PARIS (AP) - Tens of thousands of French well-wishers waved goodbye to the largest cruise ship in the world as it set sail on its maiden voyage to the U.K. after 32 months in a French shipyard.

The $1 billion Harmony of the Seas cut a gargantuan silhouette Sunday as it left the western port town of Saint-Nazaire.

At 362 meters long, the 16-deck ship is bigger than the Eiffel Tower and holds the record for being the widest cruise ship ever built -- boasting a 6,360-passenger capacity.

It has been compared to a floating city with more than 2,500 staterooms, 20 dining venues, 23 swimming pools and a park with more than 10,000 plants and 50 trees.