Thread: Freedom to Homeport at Canaveral

From a Port Canaveral Port Authority Press Release:

Canaveral to Homeport Freedom-class Ship

Royal Caribbean International’s vessels largest afloat

PORT CANAVERAL, FL— March 19, 2008 – An agreement between the Canaveral Port Authority and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is expected to be finalized in the next few months to homeport Freedom of the Seas at Port Canaveral. Royal Caribbean today submitted a letter of intent to deploy the 160,000 gross-registered ton vessel to Canaveral in May 2009.

“The Freedom of the Seas will be the largest cruise vessel homeported here,” says Port Canaveral CEO Stan Payne. “And the agreement represents the longest commitment of Royal Caribbean to Port Canaveral.”

“Bringing a Freedom-class ship to Port Canaveral will give vacationers another homeport choice to experience the most innovative cruise ship at sea,” said Adam Goldstein, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. “Based on the popularity of Mariner of the Seas at Port Canaveral, we look forward to and anticipate similar success for Freedom of the Seas.”

The 3,634 guest capacity, double-occupancy, Freedom-class ships revolutionized the cruise industry when Freedom of the Seas first was launched in 2006. With Liberty of the Seas, launched in 2007, and the soon-to-be launched Independence of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom-class ships feature exclusive onboard amenities, such as the FlowRider surf simulator, the H2O Zone water park, a boxing ring for Power-Box conditioning classes, an ice-skating rink, 10-route rock-climbing wall, a full-size basketball court, and the Royal Promenade, a boulevard of restaurants, bars, lounge and shops that runs nearly the length of the ship.

“We are delighted that Royal Caribbean continues to offer those traveling from Port Canaveral with the best the cruise line has to offer,” says Joe Matheny, Chairman of the Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners.

Thanks, CM, for this info! I've been waiting to see what would replace MarinerOTS in Port Canaveral!

Wonder what the itinerary will be?

My guess would be a similar one to the Mariner - alternating eastern / western.

Woulldn't it be cool if they surprised us and threw in an occasional Bermuda?

Well, I guess we'll have to keep waiting to see, as they haven't even fromalized the agreement yet. One would think it's a pretty sure thing, though, as the Port did put out an official press release.

There's a big story about this in today's local paper. The Freedom will have some sompany eventually -

Disney has agreed to homeport BOTH of their new ships here AND build a new Disney Terminal.

Freedom will be there for 5 years, and yes, Sheila, I'd have to agree with you, it will most likely be the same itinerary as the Mariner of the Seas. That's a huge increase in capacity, beginning in 2009.

CM, are you OK? Replacing Sovereign with Freedom is probably not an easy pill to swallow..... and two Disney ships, My Oh My.

MC - The Sovereign is being replaced by the Monarch. Which is, I guess OK. If we can't have the beautiful Sovereign of the Seas, I guess her sister is probably the next best thing.

The Freedom is replacing the Mariner. Will probably do the Freedom ONCE, just to say I did. Maybe not twice, unless there is some pretty irresistible pricing or come other compelling reason to do so. I wouldn't have bothered to drive the four hours to Miami for the Freedom, though.

I totally forgot that Monarch was headed your way. WHew!

And Freedom won't be all bad, even if it is big - I think there are porch swings and hammocks on the promenade deck, which is a nice addition. And don't forget the ice show.

The swings / hammocks sound really nice!
We will probably try the Freedom when it gets here.
We sailed the Mariner once. It's a beautiful ship, and yes, we did enjoy ourselves, but it is just bigger than we like to sail on a regular basis. So, I expect the same may be true of the Freedom, since it's even bigger.

We'll do the Mariner once more before she leaves Port Canaveral . . . just because we probably won't have another chance to do so.

Sure wish Celebrity would homeport a ship here, too. One of their older, smaller ones would be just fine!