She has completed fitting out in Hamburg and will then set sail on her first transatlantic voyage. She will call at Oslo and Southampton before heading for New York.
Freedom of the Seas is the most powerful symbol yet of the rapid growth of cruises as a holiday choice. Registered in the Bahamas, she has her own climbing wall, surf park and casino and has room for about 4,000 passengers.
The British are the second biggest cruise-goers after the Americans. The Passenger Shipping Association says the number of UK holidaymakers taking a cruise is expected to increase by 17 per cent to 1.25m in 2006.
Royal Caribbean, which is quoted in New York and Oslo, was founded by the Wilhelmsen family in Norway, who remain the largest shareholders alongside the Pretzker family of America, who also own the Hyatt hotel chain, and the Ofer family from Israel.
Its shares peaked at $55 last year and are now hovering around $40 on fears that the Pretzkers could sell their stake following a family row.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
