MS Freedom of the Seas
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 Freedom of the Seas off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico in its maiden voyage. |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Freedom of the Seas |
| Namesake: | Royal Caribbean's Freedom Class of cruise ships |
| Owner: | Royal Caribbean International |
| Operator: | Royal Caribbean International |
| Port of registry: |  Bahamas |
| Ordered: | September 2003 |
| Builder: | STX Europe |
| Cost: | US $~800,000,000 (~550m Euro or GB£500m) |
| Laid down: | November 9, 2004 |
| Christened: | May 12, 2006 at Bayonne, NJ on New York Harbor by Katherine Louise Calder[1] |
| Maiden voyage: | 4 June 2006 (Caribbean)[1] |
| In service: | 4 June 2006 |
| Status: | In service |
| Notes: | CDC sanitation score: 100% (2008-08-24)[2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Freedom-class cruise ship |
| Tonnage: | 154,407 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 1,111.9 ft (338.91 m) |
| Beam: | 126.64 ft (38.60 m) waterline 184 ft (56.08 m) extreme (bridge wings) , |
| Height: | 209 ft (63.7 m or 15 decks high) |
| Draught: | 28 ft (8.53 m) |
| Decks: | 18 total decks, 15 passenger decks |
| Installed power: | Six Wärtsilä 46 V12 diesels each rated at 12.6 MW (~17,000hp) driving electric generators at 514 rpm. |
| Propulsion: | Three ABB Azipod podded electric propulsion units, two of them azimuthing, one fixed. 4 additional bow thrusters. |
| Speed: | 21.6-knot (40 km/h; 25 mph) |
| Capacity: | 4,370 passengers |
| Crew: | 1,360 crew |
MS Freedom of the Seas is a cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. It is the namesake of Royal Caribbean's Freedom Class of cruise ships, and can accommodate 3,634 passengers[3] and 1,300 crew[citation needed] on fifteen passenger decks. Freedom of the Seas was the largest passenger ship ever built (by gross tonnage) until construction of the Oasis Class ships in late 2009, also owned by Royal Caribbean International.
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[edit] Construction
The Freedom of the Seas was built at the Aker Yards drydock in Turku, Finland, which also is building the other ships of the Freedom Class. Upon its completion, it became the largest passenger ship ever built, taking that honor from Cunard's RMS Queen Mary 2.
Freedom of the Seas is 2.4 metres narrower than QM2 at the waterline, 6 metres shorter, has 1.5 metres less draft, is 8.3 metres less tall and 10 mph slower. Freedom however is the larger ship in terms of gross tonnage. While its gross tonnage was estimated to range from 154,000 GT[4] to 160,000 GT,[5] its official rating by Det Norske Veritas, a Norwegian marine classification society, is 154,407 GT,[6] compared with QM2's 148,528 GT. Freedom of the Seas had the highest gross tonnage of any passenger ship yet built, until the 2009 completion of the Oasis of the Seas.
[edit] Features
The ship features three swimming areas: an interactive water park, a dedicated adult pool and the main pool. There are 2 adults only whirlpools cantilevered out from the ship's sides, the Royal Promenade sports, a coffee shop, Sorrento's Pizzeria, a Ben and Jerry's ice-cream shop, Vintage's winery, the Bull and Bear Irish pub, and many Duty-free shops. The 13th deck features a sports area with amenities such as a rock climbing wall, the FlowRider (an onboard wave generator for surfing), a miniature golf course and a full size basketball court. Other items include an ice skating rink, a casino, a Johnny Rockets restaurant, Wi-Fi capabilities throughout the ship, flat panel televisions in all staterooms, and cell phone connectivity.
[edit] Career
Freedom of the Seas was docked at Blohm und Voss in Hamburg, Germany on 17 April 2006 to repair a damaged bearing in one of the three Azipod propulsion units and to put on some of the finishing touches prior to its official handover to Royal Caribbean International on 24 April 2006. It then departed to Oslo, Norway on 25 April for official festivities. It then sailed for Southampton, England on 27 April and arrived at 9am on 29 April. The ship sailed on its first transatlantic crossing on 3 May 2006.
Freedom of the Seas arrived in New York Harbor USA for its official naming ceremony on 12 May 2006 which was broadcast live on NBC's The Today Show from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey (the ship's official New York berth), and thereafter travelled to Boston for the weekend of May 19-22. It began operations out of Miami with its first cruise and maiden voyage on June 4, sailing to western Caribbean locations in Mexico, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica as well as Labadee, in Haiti, one of Royal Caribbean's private resorts.
The added width of the ship is utilized by the interior promenade extending through the upper decks of the ships. This gives all upper level cabins a window, either to the port or starboard side or inwards to the promenade. This design was first used in the cruiseferry M/S Silja Serenade in 1990 and its twin ship, M/S Silja Symphony in 1991.
For America's Next Top Model Cycle 9 casting the ship was used for the setting.
On May 4, 2009, Freedom of the Seas moved its home port from the Port of Miami-Dade to Port Canaveral, where it replaced Mariner of the Seas.[7][8]
[edit] Facts and figures
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009) |
- The ship has 30 lifeboats.
- It is about 229 ft (69.80 m) longer, about 108,000 GT larger, and can accommodate 2,147 more passengers than RMS Titanic.
- It has 75,000 lightbulbs and 4,700 works of art, and uses 35,000 kg of ice daily.
- It has 1.5 million tiles in the bathrooms, shower rooms, etc.
- The largest suite, the Presidential Suite, is 113 square meters, accommodates 14 people and has ten flat panel TVs, a private whirlpool, a wet bar, and a Yamaha GC1 baby-grand piano.
- Rooms for the maiden voyage were priced from $1,900 to $22,000 for the week.
- It consumes approximately 28,000 pounds (12,800 kg) of fuel per hour[9], enough to refill a 13 gallon tank in a car at one tank a week for over six years.
- It is one of the few ships with 4 bow thrusters on each side with 8 bow thrusters in total.
[edit] Provisions
During a typical week long cruise, the Freedom of the Seas goes through the following amount of food:
- 234,000 appetizers (6 appetizers per day per person); 105,000 meals and 300,680 desserts (7.5 desserts per day per person)
- 20,000 lbs. of beef, including 69,000 steaks (1.7 steaks per day per person)
- 12,000 lbs. of chicken
- 4,000 lbs. of seafood; 2,500 lbs. of salmon and 1,400 lbs. of lobster
- 65,000 lbs. of fresh vegetables and 35,000 lbs. of fresh fruits (2.5 lbs. of fruit and veg per day per person)
- 5,800 lbs. of cheese
- 28,000 fresh eggs
- 18,000 slices of pizza
- 8,000 gallons of ice cream
- 1,500 lbs. of coffee and 1,500 gallons of milk
- 11,500 cans of soda; 19,200 bottles and cans of beer and 2,900 bottles of wine
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Freedom of the Seas". Royal Caribbean International. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?br=R&shipClassCode=FR&shipCode=FR. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ "Cruise Ships Inspection Score for MS Freedom of the Seas". Vessel Sanitation Program. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008-08-24. http://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/Forms/InspectionScoresAll.aspx?Vessel=7360.
- ^ Freedom of the Seas at Royal Caribbean]
- ^ Technical information - Aker Yards ASA
- ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Giant cruise ship thrills Hamburg
- ^ DNV Exchange - FREEDOM OF THE SEAS - Summary
- ^ Port Canaveral
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.wartsila.com/Wartsila/global/docs/en/ship_power/products/4str/figures_w46.pdf
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: MS Freedom of the Seas |
- National Geographic Channel
- Aker Yards, Finland
- Freedom of the Seas Official Website
- Freedom of the Seas UK Official Website
- Royal Caribbean's Official Website
- Royal Caribbean's Official UK Website
- BBC News "Final polish at Germany's Blohm and Voss shipyard"
- Aftenposten Norway "World's largest cruise ship in Oslo"
- BBC News "Massive cruise ship arrives in UK"
- BBC News "Huge cruise ship leaves UK shores"
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Queen Mary 2 |
World's largest passenger ship 2006 – 2009 |
Succeeded by Oasis of the Seas |
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