Sovereign class cruise ship

The Sovereign class is Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's third generation of cruise ships, currently being operated by Royal Caribbean International and Pullmantur Cruises.

The three ships of the class were built in Saint-Nazaire, France at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards. The first modern "megaships" to be built, they also were the first series of cruise ships to include a multi-story atrium with glass elevators. They also had a single deck devoted entirely to cabins with private balconies instead of oceanview cabins. The first ship, the Sovereign of the Seas launched in 1988, was the world's largest passenger ship in service, breaking the record held by the SS Norway (originally designed as an ocean liner. Sovereign held this distinction until 1990 when Norway succeeded her after being refurbished with the addition of two more decks. In 1991, Royal Caribbean International launched a slightly modified sister ship, the Monarch of the Seas. In 1992, the line launched its third and final sister ship, the Majesty of the Seas. These ships were among the largest modern cruise ships to sail during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

During that time, other major cruise lines also followed suit, building ships that included many of the same features and similar dimensions as the Sovereign class. Carnival Cruise Lines launched the Fantasy class in 1990, comparable in size to the Sovereign class and also featuring a multi-story atrium with glass elevators. Princess Cruises also countered by launching two ships in 1990 and 1991 to compete with the Sovereign class, the Crown Princess and the Regal Princess. They also featured an atrium and two decks devoted to cabins with private balconies instead of windowed "oceanview" cabins. Since then, newer and larger ships have exceeded the size of the Sovereign-class ships. 'They are less than half the size of the Freedom-class ships and about a third the size of Oasis-class ships.

In 2007, Monarch of the Seas became the first major cruiseliner in the world to be captained by a woman, the Swede Karin Stahre Janson, who remained the only one until 2010 when the British captain Sarah Breton took charge of MS Artemis of P&O Cruises.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd transferred Sovereign of the Seas and Monarch of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International to their Pullmantur Cruises subsidiary in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Plans to transfer Majesty of the Seas to Pullmantur in 2016 had been announced in November 2014, however in July 2015, Royal Caribbean reversed those plans, instead stating that Majesty of the Seas would stay with Royal Caribbean International and be receiving a massive overhaul and upgrade in early 2016 to bring her up to today's standards.