Cooks
By Nancy Reyes-Lumen & Friends
In weight, it is equal to 32,000 adult elephants. Can you relate
to these dimensions? According to officials of the line, “the
160,000-gross-registered-ton Freedom of the Seas weighs more than
80,000 and would trump New York’s famed Chrysler building
[1,046 feet] and Paris’s Eiffel Tower [986 feet] if it stood
upright on its bow.
“The width of
185 feet makes the ship wider than the White House, which is 168
feet long. When measured from the waterline to the top of the
funnel, Freedom of the Seas is 208 feet tall, about the same height
as two Statues of Liberty, placed head to toe.”
You can do some surfing
onboard because there is a surf park. The Flow Rider Surf Park’s
pool simulates the feeling of riding a 10-foot ocean wave moving
at 20 miles per hour.
FATHOMLESS EATS AND DRINKS
As early as March, we were given the news about this ocean liner since our personal
friend Iain Hay is fleet public health officer of Royal Caribbean International.
Iain is based in England with his wife Izza Gonzales. But his work base is in
Florida. On a visit to Manila, the couple told us about its launching and they
promised to update us about it.
On a tour of duty in any of the liners,
the officers check each and every corner of the ship. The food and beverage
requirements alone are astounding, what more of the safety and sanitation standards
to be followed? For one thing, all perishable materials are stored in reefer
vans, which are locked into the commissaries of the liner. There is no need
to open the reefers to transfer the goods to holding freezers and chillers,
thus eliminating the possibility of contamination.
To give us an idea of how eating and
drinking is done onboard: think “fathomless!” There is no end or
beginning of any meal. All meals are looped in an endless array of breakfast,
lunch, dinner, snacks, midnight snack, etc., and replenished every so often.
In other words, you can eat without end…no wonder they measured the weight
of the ship in elephants!
OTHER BIG FACTS
- It weighs 158,000 tons and can hold 3,634 guests at double occupancy.
- It has a cantilevered pool and an interactive water playground.
- It has a full-size boxing ring.
- There are 14-person family suites.
- Plus the usual features such as an ice-skating rink and a rock-climbing wall,
and then there’s the Royal Promenade, which is really a mall!.
- Staterooms and balconies are some of the largest and most spacious on the
seas, and are equipped with full-size flat-screen TVs..
- The Freedom has good news for techies: there is WiFi service.
- And get this—it will have connectivity for cell phones throughout the
ship. Yehey! And think of all the Pinoy crew and serve staff who’ll be
around to high-five you and give you little extras and maybe a few homesick
hugs.
- Among its planned voyages are seven-night western Caribbean itineraries from
Miami calling in Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Montego Bay, Jamaica;
and Royal Caribbean’s private destination, Labadee, Hispaniola.
OTHER DINING-OUT NEWS…
ON LAND
- New fine-casual dining room of Beaver Lopez Teak Bistro is now a restaurant,
where Chef Ed Quimson whips up the kind of comfort food too difficult to make
at home.
- New discovery in a hidden corner somewhere in Mandaluyong: try Cookbook Kitchen
of Gen Capati. We enjoyed the pastas and baked fish. Do not miss the famous
“Kittin’s Scarlet Cake,” which is true to its color! A delicious
ender. For directions, call 724-3595.
- Coming soon, so save up for it: Caked in Sugar coffee-table book by Penk Ching
and sister Shen Ratilla. No doubt this will be all about the fabulous cakes
and creations handmade by the talented sisters who made wedding cakes a reason
to get married.
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FRONTPAGE