Sign of the cruise

SOUTHAMPTON, England – Whoever first said that it was the journey, not just the destination, that truly mattered in a trip must have been thinking of a cruise on board the Freedom of the Seas.

For where else in land or on the seas could you find transport that doesn’t just get you there – it also takes you on a vacation while you’re on your way?

Such is the sign of the cruise, specifically a cruise on the brand new (as in weeks-old), state-of-the-art, the Freedom of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise ship and Royal Caribbean International’s newest and most innovative.

The Freedom is making waves not just for its sheer size but for its many offerings – water parks, an indoor ice-skating rink, a jungle-themed solarium, a 1,350-seater theater that mounts Broadway shows, cozy coffee shops, romantic fine-dine restaurants, a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream parlor, a casino, even a chapel (yup, the captain can preside at weddings!).

"If you’re ever bored on the Freedom, it’s your own fault already," says Joy Abrogar, vice president and COO of Arpan Air (sister company of Baron Travel), which represents Royal Caribbean in the Philippines.

"Freedom of the Seas is really all about freedom of choice. Freedom to explore, freedom to relax. Freedom to make one’s own holiday plans," says Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean.

Whether it’s having a hearty international buffet (with the choices you find in Manila’s five-star coffee shops) at the Windjammer, sparring with a slot machine at the casino, rock climbing (the Freedom has the largest rock climbing wall at sea), having an espresso at an Italian coffee shop on the Promenade, or simply ocean-gazing from the balcony of your stateroom, "whatever you want to do, you have the opportunity to choose," says Fain.

A group of Filipino journalists (including The STAR’s Kathy Moran and this writer, and the Inquirer’s Maurice Arcache and Tessa Prieto-Valdes) was privileged to be invited to the Freedom’s inaugural preview cruise by Baron Travel and KLM, which flew our group in style and sheer comfort to London via Amsterdam. From London we took a one-hour bus ride to Southampton, that legendary port from where the Titanic also sailed 94 years ago.

The Titanic sailed into history, but the Freedom is sailing into the future as it is making waves. The 160,000-ton Freedom, which is twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty and wider than the White House, overtakes the Queen Mary 2 as the world’s largest cruise ship.

After a fiery send-off (a 15-minute fireworks display as we danced on deck while balancing a vodka martini on one hand), the Freedom sailed into the moon-lit Atlantic Ocean.

We were free!

Freedom of choice

My favorite spots on the humongous ship always had a view of the ocean. They say that simply gazing at the ocean is already an antidote to the blues – it uplifts your soul as it calms your body (even if the ship sometimes rocks). And there’s nothing more invigorating than the sea air – I just took it all in deep breaths whenever I was on deck or in my balcony, every deep breath clearing my lungs as well as the cobwebs on my mind. Made me glad to be alive!

Of course, I couldn’t spent all of my time ocean-gazing on deck (which also boasts an amazing water park and a surf boarding pool, for warmer climes, I suppose) in the chilly Atlantic air that sometimes whips your face, so I would retreat to the Promenade on Deck 5 and have Seattle’s Best Coffee or Ben and Jerry’s ice cream with Maurice and Tessa.

The Promenade, which is bigger than a football field and which was designed to look like Disneyland’s Main Street USA, looks to me like the lobby of The Podium in Ortigas.

There is a Book Nook with a café, a pizzeria, a wine bar, an authentic English pub, several boutiques (there are ATM machines on board if you don’t want to use your credit card), a General Store (that sells everything from souvenirs to Bonamine), even a barber shop! (The beauty parlor is on a different deck, beside the spa).There are nightly street parades on the Promenade (just like in Disneyland), where participants in flamboyant costumes make a grand entrance amidst music, lasers and lights.

Another "must-experience" are the dinners in the elegant three-tiered, chandeliered ballroom where you are offered as many as six choices for all the courses at dinner – from appetizers, entreés to dessert. You have the freedom to have it all, or the freedom to be moderate. But if there’s anything I learned on this cruise – my first ever – is that you have to check your diet at the gangplank.

Wherever we dined on the ship, including in the ballroom for the formal Captain’s Dinner, we were delighted to meet several Filipino waiters, including the assistant maitre‘d, Gerry Gutierrez. According to Royal Caribbean president Adam Goldstein, Filipinos constitute the single biggest number of employees from the 107 countries represented on the ship. They steer the ship (Capt. William Wright was all praises for the Pinoy quartermasters) and serve its guests. According to sales and marketing director Rama Rebbapragada, 30 to 35 percent of the 1,401 crew members on board are Filipinos.

There are 1,817 guest staterooms, of which 842 (like ours) have balconies. At night, we would retreat to our de luxe staterooms with the most comfortable beds (which have rounded corners)! Imagine being gently rocked to sleep on soft mattresses under heavenly comforters, a key feature of the Freedom, says Maria Sastre, RCI vice president for sales and marketing.

Maria revealed that the Freedom’s Presidential Suite, which can accommodate up to 14 people (at £1,943 per person), and which has its own Jacuzzi on its private deck, has been fully booked for the rest of the year! And to think the Freedom is still to make its first commercial cruise (from Miami to the Caribbean) this June! The Freedom will debut as a cruise ship (our two-day cruise was called a "preview" cruise) on June 4 and it will sail to Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and the Royal Caribbean’s private destination, Labadee, Hispaniola.

If you have kids, there are day-care centers, and if you are elderly and/or physically-challenged, there are 32 staterooms especially designed for your needs. In fact, the only pets allowed on board (to the disappointment of pet lover Kathy Moran) are the guide dogs of blind passengers, if any.

Our two-day cruise was really a cruise to no particular port as our ship just skimmed the Atlantic before heading back to Southampton. But two days and two nights on board were enough to make you realize that the ship was a destination in itself.

They say freedom is a right, not just a privilege. After a cruise on the Freedom of the Seas, you get a feeling that real freedom is both.

(For inquiries about the Freedom of the Seas and other Royal Carribean cruises, please call Arpan Air at 892-2703 or 894-3957.)

(You may e-mail me at [email protected])