seatec - Finnish marine technology review 1/2005 | Page 16

PASSENGER CRUISE SHIP IS BASED ON ECONOMY OF SCALE Freedom of the Seas gives you the freedom of choice The first Ultra Voyager class ship of Royal Caribbean Cruises has been named Freedom of the Seas. In keeping with the name, passengers on board will truly have a freedom of choice. In addition to offering all that luxury hotels do, this leisure centre also moves safely from one place to another at a speed of 22 knots. The fact that you can skate onboard in a small but fully equipped ice skating rink gives an idea of the ship’s amenities. 14 SEATEC 2005 Voyager class ships clear ly changed the face of the cruise industry,” said Richard D. Fain, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd’s Chairman and CEO, at the time when the order was announced. “The Ultra Voyager class will be even more successful than the former class fleet. With reduced capital and operational costs per passenger, the economy of scale will improve even fur ther,” he stated. ” Once the ship is completed in summer 2006, Freedom of the Seas will be the biggest cruise ship in the world. It outsizes the present Voyager class ships by some 15 per cent. An order for the sister ship of Freedom of the Seas has already been placed. She will be launched at Kvaener-Masa Yards’ Turku yard in spring 2007. Ultra Voyager class ships will take 3600 passengers, which is 500 more than the Voyager class liners. At full capacity, there will be two passengers per stateroom and a crew of 1400. The length of the ship is 339 metres and the breadth nearly 39 metres. The ship represents a new wave of innovation in the cruise industr y and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines intends to sail at the crest of it. Photos Aker Finnyards THE OPERATION OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST