Royal Caribbean’s two brand new cruise ships Harmony of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas are gearing up to take to the world’s oceans.

Last week was a very busy period for the two newbuilds as they tested their mettle before final delivery.

Ovation of the Seas left Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany on March 11, heading down the River Ems on its 26-mile conveyance to the North Seas.

The conveyance was completed when Ovation of the Seas reached Eemshaven in the Netherlands the day after.

Following the ship’s arrival in Eemshaven, Ovation of the Seas will be ready to begin sea trials in the North Sea.

Ovation of the Seas will be officially launched in April 2016, when it departs Southampton for Tianjin, China on a 53-day Global Odyssey. The cruise ship will begin its first homeport sailing season in China from Tianjin in June 2016.

Ovation of the Seas, together with Quantum of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Legend of the Seas, will make up the largest fleet of any cruise line sailing in China.

Just a couple of days after, on March 13th, the Harmony of the Seas returned to the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France after completing the first three days of sea trials.

Harmony of the Seas traveled almost 1,000 nautical miles in the time span of about 60 hours.

During the trip, Harmony of the Seas had its power plant capacity tested in its basic configuration up to full power (96 MW), as well as propulsion and maneuverability tests.

A statement by STX France indicated the ships’ performance was what they expected.

With these sea trials complete, STX will put the ship into dry dock for final cleaning of its hull before delivery, expected to take place on May 12.

Prior to delivery, a second set of sea trials must take place in April.

Image Courtesy: RCL; Videos: Inselvideo; XOXOTV