The 18-deck vessel with capacity for 4,905 passengers sailed up the Solent early morning and docked at Southampton port.
Greeting the vessel was its godmother, 27-year-old travel agent Emma Wilby, chosen for the honour after a months-long nationwide competition to find a young, talented star from within the travel industry.
Anthem of the Seas is the second of Royal Caribbean's Quantum-class ships.
'Ships like Anthem of the Seas will help attract new groups of people and build the future of cruising,' said Stuart Leven, managing director at Royal Caribbean International. 'The UK and Ireland is our second largest market and with over 1.7m Brits now taking a cruise every year it has huge importance for our business. So we’re over the moon that our latest Quantum-class ship is arriving today for the summer season.’
Royal Caribbean's Dominic Paul, svp International, added: ‘We’re growing our capacity and expanding all over the world, with two new ships launched in the last six months and three on order. Anthem of the Seas will move cruising into a new era of growth.’
More than 80,000 people are anticipated to travel on the ship during the summer season, delivering around £50m to the Southampton economy and surrounding area.
Anthem’s naming takes place in Southampton on April 20.
