World's largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, nearing completion

Symphony of the Seas

The giant is almost ready. 

New photos from the shipyard building Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas — the largest cruise ship ever — show the vessel rapidly approaching the finishing stages of construction. 

As seen in the carousel above, the new images of the 230,000-ton ship show an exterior now gleaming with a finishing coat of paint and work well under way on outdoor decks including the Boardwalk amusement zone. Boardwalk will be home to a classic carousel, diner, rock climbing walls, the base of a nine-deck-high slide and more. 

Another highlight of the Boardwalk area, an "aqua theater" that will boast daring high-diving and aerial performances, also can be seen nearing completion in the photos.

Royal Caribbean revealed earlier this month that Symphony would be ready weeks ahead of schedule. Now debuting in March instead of April, the vessel has been under construction for more than two years at the giant STX France shipbuilding facility in St. Nazaire, France.

Symphony was floated out from a dry dock at STX France in June, a construction milestone that marked the end of basic exterior work. It is now undergoing months of finishing work to its interior.

Behold the largest cruise ship ever built, Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas. USA TODAY

Symphony will be more than 3,000 tons bigger than the current size leader in the cruise world, Royal Caribbean's 226,963-ton Harmony of the Seas. Like Harmony, Symphony will be part of Royal Caribbean's record-breaking Oasis Class of ships, though it won't be an exact copy of its sisters. Royal Caribbean has unveiled several new features for the vessel including a first-of-its-kind, two-deck-high family suite with a slide between floors.

Symphony is scheduled to sail to the Caribbean out of Miami starting in November 2018. It'll move to the city after spending its first few months operating voyages in the Mediterranean.