Travel
demure surroundings, the private Crown & Anchor Th e main 1,200-seat restaurant, providing more
WorK ThaT BoDy
club is the place to go. Th e Casino Royale has over than a soupcon of glamour and glitz, is a dramatic Th e 9,700sq ft ShipShape Fitness Centre is
300 slot machines set amid acres of gleaming gold three-storey aff air with a chandelier the size of a the largest gym at sea. With its fl oor to ceiling
while a karaoke club proves popular with wannabes helicopter, excellent waiting staff and a jolly good windows and stunning, uninterrupted ocean views
– not only do they show off their skills in public with wine list. Named Leonardo’s, Isaac’s, and Galileo’s it was almost enough to assuage our guilt twinges
gusto but most want to take their embarrassment respectively, they are linked by a dramatic staircase about gorging the extravagantly more-ish food.
home too, on a CD cut in a private recording room. with central supporting columns richly decorated in Maintaining the philosophy of activity-oriented
Well, it takes all kinds…… gold leaf. With the fi nest cuisine and dining options diversions, it off ers Strength, Life Fitness and
created to satisfy the most demanding tastes and Everlast equipment, vitality workshops, yoga (a $10
sTroLL aLong ThE Prom
a seemingly endless parade of waiters available to fee applies), pilates classes ($15 fee) and has, to boot,
At the heart of the vessel is the Royal Promenade, a pander to every culinary need, guests are assured of a full size boxing ring, the fi rst at sea. Th e Power
shopping, dining and entertainment boulevard longer impeccable service and world-class food. Plate (three 15-minute sessions, $45); a vibrating
than a football pitch. By night and day, this is the For fun surroundings, ‘Johnny Rockets’, a lovingly exercise platform, is apparently just the ticket for
focal hub of the Freedom, open not to the sky but a recreated 1950s American diner with juke box on increasing metabolism, reducing cellulite, improving
six-storey artifi cially-lit atrium. Here you will fi nd every table is the tops. Waiting staff rock’n’roll as they fl exibility and circulation. Can’t be bad!
the ‘Olde English’ Bull and Bear Inn and ‘Vintages’ dish up your burgers and milk shakes!
wine bar where one evening a multi-talented group Th e Far East infl uences the cuisine in ‘Jade’. As
sTuffy cruising? no morE!
onboard chefs have Test your skills by scaling the 43 feet high rock-
developed dishes climbing wall or catch a wave on the FlowRider, the
COOL!
like ‘Tom Kha Gai world’s fi rst onboard surf park where cruisers can
Chicken Coconut surf or body-board against 20 mph waves! Make
Soup’ and ‘Ebi Ni like Torvill and Dean by showing off some fancy
Drunken Prawns footwork on the ice skating rink, try fl oating golf,
with Sake’, why not pole jousting, or work up a healthy sweat on the
go the whole hog inline skating track. Th at’s not all – there is a nine
of wine tenders performed a rousing version of and order Chinese plum wine, Indian beers, green hole miniature golf course, jogging track and full size
‘Heard It Th rough Th e Grapevine.’ A few yards tea, or a Singapore Sling to accompany your meal. sports court. All that exercise is bound to get you
further along are clothes shops, Ben & Jerry’s ice Meanwhile, the popular Windjammer Café is looking and feeling shipshape!
cream parlour and ‘A Clean Shave’, which rekindles open for breakfast, lunch and casual dining.
the nostalgia of a barbershop. When, perhaps inevitably, you feel your waistline
going ashorE
is suff ering, you can opt for the healthy ShipShape Th ough it was tempting to stay on board and take
fooD gLorious fooD
menus which off er low fat, low cholesterol options. advantage of the ship’s facilities, it would have been
Food is a big thing on cruise ships and on the a shame to miss the chance to see what Puerto
‘Freedom’ we could have ricocheted from one
ocEans of PamPEring
Rico, St Maarten and St Th omas had to off er.
eaterie to the next if we’d been so inclined. Whether Because the world and (especially) his wife are spa Copious tours and excursions are available at each
you prefer gourmet meals in chic surroundings or crazy, don’t miss being pampered just because you’re stop including a champagne catamaran sailing trip
something more casual, dining on these ships is a at sea. Th e state-of-the-art Freedom Day Spa with around St Th omas, jet-skiing or parasailing in St
gastronomic adventure. Reservations-only specialty 17 treatment rooms, off ers the whole health and Maarten, horse riding or touring the Bacardi rum
restaurants include the elegant Chops Grille and beauty caboodle. You can have your teeth whitened distillery in Puerto Rico.
Italian themed Portofi no (each with a cover charge if you fancy fl ashier gnashers, zap those wrinkles Or, you can simply shop till you drop - many of
of $20 per person) – neither of these allow entry to with botox, try acupuncture for weight loss or stress the old buildings in these cruise ports have been
children under 13 years. relief; or simply chill out on the fl oatation bed. For converted into jewellery shops.
sheer luxury, the Asian Spa Ritual, described as ‘a 105 Th en, at the end of each day’s cruise adventure,
minute journey of pure bliss from the soles of your your fl oating resort is waiting with palate-pleasing
feet to the top of your scalp’ will set you back $265. food, razzle dazzle entertainment and swishifi ed
You will leave the salon fl oating on air. accommodation. Really, what more could you ask for?
Fact file:
9-night Miami Stay & Caribbean Cruise from £1189 per person; balcony cabin
£250 per person extra. Stay 2 nights in the Crest Hotel Suites, Miami, before
joining Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas for 7 nights. Prices per person on
a full board basis for 2 adults travelling and include return fl ights from London
PLUS
Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic. Fly Upper Class for an extra £1790 per person
See Page 60 for
return. (Prices include all taxes which are subject to change.)
our City Breaks
For further details contact:
travel@waterfrontmagazines.co.uk
travel feature...
magazine 19
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