''Liberty of the Seas'' is a

Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flo ...

which entered regular service in May 2007. It was initially announced that she would be called ''Endeavour of the Seas'', however this name was later changed. The 15-deck ship accommodates 3,634 passengers served by 1,360 crew. She was built in 18 months at the

Aker Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding companie ...

Turku Shipyard,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, where her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, , was also built. Initially built at , she joined her sister ship, ''Freedom of the Seas'', as the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels then ever built. She is long, wide, and cruises at . ''Liberty of the Seas'' is the second of the ''Freedom''-class vessels. A third ship, ''

Independence of the Seas ''Independence of the Seas'' is a operated by Royal Caribbean International. The 15-deck ship was built in the Aker Finnyards Turku Shipyard, Finland. At 154,407 GT, she joined ''Freedom of the Seas'' and ''Liberty of the Seas'' as the largest ...

'', was delivered in April 2008. In 2009, the first in a new of ships measuring 220,000 gross tons displaced the ''Freedom'' class as the world's largest passenger ships.

History

On April 19, 2007, ''Liberty of the Seas'' was delivered to parent company

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival C ...

.Royal Caribbean International :: Royal Caribbean Takes Delivery of Liberty of the Seas
On April 22, 2007 she made her first port of call

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, on a promotional visit. She arrived at

Cape Liberty Cruise Port The Cape Liberty Cruise Port is one of three trans-Atlantic passenger terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located in Bayonne, New Jersey at the north side of the long pier of the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor, a former military ...

on May 3, 2007. On May 18, 2007, the ship was christened by

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

-based

travel agent A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destinati ...

Donnalea Madeley, who, along with her husband, is also the founder of the charity Hands Across the Nations. In January 2011, ''Liberty of the Seas'' underwent renovations which included an outdoor video screen in the main pool area. Later in 2011, ''Liberty of the Seas'' completed her first transatlantic

repositioning cruise A repositioning cruise (repo cruise) is a cruise in which the embarkation port and the disembarkation port are different. This is a less common type of cruise; in the majority of cruises the ship's final destination is the same as the starting p ...

, moving from

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

to being home-ported in

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. She stayed in Europe for the summer and part of fall, and then returned to Miami. Until 2015, ''Liberty of the Seas'' spent summers in Europe and winters in either Port of Miami or

Port Everglades Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port Ev ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. In 2015, ''Liberty of the Seas'' repositioned to

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As ...

from May to November, after which she repositioned to

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding G ...

. In February 2016, ''Liberty of the Seas'' again underwent renovations, adding additional cabins atop the front of the ship, introducing new restaurants, and making enhancements to the pool deck. After the enhancements, ''Liberty of the Seas'' was , making her larger than the other two ''Freedom''-class ships, and the eleventh largest cruise ship in the world, beating by 16 GT.

Incidents

On 2 April 2020, it was reported that two crew members had tested positive for

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the co ...

.Two Liberty of the Seas crew member test positive to COVID-19
Crew Center 2 April 2020 One was

asymptomatic In medicine, any disease is classified asymptomatic if a patient tests as carrier for a disease or infection but experiences no symptoms. Whenever a medical condition fails to show noticeable symptoms after a diagnosis it might be considered a ...

, and remained in

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

on board the ship, while the other, who showed visible symptoms, disembarked and was sent to a hospital in Galveston. On 15 April 2020, after the ship was anchored on the coast of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, it returned and docked in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

Facilities

''Liberty of the Seas'' has extensive sports facilities including the FlowRider onboard wave generator for surfing, an interactive water play area for children, a full-sized volleyball / basketball court, an ice skating rink, and a large fitness center. There are also two whirlpools that are

cantilevered A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

and project out from the sides of the ship to provide unimpeded views of the sea below and a modular conference center for business meetings. Among other dining facilities there is a three level formal dining room. A refurbishment in 2016 added a

water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to s ...

complex, featuring two racing slides and a boomerang-style slide, and a children only water play area, featuring smaller water slides. Many of the ship's interiors were extensively decorated by muralist

Clarissa Parish Clarissa Parish is an Anglo-Italian muralist who has painted numerous murals and decorative works for cruise ships, private residences and hotels. Her work includes murals and '' trompe l'oeil'' effects on many cruise ships, including the '' Libert ...

.www.clarissaparish.com
Retrieved January 2012

References

External links

official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty Of The Seas Ships of Royal Caribbean International Ships built in Turku Cruise ships involved in the COVID-19 pandemic