Liberty of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean InternationalFreedom-classcruise ship which entered regular service in May 2007. It was initially announced that she would be called Endeavour of the Seas, however this name was later changed. The 15-deck ship accommodates 3,634 passengers served by 1,360 crew.
She was built in 18 months at the Aker FinnyardsTurku Shipyard, Finland, where her sister ship, Freedom of the Seas, was also built. Initially built at 154,407 gross tonnage (GT), she joined her sister ship, Freedom of the Seas, as the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels then ever built. She is 1,111.9 ft (338.91 m) long, 184 ft (56.08 m) wide, and cruises at 21.6 knots (4 km/h). Liberty of the Seas is the second of the Freedom-class vessels. A third ship, Independence of the Seas, was delivered in April 2008. In 2009, the first in a new Oasis-class of ships measuring 220,000 gross tons displaced the Freedom class as the world’s largest passenger ships.
On April 19, 2007, Liberty of the Seas was delivered to parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. On April 22, 2007 she made her first port of call Southampton, on a promotional visit. She arrived at Cape Liberty Cruise Port on May 3, 2007. On May 18, 2007, the ship was christened by Toronto-based travel agent Donnalea Madeley, who, along with her husband, is also the founder of the charity Hands Across the Nations.
In January 2011, Liberty of the Seas underwent renovations which included an outdoor video screen in the main pool area. Later in 2011, Liberty of the Seas completed her first transatlantic repositioning cruise, moving from Miami to being home-ported in Barcelona. She stayed in Europe for the summer and part of fall, and then returned to Miami. Until 2015, Liberty of the Seas spent summers in Europe and winters in either PortMiami or Port Everglades in Florida. In 2015, Liberty of the Seas repositioned to Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey from May to November, after which she repositioned to Galveston, Texas. In February 2016, Liberty of the Seas again underwent renovations, adding additional cabins atop the front of the ship, introducing new restaurants, and making enhancements to the pool deck. After the enhancements, Liberty of the Seas was 155,889 gross tonnage (GT), making her larger than the other two Freedom-class ships, and the eleventh largest cruise ship in the world, beating Norwegian Epic by 16 GT.
Liberty of the Seas has extensive sports facilities including the FlowRider onboard wave generator for surfing, an interactive water play area for children, a full-sized volleyball / basketball court, an ice skating rink, and a large fitness center. There are also two whirlpools that are cantilevered and project out from the sides of the ship to provide unimpeded views of the sea below and a modular conference center for business meetings. Among other dining facilities there is a three level formal dining room. A refurbishment in 2016 added a water slide complex, featuring two racing slides and a boomerang-style slide, and a children only water play area, featuring smaller water slides. Many of the ship’s interiors were extensively decorated by muralist Clarissa Parish.
