SOUTHAMPTON (Reuters) - The world's largest cruise ship docked in England on Saturday ahead of its inaugural trip -- a floating behemoth four times the size of the anic, with facilities never imagined at the dawn of the liner age.
At 158,000 tonnes, the Freedom of the Seas offers a pool with artificial waves for surfers, an ice rink and cantilevered whirlpools that extend out from the sides of the ship, 112 feet above the sea.
The vessel, which will sail next Wednesday for New York before heading to its Miami base from where it will ply the Caribbean trade, wrested the crown as the world's biggest liner from the 151,000-tonne Queen Mary 2 launched over two years ago.
The ship can hold over 3,600 guests, is 15 decks high and is the length of 37 buses.
The gleaming white vessel edged into Southampton port, southern England on a sunny morning on Saturday and will be welcomed with a fireworks display in the evening.
The vessel will entertain guests including VIPs and travel journalists in Southampton before traveling to New York, where a naming ceremony will take place.
But Freedom's time at the top may be short-lived amid talk of even larger ships. A vessel codenamed Project Genesis is already set to make an appearance in 2009 at 220,000 tonnes.
The U.S.-Norwegian owners Royal Caribbean say Freedom of the Seas was designed to appeal to the broadest consumer base possible.
But although the industry appears committed to building ever-larger ships, there is disquiet among some operators that vessels are becoming too big and the market too crowded.
Earlier this month, the head of rival Carnival said it was shifting away from the dominant Caribbean market which has been weakened recently by hurricane fears and lower demand. Carnival said it would shift focus toward the Alaskan and European markets.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060429/...itain_liner_dc
(has video)
I've been fortunate enough to go on a cruise in both the Carribean (Royal Carribean's Adventurer of the Seas) and Alaska (RC's Radiance of the Seas- at the time, the largest cruise ship in the Carrib). It is rediculous what they can put on those boats. Basketball courts, ice rinks, preformance theaters, movie screens, two-story gyms, several clubs, many many restaurants and a massive main dining room.
But I doubt I will ever experience anything more beautiful than the Alaskan landscape.
I think they hired the Schlitterbahn folks to help build the power surf thing. (They have a side business selling waterpark rides).
MGM has done cruise ships before, so that's not unrealistic. They almost have a monopoly as far as the higher-end waterpark stuff goes.
We went to Alaska on Norweigan Spirit. It wasn't a HUGE ship but it was amazingly beautiful. Alaska's wonderful, probably the best trip I've ever gone on.
Adventure of the Seas is a pretty big ship. It docks in St. Maarten every week.
Any pics?
We're going on a cruise with Celebrity (sister company of Royal Carribrean) on the Millennium around the Mediterranean at the end of May. Hitting Venice, Rome, Athens, Pisa, Monaco, some of Greek Isles, and a few others. 14-day cruise with only 2 days at sea. It is going to be the .
I will take pictures. And I will watermark them so they can't be stolen.
^ AWESOME!!!! I'm dyin to go for a European cruise... Doubt it'll work out this year.. But I'm tryin to convince my parents to hit Mexico..
When I was in Aruba the ship that was the largest in the world prior to the QM2 was docked there... that was one big mofo.
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