| FREEDOM of the SEAS |
| Except where otherwise indicated, articles and photos are by and copyright Richard H. Wagner |
Captain Carlos Perdicini on the bridge
of FREEDOM OF THE SEAS.
of FREEDOM OF THE SEAS.
THE NEW TITLE
HOLDER
By Richard H. Wagner
(Originally published in The Log, Navy League of the
United States, New York Council, (Summer 2006).
HOLDER
By Richard H. Wagner
(Originally published in The Log, Navy League of the
United States, New York Council, (Summer 2006).
On 10 May 2006, FREEDOM OF THE SEAS
entered New York harbor for the first time. In
succeeding days, she was the location for the
"Today Show" and various other events, tying-up at
the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New
Jersey, and at the Passenger Ship Terminal in
Manhattan. Dwarfing the 50,764 gross ton
NORWEGIAN DAWN, which was in the next slip
when the ship was in New York, FREEDOM OF
THE SEAS is now the world's largest passenger
ship, taking that title from Cunard's QUEEN MARY
2. Captain Carlos Perdicini, formerly of the
Argentine Navy, who stood by FREEDOM while
she was being built in Finland, discussed his ship
with THE LOG.
FREEDOM's statistics are impressive. She is
approximately 154,407 gross tons, 1,112 feet long,
and has a beam of 127 feet at the waterline. Thus,
she is longer than and has about the same beam as
USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76). Like an
aircraft carrier, she towers 208 feet above the water.
The owner of FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is
Royal Caribbean International, one of two cruise
ship lines of Royal Caribbean Ltd.. The number two
cruise ship company, RCL's two "brands," Royal
Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises,
currently operate 28 ships in competition with
industry leader Carnival Corporation, which
operates 81 ships through 12 brands. Captain
Perdicini noted that his line is not content to sit still.
"I have been with this company 16 years and we
have gone far, far. We needed to do that. When I
joined this company [Royal Caribbean International]
I was a second officer and back then, we had only
six ships. Now, we have 20. We should continue.
We have two more ships of this same class within
the next couple of years. Then, we have a new class
called Genesis in three years time. So, we are not
going to stay here. We are going to continue to add
ships to our fleet."
Known for building big ships, Royal Caribbean's
new ships will be as big or bigger than FREEDOM
OF THE SEAS. In addition to two Freedom-class
ships, Royal Caribbean has placed an order for a
6,900 passenger ship, which will be the lead ship in
its Genesis class. Even larger ships may well follow.
Captain Pedericini recalled that when he was an
officer on NORDIC EMPRESS, a not
inconsiderable size ship of 48,533 tons, and he
heard that his company was building the
VOYAGER OF THE SEAS, 138,000 tons, "we
had a lot of questions back then. Are we going to
manage to do that and maintain the same standards,
the safety standards and all our procedures? And
the answer was 'Yes' because of the technology we
have. But, I don't really know when and where we
are going to end. But, it seems we are not going
smaller. We are going bigger. That is the way the
market goes, I think. [Other] major corporations
[i.e. Carnival Corp] also are building big ships. Not
as big as this is but still, 110,000 gross tons [i.e.
CROWN PRINCESS] is a big ship. So, I don't
think we are going to go smaller. But, when we are
going to stop or where, I don't know."
The rationale for building large cruise ships is
straight forward. Just as the airlines achieved
economies of scale when they introduced the jumbo
jets, the cruise lines can reduce overhead by having
more passengers per ship. It is less costly to
operate a 4,000 passenger ship, for example, than
two 2,000 passenger ships. Thus, as long as the
technology exists to build bigger ships and local
authorities are willing to build port facilities to
accommodate them, it makes economic sense to
build bigger. Also, the large ships have the space to
allow the line to install features such as the full size
boxing ring and onboard surfing facility on
FREEDOM. Such features can only used by a
small percentage of the passengers but they make
the ship more interesting and thus generate publicity.
Having so many passengers on a single ship
does pose problems, however. For example, how
do you embark and disembark thousands of
passengers in comfort and within a reasonable time?
Royal Caribbean is taking an incremental approach
to such questions, building upon past experience.
"[FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is] going to be based
in Miami. We have had four Voyager-class ships
based in Miami for the last five years. We have
learned from that experience and we know we can
handle 3,600 guests off and on every time we are in
Miami. Within three and a half hours, 3,600 people
are off the ship [along with] 12,000 pieces of
luggage. Then, we have a couple of hours to get
ready for the next group. We then start
embarkation which takes four hours. We are going
to begin with the FREEDOM having, for a certain
period of time, 3,600 guests only because we know
we can manage that. Every week, we will add
approximately 100 people. Because the difference
between the Voyager-class and the Freedom-class
would be about 600 to 800 people, within one
month to two months time we will be up there to
[FREEDOM's maximum capacity of] 4,300 to
4,400 guests."
Captain Perdicini pointed out that there will be
more people on FREEDOM OF THE SEAS than
live in some of the ports that she will be visiting.
Consequently, a large number of people "are
required to make things happen." At the head of the
1,500-member crew is the captain who acts like the
head of a good size corporation. Reporting directly
to him are: the staff captain, who heads the deck
department, the hotel manager who is responsible
for the passenger services, and the chief engineer,
who is in charge of the ship's engines and operating
systems. Below the department heads are managers
and officers who are in charge of such things as
security, environmental compliance, the ship's
computer systems, the ship's onboard finances,
safety, marketing, and maintenance, as well as the
other duties normally performed by a ship's officers
or by the managers of a large hotel. Accordingly, if
he or she aspires to advancement, a deck officer
must know "not only how to drive a ship but also
how to manage a team. . . ,We do a lot of training
and coaching because you become the leader of a
large team. You have to handle people [so]
management skills are a large part of our training
process."
With modern communications, a ship is no longer
isolated at sea. "We have quite a few of what we
call 'shore side employees' - - former captains, chief
engineers, hotel people. They support the ships
from the shore side. Those people have experience
and a good understanding of what we need, of what
we do every day onboard."
Driving the Hotel
The bridge on FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is a
spacious area 187 feet across with floor to ceiling
windows on three sides. What is immediately
striking about it is how little there is in it. Situated in
the middle of a vast expanse of blue carpeting are
two leather chairs separated by a console. In front
of the chairs is another console with a series of
computer screens. Immediately in front of this
console and directly in front of the windows is a
small helmsman's position with a child-sized wheel.
Except for the docking controls situated on each of
the enclosed bridge wings, that is all the operating
equipment on the bridge. Captain Perdicini joked
that one could play soccer in all of the open space
on the bridge.
entered New York harbor for the first time. In
succeeding days, she was the location for the
"Today Show" and various other events, tying-up at
the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New
Jersey, and at the Passenger Ship Terminal in
Manhattan. Dwarfing the 50,764 gross ton
NORWEGIAN DAWN, which was in the next slip
when the ship was in New York, FREEDOM OF
THE SEAS is now the world's largest passenger
ship, taking that title from Cunard's QUEEN MARY
2. Captain Carlos Perdicini, formerly of the
Argentine Navy, who stood by FREEDOM while
she was being built in Finland, discussed his ship
with THE LOG.
FREEDOM's statistics are impressive. She is
approximately 154,407 gross tons, 1,112 feet long,
and has a beam of 127 feet at the waterline. Thus,
she is longer than and has about the same beam as
USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76). Like an
aircraft carrier, she towers 208 feet above the water.
The owner of FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is
Royal Caribbean International, one of two cruise
ship lines of Royal Caribbean Ltd.. The number two
cruise ship company, RCL's two "brands," Royal
Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises,
currently operate 28 ships in competition with
industry leader Carnival Corporation, which
operates 81 ships through 12 brands. Captain
Perdicini noted that his line is not content to sit still.
"I have been with this company 16 years and we
have gone far, far. We needed to do that. When I
joined this company [Royal Caribbean International]
I was a second officer and back then, we had only
six ships. Now, we have 20. We should continue.
We have two more ships of this same class within
the next couple of years. Then, we have a new class
called Genesis in three years time. So, we are not
going to stay here. We are going to continue to add
ships to our fleet."
Known for building big ships, Royal Caribbean's
new ships will be as big or bigger than FREEDOM
OF THE SEAS. In addition to two Freedom-class
ships, Royal Caribbean has placed an order for a
6,900 passenger ship, which will be the lead ship in
its Genesis class. Even larger ships may well follow.
Captain Pedericini recalled that when he was an
officer on NORDIC EMPRESS, a not
inconsiderable size ship of 48,533 tons, and he
heard that his company was building the
VOYAGER OF THE SEAS, 138,000 tons, "we
had a lot of questions back then. Are we going to
manage to do that and maintain the same standards,
the safety standards and all our procedures? And
the answer was 'Yes' because of the technology we
have. But, I don't really know when and where we
are going to end. But, it seems we are not going
smaller. We are going bigger. That is the way the
market goes, I think. [Other] major corporations
[i.e. Carnival Corp] also are building big ships. Not
as big as this is but still, 110,000 gross tons [i.e.
CROWN PRINCESS] is a big ship. So, I don't
think we are going to go smaller. But, when we are
going to stop or where, I don't know."
The rationale for building large cruise ships is
straight forward. Just as the airlines achieved
economies of scale when they introduced the jumbo
jets, the cruise lines can reduce overhead by having
more passengers per ship. It is less costly to
operate a 4,000 passenger ship, for example, than
two 2,000 passenger ships. Thus, as long as the
technology exists to build bigger ships and local
authorities are willing to build port facilities to
accommodate them, it makes economic sense to
build bigger. Also, the large ships have the space to
allow the line to install features such as the full size
boxing ring and onboard surfing facility on
FREEDOM. Such features can only used by a
small percentage of the passengers but they make
the ship more interesting and thus generate publicity.
Having so many passengers on a single ship
does pose problems, however. For example, how
do you embark and disembark thousands of
passengers in comfort and within a reasonable time?
Royal Caribbean is taking an incremental approach
to such questions, building upon past experience.
"[FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is] going to be based
in Miami. We have had four Voyager-class ships
based in Miami for the last five years. We have
learned from that experience and we know we can
handle 3,600 guests off and on every time we are in
Miami. Within three and a half hours, 3,600 people
are off the ship [along with] 12,000 pieces of
luggage. Then, we have a couple of hours to get
ready for the next group. We then start
embarkation which takes four hours. We are going
to begin with the FREEDOM having, for a certain
period of time, 3,600 guests only because we know
we can manage that. Every week, we will add
approximately 100 people. Because the difference
between the Voyager-class and the Freedom-class
would be about 600 to 800 people, within one
month to two months time we will be up there to
[FREEDOM's maximum capacity of] 4,300 to
4,400 guests."
Captain Perdicini pointed out that there will be
more people on FREEDOM OF THE SEAS than
live in some of the ports that she will be visiting.
Consequently, a large number of people "are
required to make things happen." At the head of the
1,500-member crew is the captain who acts like the
head of a good size corporation. Reporting directly
to him are: the staff captain, who heads the deck
department, the hotel manager who is responsible
for the passenger services, and the chief engineer,
who is in charge of the ship's engines and operating
systems. Below the department heads are managers
and officers who are in charge of such things as
security, environmental compliance, the ship's
computer systems, the ship's onboard finances,
safety, marketing, and maintenance, as well as the
other duties normally performed by a ship's officers
or by the managers of a large hotel. Accordingly, if
he or she aspires to advancement, a deck officer
must know "not only how to drive a ship but also
how to manage a team. . . ,We do a lot of training
and coaching because you become the leader of a
large team. You have to handle people [so]
management skills are a large part of our training
process."
With modern communications, a ship is no longer
isolated at sea. "We have quite a few of what we
call 'shore side employees' - - former captains, chief
engineers, hotel people. They support the ships
from the shore side. Those people have experience
and a good understanding of what we need, of what
we do every day onboard."
Driving the Hotel
The bridge on FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is a
spacious area 187 feet across with floor to ceiling
windows on three sides. What is immediately
striking about it is how little there is in it. Situated in
the middle of a vast expanse of blue carpeting are
two leather chairs separated by a console. In front
of the chairs is another console with a series of
computer screens. Immediately in front of this
console and directly in front of the windows is a
small helmsman's position with a child-sized wheel.
Except for the docking controls situated on each of
the enclosed bridge wings, that is all the operating
equipment on the bridge. Captain Perdicini joked
that one could play soccer in all of the open space
on the bridge.
During a normal day at sea, the two leather chairs
are occupied by two watch officers, the first officer
and a second officer. Coming in and out of port,
these positions are occupied by the captain and the
pilot. Similarly, during times of more severe weather
or of greater traffic, the watch officers must yield their
chairs to the captain and the staff captain.
These chairs are not simply recliners designed to
prevent the ship's officers from getting sore feet.
Rather, in the armrests of each chair is a joystick and
a series of controls that allow the officers to
maneuver the ship. On the console in front of the
chairs and within arms reach are electronic charts, a
GPS positioning system display, communications
equipment, autopilot, and controls for the engines.
The ship's computers allow the officers to shift
seamlessly from autopilot to manual to satellite-
guided operation. "There is a lot of sophistication.
But, the human beings need to be here. We train our
officers to be prepared because things may happen.
What we do is we train everybody to know what to
do in the event of an emergency, such as a loss of
power. Then, we go back to basics. The
computers provide information but the final decisions
are by human beings. Also, computers make
mistakes. So, what we end up doing is monitoring
the systems. The fact that we have two officers,
allows us, for example, in something so basic but so
important, to know where we are at a certain period
of time. One officer can take a position by using one
particular way to do it, by one means. The other can
double check it by a completely different means."
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is propelled by six
diesel engines feeding power to a fixed pod (i.e., a
conventional propeller shaft arrangement) and two
Azipods. As on QUEEN MARY 2, the pods pull
the ship through the water just as an airplane
propeller pulls a plane through the sky. This is more
efficient than pushing the ship through the water
because the blades are turning in undisturbed water,
which allows the full force of the blade to go to
propulsion. During her sea trials, FREEDOM
achieved 23 knots. "We don't need that much. We
don't make our itineraries to require 23 knots."
The Azipods, which can rotate 360 degrees,
along with four bow thrusters, also give the ship great
maneuverability. As a result, FREEDOM does not
need tugs even when docking in places where there is
a substantial current such as at Cozemel, Mexico or
at the Passenger Ship Terminal.
Life Onboard
Royal Caribbean International targets the
"contemporary" cruise markets. What this means is
that its ships are more informal than lines such as
Holland America, Cunard, or even its sister brand,
Celebrity Cruises. However, because the line also
seeks to serve the “premium” market, it does not
dispense with luxury altogether.
This dual approach can be seen in the décor of
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS. Some of the rooms
such as the 445-foot long, multi-story Royal
Promenade - - a shopping mall which runs down the
center of the ship - - were designed to be as
spectacular as a Las Vegas casino. In sharp
contrast, the three story main dining room is elegant
and sedate. The alternative dining establishments
range from a Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop to a
wood paneled grill room taken from an English
gentlemen's club.
The same dichotomy is found outside the public
rooms. The cabins are sleekly contemporary with
luxurious touches such as flat panel televisions and
deluxe beds. In the stairways, there is art work but it
is large photographs rather than the oil paintings
found on NOORDAM or QUEEN MARY 2.
According to Royal Caribbean, the art collection on
FREEDOM is valued at over $7 million but it is a
whimsical modern art as typified by the sculptures of
F-18 and F-16 fighters soaring toward the skies at
the top of the central stairway leading to the Royal
Promenade.
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS was designed with
Caribbean cruising in mind. As a result, the upper
deck is devoted to warm weather activities. Indeed,
the top deck appeared to have enough deck chairs to
accommodate the entire passenger list at maximum
capacity. In amongst the deck chairs are three large
pool areas. One area, designed with children in
mind, has a number of brightly colored sculptures and
water spraying in different directions. The next is a
more traditional pool area. The final area is part of
an adult's only "oasis".
While most other lines tolerate families with
children, Royal Caribbean International has made an
effort to reach out to such families. In addition to the
aforementioned pool area, there is a large area for
children and teens with arcade games and loud
music. There are also suites designed for multi-
generational family get-aways. The rock climbing
wall, the surfing simulator, the boxing ring, the sports
pool, and the ice skating rink, all underscore the
effort to reach out to a younger, more active market
than has been traditionally associated with cruising.
Indeed, there is even a wedding chapel onboard.
Dining on FREEDOM is done in the traditional
manner with each passenger being assigned to a table
and a seating. However, there are several alternative
venues, some of which charge an additional fee. The
food in the main dining room was tasty and inventive.
Similarly, there was a wide variety of pizza in
Sorrento's pizzeria that was perfectly satisfactory.
Like most cruise ships these days, FREEDOM
OF THE SEAS has an international crew. During
THE LOG's visit, everyone was courteous and eager
to please. To Captain Perdicini, this is the key to
success: "The element that actually makes people
return to Royal Caribbean