NAME
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VOYAGER OF THE SEAS
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CLASS
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CRUISE SHIP
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ENT/SERVICE
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NOVEMBER 1999
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BUILT
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KVAERNER MASA / HELSINKI /
FINLAND
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WEIGHT
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142,000 TONS
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LENGTH
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1,020 FEET
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WIDTH
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126 FEET WATERLINE / 157 FEET BRIDGE
WINGS
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SPEED
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23 KNOTS
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PROPELLERS
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3 - AZIPODS / 1 - FIXED / 2 -
AZIMUTHING + 6 THRUSTERS
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|
ENGINES
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6 - WARTSILA VASA 12 CYLINDER DIESEL
ELECTRIC - 95,000 HP
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Voyager of the Seas was the first
of five ships in this class built for the
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL). With
14-passenger decks, accommodation for
3,840 passengers and standing over 200
feet above the waterline, she was the
largest passenger ship built in the 20th
Century. The other four ships in this
class are Explorer of the Seas
completed in 2000, Adventure of the
Seas 2001, Navigator of the
Seas 2002 and Mariner of the
Seas 2003.
Kvaerner Masa has a long relationship
with RCCL beginning with the construction
of the company's first four ships. The
three 18,416-ton sisters Song
of Norway, Nordic
Prince and Sun
Viking were built in the early
1970s and the 37,500-ton Song
of America in 1982.
Kvaerner's Helsinki yard later undertook
the task of adding 87-foot midsections to
the Song of Norway
and Nordic Prince. Although
container ships had been lengthened
before, that was the first time such an
operation had been carried out on
passenger ships.
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The public spaces onboard Voyager include
a four-deck high promenade, a design featured for
the first time on a cruise ship. It comprises a
selection of shops, restaurants and entertainment
venues fronting on a winding street that is almost
half the ships length. This impressive promenade is
punctuated by two even more spectacular 11 deck
high atriums. Her main 1,359-seat theatre is so
large it takes up space in five different decks.
The largest dining room is on three different
levels, each with a different theme. For
entertainment, there are 12 bars and a 900-seat
arena for a variety of shows including ice dance.
For exercise, there is a nine-hole miniature golf
coarse, a full sized basketball court and a
rock-climbing wall situated behind the ships funnel
over 200 feet above the waterline. Voyager
has 618 inside passenger cabins and 939 outside
cabins of which 757 have verandas. Accommodation
for the 1,180 crew is 667 cabins fitted with TV and
refrigerators. The crew’s quarters also have
a recreation deck with two whirlpools, gymnasium,
three dinning rooms and a disco.
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Three Norwegian companies joined together in
1969 to create RCCL for the purpose of offering
year round 7 and 14-day cruises out of Miami. While
RCCL were building up a fleet of large ships, they
merged with Admiral Cruises in 1988 as they
specialized on short cruises with a fleet of
smaller ships. RCCL further expanded their fleet by
taking over Celebrity Cruises in 1997. They have
since been regarded as the second largest cruise
line in the world.
Voyager
cruises out of Galveston - Western Caribbean and
out of Barcelona - Mediterranean.
Explorer is
operated on cruises out of Cape Liberty - Bermuda,
Caribbean, New England & Canada.
Adventure's
main route is from San Juan/Puerto Rico - islands
throughout the Southern Caribbean &
Mediterranean cruises out of Barcelona &
Malaga.
Navigator
cruises out of Fort Lauderdale - various ports
throughout the Caribbean, and out of Civitavecchia
by Rome - Mediterranean & Egypt.
Mariner is
mainly operated on 7 Night cruises to the Mexican
Riviera out of Los Angeles.
Websites US: www.royalcaribbean.com. UK:
www.royalcaribbean.co.uk
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