Florida & Freedom With Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas will sail 26 new cruises between May and October 2013 every Sunday from Port Canaveral of Florida’s Space Coast. The cruises – alternating between seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries – will also feature stars of DreamWorks entertainment such as Alex the Lion, Po the Dragon Warrior, Shrek and Fiona.

The proximity of Port Canaveral to the theme-park packed destination of Orlando means  holidaymakers can combine the cruises with three and four-night stays at Universal Orlando Resort and enjoy unparalleled savings. The package to experience the best of land and sea in one amazing holiday includes hotel and shipboard accommodations, multi-day passes to Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure, complimentary admission to select live entertainment venues at Universal CityWalk and ground transfers between airport, hotel, theme parks and the ship at port.

On board the ship, families can continue their entertainment theme with activities from the DreamWorks experience such as character breakfasts, parades and themed shows. 

On the Eastern Caribbean sailing, guests will call at St. Thomas, St. Maarten and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas. The Western Caribbean itinerary calls at Falmouth, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; and Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination on the north coast of Haiti.

Freedom of the Seas’ summer 2013 season is now open for bookings. Prices for a nine-night fly/cruise including return flights from Manchester airport, one-night’s pre-cruise hotel accommodation and a seven-night cruise including all meals and entertainment costs from £1,595 per person for departures in June 2013.  

For all Royal Caribbean bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's leading cruise agent specialists.

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Royal Caribbean's 'Summer of Pandamonium!'

In conjunction with the arrival of DreamWorks Animation’s 3-D feature film “Kung Fu Panda 2” in cinemas, Royal Caribbean is celebrating “Pandamonium” onboard Oasis, Allure, Freedom and Liberty of the Seas with a series of onboard red-carpet premieres.

Throughout August, guests on the four ships can enjoy screenings in 3-D, in addition to the year-round DreamWorks Experience. Features onboard include:

• 'Celebrity' characters, including Shrek, Fiona and Puss In Boots from Shrek;” Alex, Mort, and the Penguins of “Madagascar”; Po of “Kung Fu Panda”; and Hiccup from “How to Train Your Dragon.”
  An ice skating 'How to Train Your Dragon' show
• A DreamWorks Animation parade down the Royal Promenade
• Interactive character meals in the main dining room
• Plenty of photo opportunities

For more info, visit www.royalcaribbean.co.uk or, for bookings, contact the specialist cruise agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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Anticipating Oasis

I have just finished putting together a preview feature on Oasis of the Seas for the next issue of World of Cruising magazine (but you'll have to wait to Sept 15 to read it, though!).

With the latest 'webisode' of the Oasis story now up on their website, it is pretty amazing to see this gargantuan undertaking all coming together.

Her maiden voyage is set for December 1 and this 220,000-ton leviathan (did I say 220,000? It seems only a few years ago that 100,000 tons was pretty mind-boggling) will not just break into the record books but stomp all over them for some time to come.

The statistics of the ship alone are staggering - the longest-ever at 1,181ft (finally beating the Queen Mary 2), bigger by 66,000 tons than the previous largest, 48 categories of stateroom, 17 dining choices, her own purpose-built terminal at Port Everglades, etc, etc.

But the steady stream of info from Royal Caribbean has ensured they have maintained a good, solid interest in the new vessel, whether it's for record-breaking reasons or just because she's a fascinating piece of hardware.

The build process has highlighted the incredible technology involved (check out the Building Incredible and Introducing Oasis 'webisodes' on the site) and it does leave you asking - how will guests get to grips with something this large?

With 16 passenger decks and a beam in excess of 200ft, this is truly a ship of overwhelming proportions. The Royal Promenade is more than twice as wide as the Freedom and Voyager-class vessels and the entertainment offerings are even more dazzling.

It will take people at least a week to get their bearings, find out where everything is - and then it will be time to get off!

But one thing is for sure, NO-ONE will ever again be able to come out with the hoary old objection to cruising of: "It's so boring!"

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.