Uncover the technological leaps that allowed the world's biggest cruise ship - the Independence of the Seas - to be developed. The ship cost US$800 million to build, carries her passengers in unrivalled luxury and is manned by a crew of 1,360 who occupy a vast behind-the-scenes world of control rooms, kitchens and engine spaces. Longer than 5 jumbo jets and weighing more than 80,000 family cars, explore how this gargantuan ship was made possible through a series of six historic breakthroughs on liners such as the SS Great Britain and RMS Queen Mary, that allowed engineers to build ever-larger ships.

• John Michie
• Rick D. Wasserman