With their enormous size, vast facilities and mind-bending ability to stay afloat, cruise ships are pretty impressive feats of engineering, whether you’re a frequent passenger or a reluctant novice.
The title of the largest one in the world right now is shared by two Royal Caribbean International Icon class ships: the Star of the Seas and the Icon of the Seas, which respectively can carry 7,600 passengers.
But, what if we told you that plans for a vessel eight times this size were not only floating around, but drifting much closer to actually becoming a reality?
Well, you better believe it. It’s called the Freedom Ship, and set to cost £12 billion to build, plans outline that it will be a mile-long, 30-deck-high monster, able to carry no less than 80,000 people.
Specifically, it will house 50,000 permanent residents, as well as have capacity for 10,000 cruise guests and day visitors, along with the 20,000 crew.
Freedom Ship will most likely run on nuclear fuel (to limit its carbon footprint – while apparently cleaning the ocean as it trundles along) and exist solely in international waters. She’s too big to dock in any port, anyway.
How the ship will house permanent residents who technically live in international waters is an interesting citizenship conundrum, but hey, let’s dive into what else will feature on board.
What will the Freedom Ship facilities be like?
According to The Telegraph, who interviewed chief executive of Freedom Cruise Line International Roger Gooch, Freedom Ship will boast the following facilities:
- High rise hotels
- A 15,000-capacity sports stadium
- A convention centre
- A water park
- Two museums
- A symphony hall
- A nightclub
- A casino
- A two-storey food hall, plus a shedload of restaurants
- Enough schools to cover kids from primary to college age
- Branches of banks and popular retailers
- A tram network, connecting various districts, plus 15 miles of walkways
- Three acres of ‘park’
- Ironically, an aquarium (where passengers can go diving)
Freedom Ship, along with all of that, will also feature a state-of-the-art research hospital, which apparently appeals to medical research facilities due to the fact it would sit outside any kind of regulatory body. Reassuring, right?
When will the Freedom Ship set sail?
Wondering how on earth this beast will take to the sea? Same. But apparently, it’s a lot closer to reality than you might first expect. The idea was first thought up in the 90s by American engineer Norman Nixon, who passed away in 2012.
The Guardian reported on the ship’s potential 26 years ago, but now it looks like it might actually be getting closer to fruition. There are proposals for the ships’s hull to be constructed in Indonesia, but the only thing holding back its completion is funding.
As Gooch explained: ‘We feel very confident that we can put this together, but the capitalisation is key.’ He outlined that funding could come from various streams, including investment from entrepreneurs who lease or buy space on the ship, as well as businesses that the holding company would have an interest in, such as the casino.
All sounds a bit surreal, doesn’t it? Stay tuned.
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