seatec - Finnish marine technology review 2/2008 | Page 36

Presidential Suite – in this luxury suite you can stay the night even with a larger family enjoying the butler-service. CRUISE EUROPE environment, studying different elements But for now, Independence of the on the ships. There is constant develop- Seas is based at Southampton so there is Sisko Hellgren has taken full notice of the ment into the right direction,” she says. In bound to be some Union Jack flavour in growing trend where European cruises are the future, RCCL may also make the tran- the American-owned behemoth as well. suddenly a big hit. She is not surprised sition to using low-sulphur fuel. For instance, every room has a tea ket- that Independence started her tour of du- tle now – a bare necessity for any British ty around the Old Continent. TIME FOR TEA cruise-lover. “We saw this development already On April 30, Independence of the Seas was Like her sisters Freedom and Liber- with Voyager and Adventure that did a Eu- officially named in Southampton before ty, Independence boasts an interior décor ropean summer tour and were very suc- she embarked on her first paying cruise which caters largely to American tastes. cessful.” Hellgren predicts that the Euro- on May 2. During the summer, Independ- This translates to a good chunk of glass, ships will continue to be packed as more ence is busy making 14-night trips to the brass, and marble on board. Nevertheless, and more people get cruise fever. Mediterranean. When the autumn creeps the interior of the Independence is the most “The market will grow because there in, she will perform 11-night sailings to the subdued of the trilogy, Hellgren believes. are different options to choose from,” Canary Islands. All through summer and “There is definitely a more subtle feel- she says, pointing out to Independence’s fall, the vessel will also make shorter runs ing now, especially in the colour scheme,” tours which vary in both desti