double occupancy or a maximum of 6,780)

From September 2013, it took 2,500 workers at STX France a total of some 10 million work hours to complete the enormous vessel

BY THE NUMBERS: THE LARGEST CRUISE SHIP IN THE WORLD

Owner: Miami-based Royal Caribbean International

Ordered: December 2012

Builder: STX France, Saint-Nazaire

Construction time: 32 months

Cost: £800million

Decks: 18 (16 guest decks)

Gross tonnage: 227,000 gross registered tons

Length: 1,188ft

Width: 215.5ft

Cruising speed: 22 knots (25 mph)

Capacity at double occupancy: 5,479 passengers

Total capacity: 6,780 passengers

Crew: 2,100, representing 77 nationalities

Staterooms: 2,747

Dining venues: 20

The Ultimate Abyss slide has a 100ft, 10-storey drop

4,700,000lbs of water used in 23 pools and other attractions

A park with 10,587 plants, 48 vine plants and 52 trees

11,252 works of art on display throughout the ship

The 25th ship in Royal Caribbean International's fleet

The cruise ship that makes Titanic look a minnow and as it docks in Britain, our man braves its thrilling (and terrifying) 100ft slide

By Mark Palmer for The BE INFORMED Mail

What on earth will these cruise ship companies conjure up next? Not so long ago, they were busy launching floating cities with an improbable number of pubs, restaurants, swimming pools and even adventure playgrounds.

Then along came theme parks, shopping malls, surf simulators, aqua theatres, robotic barmen, zip lines and faux forests with canned birdsong.

Now? Well, I am standing on a glass platform on Deck 17 of the newest and biggest cruise ship the world has ever seen — and I’m about to crawl into a stainless steel tube and hurtle down the tallest slide at sea, arriving (hopefully) on the boardwalk 100 ft below.

Royal Caribbean has invited me to be the first member of the public to experience the Ultimate Abyss before the 1,188 ft cruise ship Harmony Of The Seas is due to dock at 5.30am today at Southampton in preparation for her maiden voyage next week.

The Ultimate Abyss: To reach the double tubes, you walk past the aptly named Wipeout Bar and climb some stairs that take you through the fish’s open mouth, complete with 40 giant pointed teeth, until you reach the glass floor

There are nearly 3,000 cabins (sorry, staterooms) — for which prices start at around £900 per person for a week’s cruise up to £2,760 for a luxury suite — some with bunk beds for families with children, and most have balconies

So I am reduced to delaying tactics by asking all sorts of nerdy questions. The green ‘Go’ light keeps flashing, but I’m going nowhere.

‘How long does it take to get down?’

‘12.5 seconds is the record, but 14 seconds is normal,’ says Dr Spiller in that wonderful matter-of-fact Germanic way.

‘How fast do you go?’

‘You can reach speeds of 35kph [22mph].’

‘Is it completely dark in there?’

‘There are a number of light options, with three colour modes and one variable mode. You will also hear a lot of different sounds — but do feel free to scream.’

Many thanks. Actually, I can’t wait to get off this windswept platform at the stern of the ship — 150 ft above sea level — even if it means twisting and turning down a tube with minimum head room. So I shuffle forward on the mat, holding on to the strap as if clinging to life itself.

‘A little further,’ advises Dr Spiller, and it strikes me this must be how the cartoon Road Runner felt when he sprinted off the edge of a cliff and hung in mid-air, knowing he was about to plunge to his doom.

The auditorium: In the 1,300-seater main theatre, there will be West End performances of Grease, and the indoor ice rink should be a good place to cool off if the excitement becomes too intense elsewhere

The ship also has 16 restaurants, including Jamie’s Italian, swimming pools in all shapes and sizes, and the 1,300-seat main theatre

Less is never more: New York’s Central Park is on board, with more than 10,000 plants and 52 trees, flanked by shops ranging from Kate Spade and Bulgari to Cartier and Hublot (pictured departing Saint-Nazaire, France)

The finishing touches are applied to the Ultimate Abyss last week. The tallest slide at sea takes passengers from deck 16 to deck six

Harmony of the Seas is essentially a floating city, with nearly 2,750 staterooms over 16 guest decks, 20 dining venues and 23 pools

Passengers won't run out of activities on the ship, which has a casino, giant climbing wall, rope slide, minigolf and floating Jacuzzis

Getting lost is not an issue because you are given GPS-style wristbands that track your whereabouts. If little Johnny wanders into the Bionic Bar and orders a double mojito or wants to vanish into the Adults-only Solarium, his parents will quickly be alerted.

There are 16 restaurants, including Jamie’s Italian — and Jamie Oliver himself will be on board for the first official sailing on May 22.

One restaurant is called Wonderland and is themed on Alice In Wonderland. Built on two floors, it invites you to ‘venture down the rabbit hole’ and then pick from the ‘molecular’ menu (in other words, a clever fusion of science and cooking), where instead of courses you order from categories — ‘fire, ice, earth, water and dreams’.

Swimming pools are everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, with three water slides (one features a huge champagne bowl that whizzes guests around before dispatching them through the final flume). This is in the Perfect Storm zone near Splashaway Bay, where younger children can, well, splash away.

In the 1,300-seater main theatre, there will be West End performances of Grease, and the indoor ice rink should be a good place to cool off if the excitement becomes too intense elsewhere.

Harmony of the Seas, the widest cruise ship ever built, boasts 18 decks in total, with 16 dedicated to passenger staterooms and suites

The gigantic cruise ship was ordered in December 2012 and was built for Royal Caribbean at a cost of more than £800million

New York’s Central Park is on board, with more than 10,000 trees and plants, flanked by shops ranging from Kate Spade and Bulgari to Cartier and Hublot.

Size matters on the Harmony Of The Seas. Less is never more.

Those without windows or a port hole have ‘virtual balconies’ — real-time footage of the views outside, streamed through the TV.

Back at the Ultimate Abyss, Dr Spiller tells me the speed and scariness of the ride is affected by the weather and by how warm the steel becomes. The hotter it is, the less friction — and the faster you go.

Nearly a couple of hours have gone by since my descent — and the weather has improved. Apparently, the ride is speeding up nicely.

‘So,’ he says, ‘would you like another go?’

‘Very kind, but I think I might try the carousel instead.’