Construction work has officially started on Genting Hong Kong's Global-class cruise ship with the steel-cutting ceremony at MV Werften's Wismar and Rostock shipyards in Germany.
Both sites will be needed to manufacture the 204,000GT ship, the largest to be built in Germany.
Scheduled to be delivered at the end of 2020, about 600 companies will be involved in the construction process.
Genting Chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said the €210 million (US$258.5 million) investment in the shipyard was starting to reap rewards.
"The Global-class ships will follow the embrace of Asians of artificial intelligence in their daily lives, with facial and voice recognition for most services onboard and robots to perform mundane tasks, allowing the crew to focus on service delivery," says Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.
They are designed specifically for the Asian cruise market and feature a cineplex, theme park, Asian spa, numerous dining experiences including fast food alternatives, and multiple shopping facilities.
The 342-metre by 46.4-metre ships can accommodate about 5,000 passengers in 2,500 cabins based on a twin share basis.
Construction on the second Global-class ship will begin in early 2019 for delivery at the end of 2021.