- Freedom Of The Seas Pictures
- Freedom Of The Seas Wikipedia
- Poker On Freedom Of The Seas 2017
- Freedom Of The Seas Tour
Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review by Deeliteful. The Casino now has a non-smoking section for some of the table games (3 card poker/blackjack/roulette) but the poker table (which is non-smoking) remains in the smoking section of the casino! As you would say across the pond - go figure! Variations of Traditional Blackjack RulesMany casinos play by the traditional 21 rules that were once popular on the Las Vegas Strip, which is casino freedom of the seas traditionally called American 21 Or Vegas Rules.When you make a Come bet, you are wagering that the point will reappear casino freedom of the seas in the following rolls before a 7 or 11.
Regarding the casino, I found the games pretty consistent with what was discussed here. I didn't play a ton because there was just so much other stuff to do (that and I had a very bad start at the craps table the first night).
Craps was 1x odds when I played. It was always $5 min. There was only 1 table and it was only open in the evenings. The few times we played there were only a few other players - and several times I walked through the casino I saw that it was literally empty. The last night though I went down and it was jam packed and I couldn't get a spot so I left. Every time I played the table was ICE COLD, therefore my sessions didn't last all that long.
I actually spent more time playing cards. BJ was H17, DAS, no surrender...it was either 6 or 8 deck shoe, not sure which. It was always offered at $6 (i hadn't seen $6 before, but it makes sense for 3-2 BJ payouts). I played a fair amount of this, and pretty much broke even. $10 and $25 tables were also available at times, though they weren't very popular (its true there aren't many - if any - big gamblers on ships). The gambling age was 18, so you had a lot of youngsters playing for what was likely their first time - though they were often better than the older players. I witnessed some very poor playing - but it doesn't bother me and I got a kick out of the dealer's expressions (staying on 14 v. a King, etc..)
I also played some $5 Three-Card and $5 Ultimate Texas Hold'em (fun game). Didn't win or lose much on either. Just for kicks I went by and checked paytables on a few VP machines, and found 6/4 JOB...I kid you not. Needless to say, I didn't play any of those. They also had one poker table that was right out with the other table games. It was the digital screen tables, no real cards/dealers, so I didn't play any. They had a lot of tourneys advertised in the daily newsletters, and there was always at least a few players at the table (and they were full in the evening).
As someone said, you don't go on a cruise to gamble, so I only spent probably a total of 4-5 hours over a 7 day cruise in the casino. The cold craps table helped keep the time to a minimum, and our large bar bill was also crimping my gaming budget :-)
A very good time was had, and I'd certainly recommend this ship to anyone.
First of all, RCL had a much better ship, activities, food. Carnival had a better casino atmosphere and desserts. For gaming, this is what I found (I realize that gambling isn't the highest priority on a cruise, but since there was gaming, I thought it should be discussed since this is a gambling board):
Blackjack - Only 3 letters are needed. CSM. Every table was CSM. No fun.
Video Poker - JOB paid 6/5.
Craps - 2x odds, Field 2/2, Hardways 9/7.
3CP - 1/3/6/30/40 (no jackpot).
SuperFun21 was not CSM, but I don't know how to play/count it.
Roulette - 0/00.
Slots - Interesting, in that someone in our party hit for $6,200 and they indicated that they would get a W2. In the past, her jackpots at sea never required a SS#.
Poker - Machine Only. Cash Games 15% rake to $6. Ouch. Tournaments, $150 entry, paid ONE place at $750. Soft table, but BIG rake. At least no need to tip the electronic dealer after winning a pot. All cashless.
Slot Club gave out bottles of wine, strawberries and chocolate, drinks and other gifts. This is something I never saw on RCL.
They had live music every night which I thought was a nice touch to the old Vegas lounge act days. I liked it.
OK, that was my RCL/Carnival compairson. I would never choose a ship based on the casino, but I do like to gamble, and appreciate playable games. Carnival's exclusive use of CSM for BJ and W2's for slot wins would steer me away in the future.
As luck would have it, the wife and I, as well as my brother, his wife, my mother, and an aunt and uncle, and maybe some additional people I'm not even aware of, are taking a cruise this September. And it's a Royal Caribbean cruise. With the exception of a couple gambling one-day cruises, this will be the first cruise for me and my wife. I may make a cruise report - both about the casino, and the cruise in general.
I actually spent more time playing cards. BJ was H17, DAS, no surrender...it was either 6 or 8 deck shoe, not sure which. It was always offered at $6 (i hadn't seen $6 before, but it makes sense for 3-2 BJ payouts).
Actually, $6 does NOT make sense. It sounds like they do not have pink chips. The extra dealer actions to pay $6 bets slows the game down. The number of BJs is not high enough to make it worthwhile to bump the minimum to $6. What happens if a player bets $15?Seems to me that, one way or another, they're gonna have to pay odd BJs, so why the $6 minimum?
If I play BJ, I might just always bet odd amounts, to piss them off....
Freedom Of The Seas Pictures
If I play BJ, I might just always bet odd amounts, to piss them off....
Please do it. It really ticks off the dealer if you bet $7, then $9, then $7 again, then $8, and so on. Its very comical, and they'll hate your guts.
I've always wondered why they don't have such cruises off the coast of the major California cities. Also, why can they have them on Alaska cruises when you're obviously in Alaska waters.
Its a 12 mile territorial limit in most places and you can not transit US territorial waters during the cruise, only entry and exit.
California used to have offshore gambling boats, very large ones permanently in International Waters with Water Taxi service from the Long Beach area. There are unverified reports that a US Senator from Nevada had an interest in the offshore gambling ship off Santa Monica. It of course became a political controversy and I think those who owned slot machines in Pasadena didn't own the gambling ships, so it probably became a battle between which politicians were getting the most in bribe money. Of course in those days, everything in Los Angeles revolved around bribes.
The Big M Casino Boat in Florida is for Moss Marine which also owns one of the South Carolina gambling boats.
Some stop in Vancouver as well. Amusingly the overflow dock in Vancouver pretty much backs into the original skid row (now the Lower East side) which is junkie central. The main cruise ship dock is in one of the prettiest parts of the city. I pity those who end up in the crappy part of Vancouver (and it's really crappy, I've been in some shitty areas of London, but nothing quite as extensively run down and poor and depressing as East Hastings around witching hour.
Amusingly the overflow dock in Vancouver pretty much backs into the original skid row (now the Lower East side) which is junkie central. The main cruise ship dock is in one of the prettiest parts of the city. I pity those who end up in the crappy part of Vancouver (and it's really crappy, I've been in some shitty areas of London, but nothing quite as extensively run down and poor and depressing as East Hastings around witching hour.
maybe we shouldnt have been so surprised at the behavior after the hockey finalHe said there was one poker table, with a live dealer, open at night only.
It was $1/$2 no limit, but the rake was 10% with a . . . $25 max!
Freedom Of The Seas Wikipedia
I believe also that for some sort of reason a cruise has to dock outside of the US at least once. Which is how the Alaska cruises always spend a short period in Victoria or other small towns on Vancouver Island. Major part of the local economy is American tourists spending 6 hours downtown Victoria and on guided tours... and the ships loading up on water, ice and other consumables.
Some stop in Vancouver as well. Amusingly the overflow dock in Vancouver pretty much backs into the original skid row (now the Lower East side) which is junkie central. The main cruise ship dock is in one of the prettiest parts of the city. I pity those who end up in the crappy part of Vancouver (and it's really crappy, I've been in some shitty areas of London, but nothing quite as extensively run down and poor and depressing as East Hastings around witching hour.
Our Alaskan cruise did not dock anywhere other than Alaskan ports on the way from Seward to Vancouver. The casino was not open when the ship was in any port and opened an hour after leaving.
Freedom of the Seas in Port Canaveral, Florida in 2016, after her 2015 refurbishment | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Bahamas | |
| Name: | Freedom of the Seas |
| Owner: | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.[1] |
| Operator: | Royal Caribbean International |
| Port of registry: | Nassau, Bahamas, Bahamas |
| Route: | San Juan, Puerto Rico & Caribbean |
| Ordered: | September 18, 2003[1] |
| Builder: | Aker YardsTurku Shipyard, Finland |
| Cost: | US$800 million |
| Yard number: | 52 |
| Laid down: | November 9, 2004 |
| Launched: | August 19, 2005[1] |
| Christened: | May 12, 2006 |
| Completed: | April 24, 2006[1] |
| Maiden voyage: | 4 June 2006 (Caribbean) |
| In service: | 4 June 2006 |
| Identification: |
|
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | |
| Tonnage: |
|
| Length: | 1,111.46 ft (338.774 m)[1] |
| Beam: | 126.64 ft (38.60 m) waterline 184 ft (56.08 m) extreme (bridge wings) |
| Height: | 209 ft (63.70 m) |
| Draught: | 29.61 ft (9.026 m)[1] |
| Decks: | 19 total decks, 15 passenger decks |
| Installed power: | 6 × Wärtsilä 12V46 (6 × 12,600 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 21.6 knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph)[2] |
| Capacity: |
|
| Crew: | 1,360 |
MS Freedom of the Seas is a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International. She is the namesake of Royal Caribbean's Freedom class, and can accommodate 3,634 passengers and 1,300 crew [3] on fifteen passenger decks. The vessel also has 4 crew decks below the waterline. Freedom of the Seas was the largest passenger ship ever built (by gross tonnage) from 2006 until construction of her sister ship, Liberty of the Seas in 2007. As of November 2018, she is the 15th largest passenger ship in the world by gross tonnage, at 155,889 GT.
- 2Incidents
Construction[edit]
The Freedom of the Seaswas built at the Aker YardsTurku Shipyard, Finland, which built the ships of the Voyager class as well as the other ships of the Freedom class. Upon its completion, it became the largest passenger ship ever built, taking that honor from Cunard'sQueen Mary 2.
Freedom of the Seas is 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) narrower than QM2 at the waterline, 6 metres (20 ft) shorter, has 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) less draft, is 8.3 metres (27 ft) less tall and 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) slower. Freedom however is the larger ship in terms of gross tonnage. Its gross tonnage as verified by Det Norske Veritas, a Norwegian marine classification society, was 154,407 GT,[4] compared with QM2's 148,528 GT.[5][6]Freedom of the Seas had the highest gross tonnage of any passenger ship yet built until the 2007 completion of Liberty of the Seas.
The ship has four bow thrusters.[7] When at sea Freedom of the Seas consumes approximately 12,800 kg (28,000 pounds) of fuel per hour.[8]
Incidents[edit]
Fire[edit]
On July 22, 2015, a fire started in a mechanical area of the ship around 9:15 AM when the ship was en route from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Falmouth, Jamaica. All passengers were sent to their muster stations to abandon ship if the fire had gotten out of control. One crew member sustained first degree burns.[9]
Death of Chloe Wiegand[edit]
On July 7, 2019, 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand from Granger, Indiana, died when she fell through an open window on the 11th deck while the ship was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after her grandfather Salvatore Anello had placed her on a railing when he accidentally lost his grip while holding her.[10]Alan and Kim Wiegand, the parents of Chloe, were completely devastated over the loss of their daughter. Michael Winkleman, an attorney, stated in an interview that Chloe didn't fall out of her grandfather's arms and that she reportedly fell off the open glass after walking toward it. Salvatore claimed that he was colorblind and didn't notice that the window was open at the time since he thought it was closed. He was later charged with negligent homicide on October 28 and nearly faced up to three years of being in prison.[11]On December 11, 2019, it was announced that Alan and Kim Wiegand decided to sue Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the company that owned the ship, over the death of their daughter.[12] The company was blamed for negligence since they failed to properly secure safer windows onboard the ship from the 11th deck near the children's play area where Chloe fell. Anello was then taken into court on December 17, where he had to face criminal charges.[13]
Facilities[edit]
The ship has an interior promenade 445 feet (136 m) long called the 'Royal Promenade'.[14]
The ship has three swimming areas: an interactive water park, a dedicated adult pool, and the main pool. The 13th deck has a sports area with a rock climbing wall, the FlowRider surf simulator, a miniature golf course and a full size basketball court. Other items include an ice skating rink, a casino and a three-deck-high broadway-style theater. Many of the ship's interiors were extensively decorated by muralist Clarissa Parish.[15]
Service history[edit]
The ship docked at Blohm und Voss in Hamburg, Germany on 17 April 2006 to repair a damaged bearing in one of the three Azipod propulsion units and some minor modifications prior to her official handover to Royal Caribbean International on 24 April 2006. She then visited Oslo, Norway before sailing for Southampton, England. The ship sailed on its first transatlantic crossing on 3 May 2006.
Freedom of the Seas arrived in New York HarborUSA for her official naming ceremony on 12 May 2006 which was broadcast live on NBC's The Today Show from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey (the ship's official New York berth), and thereafter traveled to Boston for the weekend of May 19–22. The ship's godmother was selected as Katherine Louise Calder, a Portland, Oregonfoster care provider.[16] She began operations out of Miami with her first cruise and maiden voyage on 4 June, sailing to western Caribbean locations.
On 4 May 2009, Freedom of the Seas moved her home port from the Port of Miami-Dade to Port Canaveral. The ship underwent her first dry dock refurbishment in late March 2011.[17]
In January 2015, the ship underwent another 24-day dry dock. During the dry dock some new interior passenger cabins were added.[18]
In winter 2016, Freedom of the Seas repositioned to Port Everglades, from where she undertook cruises in the Caribbean.[19] After homeporting in Barcelona in the spring and summer of 2017, Freedom of the Seas returned to Port Everglades. In May 2018, she commenced sailing Southern Caribbean sailings out of San Juan, Puerto Rico until April 2021.
Freedom of the Seas is scheduled to undergo a $116 million dry dock early in 2020.[20]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefg'Freedom of the Seas (25177)'. DNV GL Vessel Register. Det Norske Veritas. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ ab'Freedom of the Seas'. Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ ab'Freedom of the Seas Fast Facts'. Royal Caribbean Press Center. Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^'Freedom of the Seas (25177)'. DNV GL Vessel Register. Det Norske Veritas. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ^United States Coast Guard Maritime Information Exchange, Queen Mary 2, Retrieved 2012-03-26
- ^Queen Mary 2, inquiry for IMO 924106, Ships in Class (registration required). Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ^'Freedom of the Seas'. Ship Technology. 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- ^'Wärtsilä 46F'. wartsila.com.
- ^Sampson, Hannah (July 22, 2015). 'Cruise to continue after Freedom of the Seas fire in Jamaica'. The Miami Herald. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^Baynes, Chris. 'Young girl falls to death from cruise ship 'after being accidentally dropped by grandfather''. The Independent. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grandfather-salvatore-anello-charged-toddler-chloe-wiegand-cruise-ship-death-puerto-rico-2019-10-28/
- ^Scott Stump (2019-12-12). 'Parents of toddler Chloe Wiegand speak out on suing Royal Caribbean'. Today. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
- ^Jackie Salo (2019-12-18). 'Grandfather who dropped tot Chloe Wiegand from cruise ship offered plea deal: lawyer'. New York Post. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
- ^[1]Archived November 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^www.clarissaparish.comArchived 2017-12-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 2012
- ^https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1526 Calder
- ^'Port Canaveral'. portcanaveral.org. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12.
- ^'Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Completes Dry Dock, Features New Cabins and Restaurants'. Cruise Critic.
- ^'Royal Caribbean announces 2016-2017 Caribbean cruise ship deployments'. Cruise Critic. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^'ISLAND HOPPING MEETS CHART-TOPPING THRILLS ON AMPLIFIED FREEDOM OF THE SEAS'. www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
External links[edit]
Poker On Freedom Of The Seas 2017
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