PARIS (AP) -- Tens of thousands of French well-wishers waved goodbye to the largest cruise ship in the world as it set sail on its maiden voyage to the U.K. after 32 months in a French shipyard.
The $1 billion Harmony of the Seas cut a gargantuan silhouette Sunday as it left the western port town of Saint-Nazaire.
At 362 meters (1,187 feet) long, the 16-deck ship is bigger than the Eiffel Tower and holds the record for being the widest cruise ship ever built - boasting a 6,360-passenger capacity.
It's been compared to a floating city with more than 2,500 staterooms, 20 dining venues, 23 swimming pools and a park with more than 10,000 plants and 50 trees.
The Harmony of the Seas is expected in Southampton on Tuesday, before its inaugural voyage on May 22 to Barcelona.