Documentary revealing technological leaps that have allowed the world’s biggest cruise ships to be developed. When christened, the 160,000 tonne “Independence of the Seas” was the biggest passenger ship in existence. This Freedomclass cruise liner cost 828 million dollars to build, carrying passengers in unrivalled luxury, and manned by a crew of 1,360 who occupy a vast behindthescenes world of control rooms, kitchens and engine spaces. Longer than 5 jumbo jets and weighing more than 80,000 family cars, this gargantuan ship was made possible through a series of historic engineering breakthroughs.

The film explores six iconic liners, including the SS Great Britain and the RMS Queen Mary, which feature major technological innovations that allowed engineers to build ever larger ships. Using computer generated animation we reveal the incredible stories behind these vessels and the inventions that enabled them to grow. Six ingenious leaps forward that let cruise ships to evolve from BIG, to BIGGER, into the world’s BIGGEST.

00:00 – Introduction
03:24 – Construction – Great Western
11:49 – Propulsion – SS Great Britain
21:13 – Stability – SS Conte di Savoia
27:26 – Layout – SS Normandie
34:40 – Speed – RMS Queen Mary
40:04 – Safety – Independence of the Seas

Episode from the “Big Bigger Biggest” documentary series exploring the engineering breakthroughs that have enabled us to develop some of the largest structures in existence.

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