Largest Cruise Ship Docks in N.Y. Harbor
The new 4,000-passenger Freedom of the Seas stirred a wave of interest when it docked in N.Y. Harbor prior to sailing to Miami, where its first paying passengers will board.
The world’s largest cruise ship is so immense that even its captain hasn’t finished exploring Royal Caribbean ’s Freedom of the Seas.
“I’m still discovering things,” said Bill Wright, as he walked around the bridge where he sails the ship, while it was docked in Bayonne, N.J.
The newly built Freedom of the Seas, which arrived in New York Harbor from Southampton, Britain, in early May, is 237 feet tall and 1,112 feet long with 15 passenger decks.
Standing upright on its bow, the 160,000-ton ship would be taller than the Eiffel tower.
Built by Norwegian shipbuilder Aker Yards ASA, the ship cost $800 million and can carry more than 4,000 passengers. The world’s previous largest ship, the Queen Mary 2, can carry about 3,000 people and weighs 151,400 tons.
If you want to sail on the new ship, it won’t be cheap.
Prices for seven-day voyages range from $1,900 per couple for an interior room during the low season to nearly $2,500 for the same-size cabin with a balcony during high season, said Cindy Dangel, an on-board sales manager.
A deluxe room that sleeps 14 and costs $22,000 during peak season isn’t available until 2008, she said.
A three-level dining room seats 2,140. There are more than 2,000 deck chairs and an ice-skating rink. The fitness center measures 9,700 square feet and includes a boxing ring. The spa provides luxuries from teeth whitening to massages and a 13th-floor deck offers a rock climbing wall and a big wave pool with simulated surfing.
Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s newest liner docked in New York Harbor and Cape Liberty in Bayonne prior to its May 18 departure to Boston.
The ship’s maiden voyage sailed from Hamburg, Germany, to Oslo, Norway. The first paying customers will board in Miami in June, for a trip to the western Caribbean.
Passengers will find a mall-like promenade, with shops, a pizza place and wine bar on the fifth deck that also includes a bridge used for small circus acts.
Also nearby is a party room called Pharaoh’s Place, which is decorated with Egyptian-looking statues and columns painted in yellows, oranges, blues, and greens.
While the ship’s New York area arrival is generating big buzz, its grand scale might not appeal to everyone.
Bigger isn’t always better, and a large ship can be overwhelming and impersonal, said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of cruisecritic.com, a Web site devoted to cruise travel information.