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.
Navigator and Mariner have
extended balconies making them different in
external appearance from the first three
ships.
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's
Itinerary is now mainly from Australia -
New Zealand, and out of ports in Japan and China.
Reviews.
Explorer's
Itinerary is out of Cape Liberty - Bermuda,
Caribbean, New England & Canada. Reviews.
Adventure's
Itinerary is from San Juan/Puerto Rico -
islands throughout the Southern Caribbean &
Northen Europe cruises out of Southampton/England.
Reviews.
Navigator's
Itinerary is out of Galveston & New
Orleans - various ports throughout the Caribbean,
and out of Civitavecchia by Rome & Messina -
Mediterranean. Reviews.
Mariner's
Itinerary is now mainly out of Singapore
and Baoshan/Shanghai/China. Reviews.
Websites US: www.royalcaribbean.com. UK:
www.royalcaribbean.co.uk
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