Come Sail Away

A Cadillac Escalade is big. A 24-ounce porterhouse steak is big. Kirstie Ally used to be big.

But there's nothing in Webster's to describe Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.

This 158,000-ton ship dons the title of largest cruise ship in the world. This aquatic beast can carry 3,600 passengers double occupancy and an eyebrow raising 4,370 if all beds are filled. That's not including some 1,360 crewmembers. To make room for all those bodies, the ship is 1,112 feet long, 184 feet wide and has 15 passenger decks. Freedom of the Seas has changed my life. And it will change yours too.

This new monster cruise ship is set to sail in May. I accidentally ran into this and had to check it out. To boot, I am fascinated by Micromedia Flash, so this interactive tour, complete with poor acting, kept me entertained for a while: http://www.freedomoftheseas.com/.

This thing is massive. You heard me - the largest ship in the world. This ship was designed to give passengers more space than the average cruise.

Look at how it dwarfs the other ship!

If this ship runs aground, it could destroy all of Hamburg. Just look at how it compares to the buildings in the background.

Here are some of the amenities it offers:

* 43 ft. rock climbing wall

* Ice skating rink complete with a "major ice skating musical production"

* Two large hot tubs cantilevered out 12 feet from the sides of the ship. The hot tubs will provide some remarkable views since they are suspended 112 feet above the ocean.

*Surfing pool that exits into a small lazy river

*Sports pool where they will teach you pool jousting, floating golf, and even have ameteur synchronized swimming competitions!!

*A theater

*H2O Zone

*flat screen tvs in all the rooms
*pools that pipe underwater music, some that have their own waterfalls
*boxing ring
*bungee trampolies
*casinos
*spa facilities
*barber shop
*tons of shopping
*hundreds of activities to keep kids busy
*and the rest of the usual cruise faire.

And these are only the ammenities they have chosen to reveal before their big launch. I cannot imagine what is in store for the maiden voyage.

Best of all, it's moderately priced. Hurry! There are only 6 days, 27 hours, 49 seconds before the launch!