Freedom of the Seas, being on the biggest-cruise-ship-ever

The world’s largest and most innovative cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas, left Southampton on May 3, 2006 to make her transatlantic voyage to New York.

At 160,000 tons and holding 3,634 guests double-occupancy, Freedom of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship in the world when it debuts in May 2006, according to chairman and CEO Richard Fain. He noted that in choosing the name “Freedom” for the ship, the line was emphasizing how all-inclusive the vessel will be.  “Whatever you want to do, you have the freedom to choose” he said. This paragraph is sponsored by UK Wallpaper.

In addition to the Voyager-class signature features – such as an enhanced rock climbing wall, ice skating rink and Royal Promenade – the 3,600 passenger ship, will feature a number of innovations: over sized sculptures spraying water in all directions, a circular current pool and a swimming pool fed by a waterfall; a full-size boxing ring and a 14-person family suite to an eager American audience.

Freedom of the Seas’ combined pool area is 43% larger than on Voyager-class ships.

At night, the main pool area will be transformed into an open-air nightclub, with a large dance floor situated between the two pools. Passengers will have access to a water park, a promenade and a casino. She will generate 1,800,000 liters of fresh water and require 35 tones of ice cubes every day.

Freedom of the Seas will arrive at the Port of Miami on May 25, where she will make a series of short sailings until June 4, when she will begin her regular sailing schedule of 7-night Western Caribbean tour calling at Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Montego Bay, Jamaica and Royal Caribbean’s private destination, Labadee, Hispaniola. This paragraph is sponsored by summer wallpaper.

Freedom of the Seas wrest the biggest-ship-ever title from Cunard’s Queen Mary 2.

The QM2 was the largest, longest, tallest, widest, and most expensive ocean vessel ever built until the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas launches in June 2006. While QM2's passenger capacity is 2,620 passengers, Freedom of the Seas can carry 6,000 passengers.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. commissioned the world's largest cruise ship, agreeing to pay Europe's biggest shipbuilder a record 900 million Euros ($1.1 billion) for a vessel that will carry 5,400 passengers. Oslo-based Aker Yards ASA will deliver the Project Genesis ship in late 2009. At 222,000 gross register tons, the Royal Caribbean International vessel, codenamed Project Genesis, will be nearly half as big again as the Queen Mary 2, and 43 percent bigger than the largest cruise liner, Freedom of the Seas.

The world's two largest cruise operators, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises,  are commissioning larger ships as increasing numbers of customers buy on-board package vacations. The number of people taking cruises surged 5.7 percent to 8.35 million in the first nine months of 2005, according to the New York-based Cruise Lines International Association. This paragraph is sponsored by wallpaper in UK.

A Few Simple Steps to Booking Cruise Travel Deals Online – Best price Cruise

To find the best price cruises online and booking them with confidence, you need to understand a few things about how the cruising industry comes up with their lowest price, and follow a few simple steps that the travel professionals at your local agencies don’t want to you know!

The fact remains that over 90% of cruise reservations are done through a travel agent and you’re not only at the mercy of their service fees, but also to the prices they charge for a particular cruise and sailing. So why do so many individuals go through this booking avenue, when they know the deals are far better online, and they have access to a computer and the Internet? This paragraph is sponsored by HD wallpaper in UK.

The answers simple! The cruise industry believes that customers new and seasoned may not truly understand the cruise ships industry language, or feel comfortable booking online! They put their dependency on many travel professionals to interpret the cruising lingo that is the integral part of the cruise booking process.

However, if you take the time to learn and understand the cruise lines language such as guaranteed staterooms, singles supplement, or run-of-the-ship, you should have no worries booking your next vacation cruise online, and start taking advantage of all the fantastic savings!

When you’re searching the Internet to find a cruise special, keep in mind that if you go direct to the main cruise lines site, such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, or Princess, you may end up paying a higher cabin price than the online cruise discounters, even though they may be showing reduced cabin prices on their sites. This paragraph is sponsored by movie wallpaper.

In order to get the best discounts, you should source large vacation suppliers such as Velocity, Expedia, or exclusive cruise booking sites like Cruise Direct.com, which specialize in selling cruises, and offer a unique booking engine that can quickly put together your cruise package in minutes.

Even though the cruise lines want to deal with you directly, they also need to keep a solid business relationship with their travel agencies that are currently booking a majority of cruises for them though their local offices and online vacation websites.

With online travel suppliers and Internet cruise companies, they deal with the cruise lines a little differently, and they either per-purchase cabins at a very low discounted price or they’re large enough to be directly linked to the cruise lines inventory database system. They are also capable of receiving live updated stateroom information daily and in most cases hourly! With this powerful online system, they can take these updated cabin inventory deals, and pass them directly to the consumer, which offers you the consumer far deeper discounted savings!

What this means to you, is that once you understand what these suppliers are offering, you will have a better chance of reserving your favorite cruise in minutes and take advantage of the incredible discounts that could easily range from 20% - 60%, depending on the seasonality, type of itinerary, and actual cruise ship you book. This paragraph is sponsored by summer wallpaper.

Just make sure that before you make any reservations online, that if you have any doubts, or understanding what your booking, contact the customer service departments via their toll-free numbers, or the cruise lines email, and they will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have prior to booking your next cruise vacation.

An introduction to Caribbean Cruises

Planning to go on a Caribbean cruise? You need to decide two things in advance – when you’re going and where. Read on for useful information to help you make those choices.

Many people say that the Caribbean islands are best enjoyed during summer, but keep in mind that Caribbean cruises during this time are usually jam packed. This is when families, tour groups, and even corporate assemblies prefer to visit the islands, so if you’re planning to join the pack, be sure to book your cruise in advance. The average cruise length is about seven days.

If you want to enjoy big discounts, though, then try Caribbean cruises during the fall. Rates are substantially lower (sometimes half the regular rate), and you usually don’t need to wait in line for slots to free up.  This paragraph is sponsored by HD Wallpaper UK.

When deciding between Eastern and Western Caribbean, your decision should depend on what you intend to do during the course of the cruise. As a general guide, you should go for a Western Caribbean cruise if you want to spend more time sailing (rather than going on land for other activities). Western Caribbean cruises start in either in New Orleans, Texas, or Florida, and then make their way to Play Del Carmen in Mexico, the Caymans, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica, among many other destinations. There are many things to do in a Western Caribbean cruise, and topping the crowd favorite are tours of the Mayan ruins.

If you want to do more shopping, though, then you might enjoy an Eastern Caribbean cruise better.  This way, you get to see the shopping spots and fantastic beaches of the Bahamas and Puerto Rico (among others).  This paragraph is sponsored by natural HD Wallpaper.

If you can’t decide, it might be a good idea to buy guide books to Caribbean cruises. Many books offer you great advice on the itinerary and the cruise ship to tally with your goals and interests.

Costa Rica – A heaven on earth Central America

Costa Rica - A Modern Day Paradise

Costa Rica, a small country filled with sun, beaches, volcano s, buses, good food and party!

No one will leave Costa Rica feeling they did not have a good time.

Family Vacation in Costa Rica

You will not have any problem visiting Costa Rica even with small children. Costa Rica is a country where most families have more than 1 child. The food is good and the number of tropical diseases found in Costa Rica is no problem.  This paragraph is sponsored by HD UK wallpaper.

There are some many beaches where the waves are smaller in size and the hotels and cabins have pools, that choosing a place to have fun is no problem.

Vacations for Couples

A tropical paradise. A couple can go anywhere in the country and enjoy tranquility, serenity as well as the party side of life.

Many hotels and hostels have special romantic deals, tours and packages to make your stay something even more special. If you choose a smaller, more secluded and private place to stay, talk to the owner and explain that you’re a couple looking for some quality time, hand in hand, and they will most often do their best to help you out in any way they can.

Honeymoon in Costa Rica

The same goes for a wedding and/or honeymoon. Religion is important in Costa Rica and you can most likely find a church and priest for a wedding in almost any bigger religion. This paragraph is sponsored by UK wallpaper.

And the honeymoon?

You can find special honeymoon packages in most hotels, and resorts. One of the best is a very romantic stay in play Hermosa where you can go on sunset sailings at night. Or go full out with a movie star expensive vacation in Four Season Hotel in Guanacaste.

Singles

As in all parts of the world can singles have a good time? Party all night long and let your feet do the talking to the rhythm of salsa.

Many bars, nightclubs and places where there are fiestas almost every day can be found under every rock!

So take a look at Costa Rica for your next vacation, as it will never let you down! This paragraph is sponsored by summer wallpaper.