Until now, attempting to surf on a cruise ship involved failure, injury or both. But Royal Caribbean’s soon-to-be-launched Freedom of the Seas will start sailing the Western Caribbean in May with an unprecedented mix of family and adult activities, areas and entertainment—including mid-ocean surfing. Ground-breaking stateroom options offer new possibilities for family cruising.

“Big” isn’t the point with Freedom of the Seas, but she will be the biggest liner afloat at 160,000 tons, and “big” allows her guests so many options for fun.

Royal Caribbean outfitted Freedom with three enormous top deck pool areas:

• The Solarium, with its jungle theme, invites adults to unwind in hot tubs suspended 12 feet out from the ship’s sides, floating 112 feet above the ocean. The Solarium’s lush tropical plants, sculptures, hammocks and pool provide a quiet haven.
• The H2O Zone will give whole families funny things to look at and lots of ways to get completely soaked. Giant sculptures depicting all kinds of family members—including the dog—decorate the area, hiding water jets, dumping-buckets of water and sensors that spray the unsuspecting. Quieter shallow areas allow the youngest cruisers to enjoy some wet time.
• For the really active, RCI has designated one of Freedom’s two main pools as a sports pool. Guests can join pool volleyball and basketball teams, engage in floating golf or pole jousting, or just swim laps in the marked lanes. There are even synchronized swimming contests.

This remarkable floating playground also claims the largest rock-climbing wall at sea, with 11 different routes, from easy to expert. In the heart of the warm Caribbean, cruisers can cut figure-eights on the ship’s ice rink. The Royal Promenade—Freedom’s 445-foot shopping, dining and entertainment mall—jumps with action, including parades. RCI’s Adventure Ocean Program lets youngsters have fun and learn, with each activity set for a specific age range.

Freedom of the Seas’ main pool area morphs into an exciting open-air nightclub with an expansive dance floor between the two pools. Throughout the ship, Royal Caribbean continues its tradition of first-class stage productions, live music, dancing venues and other kinds of entertainment.

And yes, there’s surfing at the first-ever shipboard surfing park. Thirty-thousand gallons of water a minute flow over a special surface, allowing stand-up surfing or body-boarding.

On Freedom, RCI came up with six new family-friendly cabin categories. Biggest in this class belongs to the Presidential Suite, which sleeps 14. There are also four eight-person Royal Family Suites, one six-person accessible Family Stateroom, eight six-person Family Ocean Staterooms and two six-person Inside Family Staterooms.

As one of the few international cruise ships with an American captain, William S. Wright, Freedom of the Seas will cruise out of Miami on seven-night voyages visiting Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Royal Caribbean’s private destination, Labadee, Hispaniola.

At press time, Freedom is still a work in progress and more details about this dramatic luxury liner remain to be announced.

For certain, though, AAA Travel can give you the opportunity to sail this magnificent ship at a great price. Visit your local AAA Travel Center, Call 1-888-320-4863 or Click at AAA.com.

Be among the first to experience this fantastic Mega-ship with AAA Special Sailings.
July 30–Aug. 6, 2006
Aug. 20–27, 2006
Jan. 14-21, 2007

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