The age of the mega-ship might secure Colombo's position, but it is some way off.

But little enclaves aside, the Breakaway, at its core, is a true mega-ship.

The mega-ship has its detractors.

The Carnival Fantasy started sailing from there at that time becoming the first mega-ship to call the Port home.

The Ocean Princess will be the fifth mega-ship and 10th ship over all for Princess Cruises in 10 years.

Arguably the most beautiful mega-ship at sea, Celebrity Solstice earns high marks for its whimsical restaurants, trendy lounges and glass-and-light-filled spaces.

As the mega-ship continues to drift towards the horizon, cruisers can kick off their evenings gambling at the onboard casino, dining at one of the 11 restaurants, or dancing under the stars.

The 4,200-passenger mega-ship will have the largest aqua park and ropes course at sea - three decks high - and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle miniature golf course.

The Concordia mega-ship ran aground off the island of Giglio, Italy on Jan. 13 because the captain allegedly deviated from his planned route and struck a reef closer to shore.

Yesterday, for example, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, the parent of Princess Cruises, announced that it had ordered another mega-ship, the 1,950-passenger Ocean Princess, which will cost about $300 million and be delivered in 1999.

Italy's cruise liner tragedy turned into an environmental crisis Monday, as rough seas battering the stricken mega-ship raised fears that fuel might leak into pristine waters off Tuscany that are part of a protected sanctuary for dolphins, porpoises and whales.

Basing calculations on a 10,000TEU mega-ship unloading 2,200 boxes at a UK port, the consultants said such diversion costs were a key factor because "without exception, deep-sea ships serving the UK also call at a Benelux port."

Proving that bigger really is better, Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's 5,400-passenger mega-ship, swept the boards in the large-ship class with three category wins, as well as the top ranking for the overall category of Best Large Cruise Ship.

Seabourn Odyssey and the two other new vessels that Seabourn has on order will each carry just 450 guests at double occupancy, where other ultra luxury ships are being designed for up to 750 guests, and the industry's newest mega-ship, once launched, will hold 6,400.

Regent spokesman Andrew Poulton explained that Regent's fuel surcharges are higher because its ships are smaller; fuel economies are such that the per-passenger cost of fuel is higher on a small ship than on a mega-ship, where the costs are spread among thousands of people.

Nausea stirred in Tourville's belly as he looked out at the spreading patterns of wreckage, the life pods and unidentifiable debris which had once been megaton ships of the wall, each with a crew of over five thousand, and wondered how many of them had survived.