Freedom-class cruise ship

The Freedom class is a group of three cruise ships for Royal Caribbean International. The first ship of the class, Freedom of the Seas, was the largest passenger ship in the world, and the largest ever built in terms of passenger capacity and gross tonnage, when it was built in 2006. These two records were then shared by all three ships until the construction of Oasis of the Seas was completed in November 2009.

Freedom of the Seas, the lead vessel Sailing out of Terminal A in Miami, Florida on March 15, 2024
Class overview
Builders	Aker Finnyards Turku Shipyard, Finland
Operators	Royal Caribbean International
Preceded by	Radiance class
Succeeded by	Oasis class
Built	2004–2008
In service	2006–present
Planned	4
Completed	3
Cancelled	1[citation needed]
Active	3
General characteristics
Type	Cruise ship
Tonnage	154,407 GT
Length	338.8 m (1,111 ft 6 in)
Beam	38.6 m (126 ft 8 in) at waterline 56.0 m (183 ft 8 in) bridge wings
Height	63.7 m (209 ft) above water line
Draft	8.5 m (28 ft)
Decks	18 total, 15 passenger
Installed power	6 × Wärtsilä 12V46 diesels each rated at 12.6 MW (16,900 hp) driving electric generators at 514 rpm
Propulsion	3 × ABB Azipod podded electric propulsion units, two of them azimuthing, one fixed. 4 additional bow thrusters.
Speed	21.6 knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph)
Capacity	4,370 passengers (double occupancy)
Crew	1,300 (average)
Notes	Extended version of second generation Voyager class

Freedom of the Seas left Aker Finnyards Turku Shipyard, Finland on 24 April 2006 and started regular sailings out of Miami the next month. The second ship of the class, Liberty of the Seas, sailed on its maiden voyage on 19 May 2007. The third ship of the class, Independence of the Seas, was delivered and started work out of Southampton in April 2008.

Design

A Freedom-class ship compared with other large structures

The Freedom-class ships are similar in design and layout to the earlier second-generation Voyager class, including an ice skating rink and a 136 m (446 ft) central atrium^[1] named the Royal Promenade, featuring a pub, shops, arcades, bars, and a 24-hour Cafe Promenade. New features added to the Freedom class include the FlowRider surf park, cantilevered whirlpools, and the H2O Zone waterpark.

The first ship, Freedom of the Seas, is estimated to have cost US$800 million.^[1]

Future

In March 2008, Aker Yards and Royal Caribbean announced a memorandum of agreement for a fourth ship in the class, subject to board approval and finalization of terms and conditions, but no actual order for the ship was ever announced.^[2] In 2011, Royal Caribbean announced that it had ordered two ships from the similarly sized Quantum class, making an order for a fourth Freedom-class ship unlikely.^[3]

Ships

Ship	Year built	Entered service with Royal Caribbean	Gross tonnage	Notes	Image
Freedom of the Seas	2006	4 June 2006	156,271[4]	Largest cruise ship in the world, 2006–2009. Refurbished January 2015. Underwent amplification in early 2020.
Liberty of the Seas	2007	19 May 2007	155,889[5]	Originally named Endeavor of the Seas before construction started.[6]
Independence of the Seas	2008	2 May 2008	155,889[4]	Refurbished April 2013 and April 2018.