Cruise News: 'Spectrum' Keel Laying

Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, Spectrum of the Seas, keel laying ceremony took place at the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany this week. During the ceremony, newly minted coins were placed under the keel and will stay in place there until the end of the ship’s construction. Once the ship is near to completion, the coins are retrieved and presented to the ship’s Captain and crew to be placed onboard the ship. According to maritime tradition, the coins are said to bring luck to the ship during its construction process and then to its Captain and crew when she is sailing out at sea.