Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship is getting closer to being delivered to the cruise line, and she already looks amazing.

Odyssey of the Seas is docked at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and is being prepared for to be completed in the coming months.

Work is underway on Odyssey to add mostly outdoor features to the ship before she begins the process of leaving the shipyard and heading out to sea.

The talented photographer, Björn Haß, took these wonderful photos of Odyssey of the Seas that I wanted to share with all of you.

Photos by Björn Haß

The 169,000 GT cruise liner has an overall length of 347.1 meters, is 41.4 meters wide and can accommodate more than 5000 passengers.

Odyssey of the Seas is now the fifth Quantum/Quantum Ultra Class ship to be constructed at Meyer Werft, following Quantum, Anthem, Ovation and Spectrum of the Seas.

It is not yet know when her conveyance down the Ems River or sea trials might take place.

Odyssey of the Seas will enter service with cruises from Europe in summer 2021 before heading to Port Everglades, Florida to sail the Caribbean in winter 2021.

What's different about Odyssey of the Seas?

Odyssey of the Seas will be the first Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship to sail from Europe and North America, giving a new audience the opportunity to experience this class.

Like all new cruise ships, Royal Caribbean always makes an effort to include other changes and new features that make a ship stand out from the rest of the fleet.

Here are a list of the major features on Odyssey of the Seas that we know about:

• SkyPad bungee trampoline experience 
• SeaPlex - the largest indoor space for recreational activities at sea
• Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade with club-level views of the SeaPlex
• Reimagined Adventure Ocean kids program and a maxed-out teen lounge with gaming consoles, music and movies
• Teppanyaki restaurant
• Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar
• Two-level pool deck will feature two open-air, resort-style pools and four whirlpools with shady casitas and hammocks
• FlowRider surf simulator
• Skydiving with Ripcord by iFly
• North Star glass capsule
• Robot bartenders at Bionic Bar

In Europe, Odyssey will offer longer stays in every destination and overnights across select Mediterranean cities.

It's a new year, and a new webcam construction photo update of Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship.

The Meyer Werft webcam has finally been updated with a new photo, after about a month of no photo updates.

Odyssey of the Seas is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and will be the cruise line's second Quantum Ultra Class ship.

Odyssey of the Seas floated out of her covered dock on November 28, 2020, and has since been moored outside for additional features to be installed onboard.

Photos by Björn Haß

The 169,000 GT cruise liner has an overall length of 347.1 meters, is 41.4 meters wide and can accommodate more than 5000 passengers.

Odyssey will feature a number of firsts onboard, including the first Quantum Class ship with Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, a Playmakers Bar location in the SeaPlex, a revamped Adventure Ocean and two-level pool deck.

Read more: 5 ways Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas will be different from other Quantum Class ships

Odyssey of the Seas is now the fifth Quantum/Quantum Ultra Class ship to be constructed at Meyer Werft, following Quantum, Anthem, Ovation and Spectrum of the Seas.

Odyssey of the Seas was originally scheduled to be delivered in autumn 2020, but Royal Caribbean delayed that until spring 2021.

What's next for Odyssey of the Seas?

With her float out complete and work being done to install outdoor features, you might be wondering what the next steps are for this ship.

Neither the shipyard nor Royal Caribbean has announced any kind of timeline, but you should expect some key milestones coming up soon.

The ship will need to conduct her conveyance down the River Ems. This is how the ship gets from the inland shipyard to the open ocean.

Once she reaches the ocean, her next step will be to conduct sea trials. During these sea trials, tests are conducted to finalize the performance of the ship. There are sometimes multiple sea trials.

Finally, the ship will be prepared for delivery to Royal Caribbean at which point the ship officially joins the fleet.

Royal Caribbean has scheduled the first sailings of Odyssey of the Seas in April 2021, which means all of this needs to occur before that date.

Before the cruise industry shutdown due to the global health crisis, Royal Caribbean had big plans for 2021 and like so many other things in life, their plans had to be changed.

Much of Royal Caribbean's big ticket spending had to be paused in order to conserve cash and be as fiscally responsible as possible.

In 2021, there are still some plans that will go ahead and others that have been delayed.  Here is a look at what we can and cannot expect from Royal Caribbean next year.

Still happening

New cruise ship: Odyssey of the Seas

Photo by Jeroen Houtman

Delayed from launching in 2020, Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship will instead be delivered in 2021.

Odyssey of the Seas is under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and will be the cruise line's second Quantum Ultra Class ship.

Originally Odyssey of the Seas was going to start cruises in November 2020, but a combination of Royal Caribbean's financial turmoil and issues at the shipyard contributed to a delay.

Instead, she is scheduled to be delivered in Spring 2021, with her first sailings in April 2021.

Galveston terminal construction beginning

Just like Odyssey of the Seas, the new cruise terminal in Galveston was scheduled to begin construction in 2020, but is now scheduled to begin on April 1, 2021.

The new Terminal 3 in Galveston will be built on 10 acres of land at Pier 10, and will be used exclusively by Royal Caribbean.

The new cruise terminal is the linchpin in Royal Caribbean's plans to bring an Oasis Class cruise ship to the Galveston cruise market.

According to the Port of Galveston Trustees, Royal Caribbean asked to delay the start of construction by a year, and is "very much insistent" that they will begin work in 2021.

Likely not happening

Antigua Beach Club

In late 2019, Royal Caribbean announced a new kind of development that would be a sort of small scale private enclave for cruise guests.

The Royal Beach Club was described as the ultimate beach experience, which would offer guests unique features and flavors of each destination.

The first Royal Beach Club was to be built in Antigua, which will open along a half-mile of beachfront near Fort James and was scheduled to open sometime in 2021.

Since everything shutdown in 2020, there has been absolutely no mention by the cruise line of the Antigua Beach Club, or any Royal Beach Club. Moreover, Royal Caribbean Group informed investors it would conserve cash by reducing capital spending through 2021.

"We have reduced our planned capital spending through 2021, which may negatively impact our execution of planned growth strategies, particularly as it relates to investments in our ships, technology, and our expansion of land-based developments."

So while Royal Caribbean has not provided any kind of official update on the fate of the Royal Beach Club, the likelihood of the Royal Beach Club project moving ahead for 2021 seems unlikely.

Ship upgrades

Just like the Beach Clubs, spending on ship upgrades also Royal Caribbean hit the pause button.

Once it became clear the shutdown was going to last a while, Royal Caribbean postponed its upcoming amplifications until further notice.

Two Royal Caribbean ships were scheduled to be upgraded in 2021 as part of the Royal Amplification process: Adventure of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas.

Planned upgrades for Allure of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas that were scheduled to take place in 2020 also never happened and are also on hold.

New cruise ship: Wonder of the Seas

Similar to Odyssey of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's next Oasis Class ship delivery was delayed.

Wonder of the Seas was originally scheduled to be delivered in 2021, but will instead be delivered sometime in 2022.

Under construction in France, Wonder of the Seas had to be delayed in order to spread out spending. She is still scheduled to sail exclusively in China.

One of the premier shows on Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship was just confirmed by the cruise line.

Coming to the Two70 venue on Odyssey of the Seas will be a brand new show called "Oceanides".

Nick Weir, Senior Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean International, confirmed the name of the new show on social media, and also provided some photos of the show that were recently tested.

Oceanides is the first production show confirmed for Odyssey of the Seas, as Royal Caribbean has not divulged the full line up of entertainment onboard yet.

The photos show performers in a box that is filled with water. Each performer's video is displayed on one of the cruise line's custom Roboscreens. These roboscreens are in front of the Vistarama backdrop that covers the entire side of the theater.

Two70 is the venue Royal Caribbean designed on the aft of its Quantum and Quantum Ultra class ships that offers immersive scenery on a 270 degree wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. 

The projection surface in Two70 measures 135 feet wide and 22 feet tall, and has a 12k digital screen along with  8-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide robotic screens.

Odyssey of the Seas reached its next construction milestone over the weekend when it was floated out at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

Debuting in spring of 2021, the Quantum Ultra Class ship was floated out of the building hall to transfer docks – a process that took more than seven hours. 

Once complete, Odyssey of the Seas will join Royal Caribbean's fleet as the second Quantum Ultra class cruise ship and split her time between Europe and North America.

Odyssey of the Seas is scheduled to be delivered to Royal Caribbean in Spring 2021.

After her inaugural season in Europe, Odyssey will then continue its inaugural year in Fort Lauderdale, FL with 8- and 6-night Caribbean itineraries.

In case you missed it, Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship is on the move and one big step closer to completion.

On the morning of November 28th, Odyssey of the Seas left her covered dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard to begin her float out.

Despite no public announcement of the event by Meyer Werft, a number of cruise ship enthusiasts made it down to the shipyard, including photographer Björn Haß.

Preparations to move Odyssey of the Seas out began a few days earlier. Space was made for Odyssey outside, and then the doors to the hall opened for Odyssey to begin her movement.

Royal Caribbean's second Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship was moved out of the hall with the assistance of tugs. 

It took about more than 7 hours for Odyssey to leave the dock and then get tied up along the quay.

After the ship was moved out of the hall, work began to install the North Star.

Over the next few months, work will continue on Odyssey of the Seas to add more features.  Once she's ready, Odyssey will begin her conveyance down the Ems River so that she can conduct her sea trials.

The 169,000 GT cruise liner has an overall length of 347.1 meters, is 41.4 meters wide and can accommodate more than 5000 passengers.

Odyssey of the Seas is now the fifth Quantum/Quantum Ultra Class ship to be constructed at Meyer Werft, following Quantum, Anthem, Ovation and Spectrum of the Seas.

Odyssey of the Seas was originally scheduled to be delivered in autumn 2020, but Royal Caribbean delayed that until spring 2021.

Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship reached a major milestone on Saturday morning when it departed the shipyard hall it was being constructed in and was floated outside.

Ship building Meyer Werft shared photos of Odyssey of the Seas being pulled out of the shipyard by tugboat and docked just outside the hall.

Now that Odyssey of the Seas is docked outside, more work will be done to add features to her, including the addition of the North Star observation pod.

The North Star is a glass observational pod attached to a giant arm that guests can board to get 360-degree views from 300 feet above sea level.

The ship's move today is a major milestone in the construction of any cruise ship.

Earlier this week, the finishing touches to the ship's undercarriage were being done when new propellors were added to the propulsion units.

Once complete, Odyssey of the Seas will join Royal Caribbean's fleet as the second Quantum Ultra class cruise ship and split her time between Europe and North America.

Odyssey of the Seas is scheduled to be delivered to Royal Caribbean in Spring 2021.

After her inaugural season in Europe, Odyssey will then continue its inaugural year in Fort Lauderdale, FL with 8- and 6-night Caribbean itineraries.

Odyssey has been under construction since the steel cutting ceremony in February 2019, but delivery was delayed due to the impact of the global health crisis.

Odyssey of the Seas received her propellers this week, which means she is one step closer to completion.

Meyer Werft shipyard shared new photos of the underside of Odyssey of the Seas that now features propellors attached to the azipod units.

The azipod propulsion units were installed on Odyssey of the Seas back in May 2020, but this week, the propellors were installed.

May 2020

November 26

In comparing the photos from May to this week, you can also see the painting and finishing touches made to the underside of Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship.

Odyssey of the Seas will be the company's Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship, and is scheduled for delivery some time in the spring.

Read more: 5 ways Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas will be different from other Quantum Class ships

Odyssey has been under construction since the steel cutting ceremony in February 2019, but delivery was delayed due to the impact of the global health crisis.

It is not known yet when her float out date will be, nor when her sea trials might commence.

Royal Caribbean Group confirmed in its third quarter earnings report that Royal Caribbean Group has allocated funds for delivery of Odyssey of the Seas during the first quarter of 2021.

There are two new looks to share of Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship, Odyssey of the Seas.

Right on schedule, the Meyer Werft shipyard has released a new webcam photo of the ship in hall 6.

November 23 photo

Meyer Werft updates a new photo around once a week with a look at the general progress being made.

For some reason, the webcam photo the last few weeks has seen more and more objects blocking the view of the cruise ship. AIDAcosma is under construction in hall 6 as well, and it appears the work on her is responsible for the increasingly hidden Odyssey of the Seas photos.

In addition, there is a new video update that shows off some of the top deck features that have arrived at the shipyard.

The video clearly shows the ship's funnel, Royal Caribbean logo, North Star and Ripcord by iFly housings on floating barges as they arrive at the shipyard.

Once complete, Odyssey of the Seas will join Royal Caribbean's fleet as the second Quantum Ultra class cruise ship and split her time between Europe and North America.

Odyssey will feature a number of firsts onboard, including the first Quantum Class ship with Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, a Playmakers Bar location in the SeaPlex, a revamped Adventure Ocean and two-level pool deck.

Read more: 5 ways Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas will be different from other Quantum Class ships

One of the signature features of Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas has arrived at the shipyard to be installed on Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship.

The North Star is a glass observational pod attached to a giant arm that guests can board to get 360-degree views from 300 feet above sea level.

Odyssey of the Seas is a Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship, and the North Star is a signature activity found only on Quantum and Quantum Ultra class cruise ships.

North Star was transported on barge that arrived at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

The North Star for Odyssey is painted with lime green and light blue stripes, similar to the concept art for the ship. All other Quantum Class ships have a North Star that has a navy blue striped motif.

Part of that design choice appears to be to better match the Lime and Coconut tropical design that the rest of the pool deck features.

Odyssey of the Seas concept art

Spectrum of the Seas

North Star is complimentary outside of China.

Odyssey of the Seas is due to be delivered to Royal Caribbean in Spring 2021. 

Once complete, Odyssey of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean's second Quantum Ultra Class cruise ship, sailing from Rome in Summer 2021.

After her inaugural season in Europe, Odyssey will then continue its inaugural year in Fort Lauderdale, FL with 8- and 6-night Caribbean itineraries.

Odyssey has been under construction since the steel cutting ceremony in February 2019, but delivery was delayed due to the impact of the global health crisis.

There is a new Odyssey of the Seas construction photo shared with the public, although there are quite a bit of objects blocking a view of the ship.

November 16 photo

Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship is under construction in Hall 6 of Meyer Werft shipyard. 

The photo was released by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

Odyssey of the Seas is scheduled to sail in Spring 2021, with newly added sailings in April from Southampton and Barcelona.

November 10 photo

Once Odyssey completes these new sailings, she will spend her summer in Rome offering sailing Eastern Mediterranean cruises.

Finally, Odyssey will head to the United States for her North American debut in November 2021. There she will continue her inaugural year in Fort Lauderdale, FL with 8- and 6-night Caribbean itineraries.

Delivery still on schedule

Royal Caribbean has confirmed that Odyssey of the Seas is on schedule for her 2021 delivery.

While she was originally scheduled to begin sailings this month before construction delays impacted the timeline, Odyssey of the Seas is on scheduled to join the fleet for a Spring 2021 delivery.

The ship's current delivery date appears to be accurate, as Royal Caribbean Group confirmed this week in its third quarter earnings report that Royal Caribbean Group has allocated funds for delivery of Odyssey of the Seas during the first quarter of 2021.

Some cruise fans have also noted the fact Royal Caribbean added earlier sailings from Southampton and Barcelona to be a positive sign that the ship is going to be delivered on time.

Odyssey will differentiate herself from other Royal Caribbean cruise ships by offering a "next generation SeaPlex" that will have the addition of this venue’s first Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade with club-level views of the competition below; a reimagined Adventure Ocean kids program and a maxed-out teen lounge with gaming consoles, music and movies.

Dining on Odyssey of the Seas will be top notch as well, with the ship offing Teppanyaki and Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar.