Freedom of the Seas is currently the largest cruiser ship in the world. At an
overall length of 338.77 meters (1.111.5 ft), width (beam) of 38.6 m (126.65 ft)
it is truly massive.
After standing in line for a long while in the tent-like structures on the peer
we are finally aboard! Standing on the eleventh deck at the Miami harbor you get
a feeling of the height. In front are a few other cruise ships not much smaller.
The evening starts with a big welcome aboard party with some amazing food
carving art along with food and drinks for everyone (although I had to pay for
the drinks using the special on-board paycard).
The Royal Promenade is perhaps telling for the size of the ship. Completely hidden
inside the ship and is a "street" complete with restaurants and shops. At each
end there are a set of elevators to take you to one of the 15 decks!
On the twelfth deck is a running track all around the ship.
For the grown ups - a casino with black jack, roulette and gambling machines.
SBIers scheduled a number of seminars on board the ship. Here are two of them.
The famous Shelly of
totallytortoise.com meets a tortoise friend.
Our first stop was in Labadee in Haiti. The location is owned by the cruise
line: Royal Caribbean. In a way it feels a little bit more like Disney World
than a real place.
View to Freedom of the Seas is pretty grand though.
A handful of selected locals were allowed to sell stuff in this market. After
venturing inside for a few minutes we were almost "eaten" alive by the
aggressive selling - leaving us with a bunch of unwanted things.
An evening ride on the FlowRider aboard the Freedom was a refreshing ending of
the day.
Dinner in the luxurious restaurant Leonardo...
...and this is what you get when you order "nothing" for desert!
Ocho Rios in Jamaica is the second stop. The Jamaicans seem to be happy -
although there is not a lot of money. Nobody starves, everybody can just pick a
fruit from the nearest tree.
A nice speedboat in the harbor...
...and a jetski to play on!
We'll just head for the Sky Bar.
Every evening when we come into our stateroom cabin a strange animal awaits us.
This time it looks like a dog holding the remote control and watching TV - with
the shades on!
Georgetown in Cayman is considerably richer. The big parrot looks friendly but
can you trust his looks?
We decide to take a tour around to see the sights.
The turtle farm is most memorable - with all sizes and ages of turtles.
The on-board theatre with Broadway style shows is HUGE and same can be said
about the ice-skating hall in the Freedom of the Seas. The fact is the ship is
108,000 tons larger and takes more than 2000 passengers more than the ill fated
RMS Titanic.
Ken Evoy from
SiteSell. Ken is just as amazing to talk to in person as he is online in the
SBI forums. He is so willing to listen to everybody and share some truly
valuable insights. I consider meeting Ken, to be the highlight of the cruise.
In Cozumel "our" ship is parked right beside a slightly smaller sister ship. The
Voyager of the Seas, I think. Perhaps this picture can give you an idea about
the size of those ships.
We took a taxi ride around the island. Here is a real alligator in an alligator
farm in Cozumel.
Beaches in Cozumel look really beautiful. I would like to come and visit again
later and have more time to spend.
Everything is so clean and fresh and the colors are magnificent.
Me and my wife, Álfheiður standing by the ocean shore.
Freedom of the Seas is filled with artwork of all shapes and sizes. This diver
is coming down from the ceiling of the Royal Promenade.
Hope you enjoyed this snapshot of the biggest cruise ship sailing the great
oceans. There is plenty more I don't have the time or space to show you here.
You will have to experience this with your own eyes!
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Freedom Wallpaper
Freedom often means different things to different people. You can
have freedom of choice and you can have freedom of mind, freedom to act and
freedom to move. Strive for freedom and define it in your own words. |
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