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The Quantum of the Seas will be some 20 percent more fuel efficient per passenger than the Oasis-class ships, according to Royal Caribbean Cruises Chairman and CEO Richard Fain.
Driving those savings on the 4,100-passenger will not only be a new hull design, but also a complete air lubrication system, the first full system on a cruise ship.
Under wraps until a press conference at the shipyard on Monday, the system generates air bubbles that are directed under the hull, allowing the ship to glide more easily through the water.
Fain said the system would save roughly 4 percent in fuel burn.
The air bubble system has been rumored to be in various stages of testing on Celebrity’s Solstice-class ships, also delivered from Meyer Werft. Fain noted the system had been under testing on other ships in the Royal Caribbean Cruises fleet, but did not elaborate.
