Are you ready for the “Royal Reveal?” We’re talking about Royal
Caribbean International’s much-anticipated announcement about a new
cruising “first” on Freedom of the Seas. Debuting in June 2006,
Freedom of the Seas will be the world’s largest cruise ship. Select
media, including TravelAge West, have already received a
sneak preview of the ship, at the Aker Finnyards shipyard in
Finland.
But Royal Caribbean execs were tight-lipped about the big “surprise
feature” that they plan to reveal in a major media event in
Bayonne, N. J. on Aug. 31st.
Rumors are flying about the new onboard attraction on the
158,000-ton ship whose passenger and crew capacity will exceed
5,000. How will the line that brought us the first rock climbing
walls and ice-skating rinks at sea outdo itself this time? Are they
planning to add a roller coaster? Or, perhaps, a skydiving
parachute? (They already have bungee jumping trampolines.)
No doubt, this new top-secret feature is bound to make a splash. In
fact, splash may be the operative word. A source tells
TravelAge West that the new attraction may very well be a
“wave riding” device that will allow passengers to surf
onboard. That wouldn’t surprise anyone who’s seen the
ship’s immense “aqua environment,” which is 43 percent larger than
the pool decks on the line’s Voyager Class of vessels. The aqua
environment already features three separate pool areas, a water
park, waterfall, Jacuzzis cantilevered over the sides of the ship,
and an area that transforms into a disco at night.
Heck, surfing will fit right in.
Royal Caribbean, not surprisingly, is remaining mum until the
31st.
“We’re not commenting on any speculations as to what the new
feature might be. We’ve heard a wide variety of interesting
guesses, though,” said a spokesperson, when asked to comment on the
surfing rumors.
Looks like we’ll have to wait until the official announcement for
confirmation. But we here at TravelAge West are waxing our
surfboards.
www.cruisingpower.com/freedom
