MS Freedom of the Seas

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This article is about the ship. For the concept in international law and admiralty law, see Freedom of the seas.

General Characteristics
M/S Freedom of the Seas


Built:	Aker Finnyards (Turku, Finland)
Ordered:	September 2003
Laid down:	November 9, 2004
Launched:	August 22, 2005
Christened:	May 12, 2006 at Bayonne, NJ on New York Harbor
Maiden Voyage:	9 June 2006 (Caribbean)
Status:	In Service
Tonnage:	160,000 Gross Tons
Displacement:	95,000 tonnes
Draft:	28 feet or 8.5 meters
Length:	338.77 m (1,111.5 ft)overall, 303.21 m (994.82 ft) between perpendiculars.
Beam:	38.6 m (126.65 ft) waterline, 56.0 m (183.7 ft) extreme (bridge wings)
Height:	63.7 m (18 Decks High)
Power:	Six Wartsila 46 V12 diesels each rated at 12.6 MW (~17,000hp) driving electric generators at 514 rpms.
Propulsion:	Three ABB Azipod podded electric propulsion units, two of them azimuthing, one fixed. 4 additional bow thrusters.
Speed:	21.6 knots (40 km/h)
Complement:	4,370 passengers; 1,360 crew
Cost:	About US $947,000,000 (~750m Euro or GB£520m)

M/S Freedom of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship. The 18-deck ship is the largest cruise and passenger ship in existence. She is 2.4 meters narrower than the Queen Mary 2, 6 meters shorter, and has 1.5 meters less draft. However, at 160,000 tons, Freedom of the Seas has more gross tonnage than QM2's 151,400; Freedom has the highest gross tonnage of any passenger ship ever built. She likely will keep that title until construction of her owner's Genesis class ships.

1 Overview
2 Facts about the ship
3 External links
4 Gallery

[edit] Overview

The ship features three swimming areas; an interactive water park, a dedicated adult pool and the main pool. Also, there are 2 whirlpools which extend from each of the ship's sides. In addition to these luxuries 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, Wi-Fi capabilities throughout the ship, flat panel televisions in all staterooms, and cell phone connectivity.

The ship under construction at Aker Finnyards in Turku.

The Freedom of the Seas was built at the Aker Finnyards drydock in Turku, Finland which is also building her sister ship, Liberty of the Seas (scheduled for delivery in 2007). A third ship, Independence of the Seas is (scheduled for delivery)in 2008.

Freedom was docked at Blohm und Voss in Hamburg, Germany on 17 April 2006 for final touches prior to her official hand over to Royal Caribbean International on 24 April 2006. Following this, she departed first to Oslo, Norway on 25 April for some official festivites before making her way to Southampton, England on 27 April (arriving at 9am on 29 April) prior to her first transatlantic crossing on 3 May 2006.

Freedom arrived in New York Harbor USA for her 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 (which is the ship's official New York berth), and thereafter travelled to Boston for the weekend of May 19-22. She began operations out of Miami with her 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. In December 2006, the cruise returned to Miami with 380 sick passangers and crew, attributed by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line officials to being the norovirus. It was likely brought on board on November 26 by an ill passenger. All on board were treated with over the counter medication. Crew members also sanitized the ship.^[1]

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 and her sister ship in 1990.

In 2009, the first in a new Genesis class of ships is slated to displace the Freedom class as the world's largest passenger ship.

[edit] Facts about the ship

She has 30 lifeboats.
She is about 229 ft. longer, has 113,672 more gross tonnage, and can accommodate 2,147 more passengers than the RMS Titanic.
Her operating costs are $1 million per day.
She has 750,000 lightbulbs and 4,700 works of art, and uses 35,000 kg of ice daily.
The largest suite is 113 square meters, sleeps 14 people and has five flat panel TVs, a private whirlpool, and a wet bar.
Rooms for the maiden voyage were priced from $1,900 to $22,000 for the week. As routine service continues, starting room rates are expected to descend as low as $700 for cruises scheduled in the autumn of 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] Gallery

Freedom of the Seas cruising the river Elbe in Germany	Freedom of the Seas going to dock in Hamburg	Freedom of the Seas – Hamburg Cruise Center – April 24, 2006	Freedom of the Seas in Oslo, April 26, 2006
Freedom of the Seas Labadee, Haiti July 21, 2006	H2OZone (children's pool) aboard Freedom of the Seas	Artist's Rendering of the Main Pool	Royal Promenade aboard Freedom of the Seas
The Flowrider aboard Freedom of the Seas