MIAMI, Florida - Cruise giant Royal Caribbean has taken delivery of third of the second-largest class of cruise ships ever built, the 4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas.

At a signing ceremony in Bremerhaven, Germany, Royal Caribbean Cruises chairman and CEO Richard Fain officially received the 16-deck vessel from Meyer Werft shipyard.

Anthem of the Seas is 168,666-tons and a sister ship to Royal Caribbean's much-hyped Quantum of the Seas, which launched in October with a number of first-for-the-industry features such as a deck-top ride into the sky and a bar with robot bartenders.

Concepts such as these will also be included aboard Anthem of the Seas, which cost US $950-million to build. That price tag makes her the second-most expensive cruise ship ever built after Royal Caribbean's Oasis and Allure of the Seas, which are also the two largest cruise ships ever built.

The Quantum Class cruise ships are being billed as the most technologically advanced cruise vessels in the world, with fast internet and an all-digital check-in process that is cutting sidewalk-to-ship boarding times to under 10 minutes.

Other tech features include the first skydiving simulators and bumper cars at sea.

Anthem and Quantum of the Seas are smaller in size only to two other Royal Caribbean ships: Four-year-old Allure of the Seas and five-year-old Oasis of the Seas, which are near-identical sister ships.

With the addition of Anthem, Royal Caribbean now has 23 vessels, but will soon launch Ovation of the Seas, the third Quantum Class ship on order.

Anthem will sail to Southampton, UK, where it will be christened on April 20 in front of more than 1,000 invited guests.

The cruise ship will be homeported in Southampton through to October sailing to the Mediterranean and Canary Islands before being permanently moved to New York.

During her year-round cruise program from the US, the ship will sail from New Jersey's Cape Liberty Cruise Port to Bermuda, the Caribbean, and Canada and New England.