ATHENS, Greece -- Mega Crown International Cruise Lines, LLP surprised the cruise industry today with the launch of the first of a new fleet of Extreme-Ultra-Mega cruise ships.

In a prepared statement, Mega Crown International noted that the new ship, called Brobdingnagian, was built in secret over the past six years at the Yatzmar Shipyards hidden deep within Kyrgyzstan.

Company spokesperson, Svelette Minkenopolis said, "The Brobdingnagian represents the state-of-the-art in large vessel design and construction. Moreover, besides amenities and diversions that cruise passengers have come to expect — things like theaters, swimming pools, night clubs and casinos — the Brobdingnagian includes an ice skating rink, an arena football stadium and a par-72, 18 hole golf course."  

The launch of this first Extreme-Ultra-Mega class cruise ship (shown here on her departure from the shipyards) sets the bar very high for this new class of ship. At 550,000 gross tons and 2,330 feet long, the Brobdingnagian, is ten times the size of the Titanic and five times the size of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Yet the cost of its design and construction, according to Mega Crown International, was only $982 million.

The Brobdingnagian will carry a crew of 3,480 and has a capacity for 17,650 passengers. Sea trials of the Brobdingnagian will begin within a month, and the company expects to have her in service for the summer Alaskan cruise season.