SPANNING more than three football fields and carrying about 5000 passengers, Ovation of the Seas will be the biggest cruise ship to visit Australia when it sails into Sydney from late 2016.
The 348m ship, which is being built by Royal Caribbean in Germany at a cost of $US1 billion ($A1.31 billion), will be home-ported in Sydney from December next year for two years.
It will also be home-ported in New Zealand during summer.
Features included "bionic bar", where a robot will mix cocktails; a golf course; and a Jamie Oliver restaurant, Royal Caribbean regional vice-president Gavin Smith said in Sydney on Wednesday.
However, the company's announcement was dampened by confirmation the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating after hundreds of people suffered vomiting and diarrhoea on two Royal Caribbean ships, the Celebrity Infinity and Legend of the seas, which are docked in San Diego.
AAP