RMS Cedric was laid down in 1902 at the shipyard of Harland and Wolff, Belfast. RMS Cedric was the second of White Star's series known as the "Big Four", the other three being , and . Celtic was the first ship to exceed Brunel's SS Great Eastern in overall tonnage, which was quite an accomplishment, considering Brunel's giant ship held the size record for almost 40 years. Except for the Adriatic all of these in turn, when built, would be the largest ship in the world for a short time. RMS Cedric was a 21,035-gross ton ship, long and abeam, with two funnels, four masts, two propellers and a service speed of . There was accommodation for 365 first-, 160 second- and 2352 third-class passengers. She was launched on 21 August 1902, and RMS Cedric commenced her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Ne