Art Work on Board

Good morning,

The art work on board Freedom of the Seas is just exquisite.  I'm not referring to the art that is for auction or for sale, I'm referring to the art that decorates the ship itself.

The ship above is protected in a glass case.  The detail is just gorgeous.

Here is artwork painted on a brick wall that you would not expect to find on a ship at sea.  This is on the Royal Promenade at Sorrento's Pizza.

The air and space theme of this artwork high in the forward atrium (note the people five decks below at the bottom of the image) is very appropriate for a ship sailing out of Port Canaveral, so very close to Cape Canaveral.

And, these last three shots are of glass art work. 

Each is unique and huge!

I plan to take more detailed pictures of this with my bigger Canon camera.  But, in the meantime, this is an overview of the many, many pieces of art on board Freedom of the Seas.

More tomorrow if you would like join me.  :)

Very best,
Lois

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 Introduction to Glass Fusing

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Sea Day

Good morning,

Our favorite days on board are absolutely the sea days. 

The image above was taken on deck 4 of the Freedom of the Seas.  The deck wraps around the dining room which allows for spectacular views for those dining inside.

This image was taken on an aft deck of the ship as it is being propelled by five giant engines that produce 101,381 horsepower.  That's a whole lot of horses running around down there in the Engine Room!

I hope your day is as beautiful and peaceful as this day at sea.

Very best,

Lois

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Faulkner Standard Recliner Desert Sand/Black Mesh with Wood Arms 

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Space Ship Landed?

Good morning,

Is that a space ship on the side of Deck 12 of Freedom of the Seas?

Let's look from the outside.  That round "thing" is hanging off of the starboard (right) side of the ship, 12 decks above the sea.

We'll just get a little closer...

 ...and we can see it is a hot tub.  What a view! 

I think I'd like to have a couple of bloody marys before I hop into this tub for a soak!

*chuckles*  I still haven't counted all the hot tubs on this ship.  I'm sure this one is out here for the view, not because the naval architects couldn't find a different spot on board.  ;)

I hope to see you tomorrow for more images captured while I roam around the ship.

Very best,
Lois

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Belize Oval II Hot Tub Spa 

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St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. Arrival

Good morning,

My images today are of our arrival to St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. aboard Freedom of the Seas.

I moved to the top deck of Freedom and stood along the rail next to the jogging track.

There were a few others up here to capture images, too.

And there is nothing more romantic than standing at the rail on a beautiful ship as you sail into such a gorgeous port.

We hadn't been to St. Thomas for quite a number of years since we were there aboard Splendour of the Seas.  I guess during the winter seasons of 1999, 2000, and 2001, we were there every couple of weeks or so.  During other parts of the year, we were in Europe aboard Splendour.

Here comes the pilot boat.  Our ship will slow so the pilot boat can pull along side and the pilot will come aboard to guide us into St. Thomas.

If you look carefully inside the entrance to the bay, you'll see another ship is already in port.

The hill sides are a lush green.  On the far hills there are homes that have a fantastic view of the harbor.

Again, if you look carefully, you will be able to spot the ruins of an old fort at the entrance to the bay.

Here is a closer view.

As we were sailing into St. Thomas, a sea plane was flying out.

And, here we have tied up in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.  So beautiful.

More images of this and other ports will be in later posts.

I hope you continue on our cruise with us.

Very best,
Lois

Check out other Colors of August on Life Looms Large.  :)

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 Island Showcase - One Day Is Not Enough: St. Thomas & St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (VHS Video)

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Olive or Twist - Gorgeous Glass

Good morning,

High atop the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship is the Viking Crown Lounge.  This lounge is a signature of Royal Caribbean since the very beginning when there was a Viking Crown atop the first ship, Song of Norway. 

The tiny lounge atop that first ship has certainly grown up and matured on board the ships built for the company since then.

On the largest ships, the Viking Crown includes several different venues in the large circular structure 15 decks above the sea.

This is the Olive or Twist portion of the Viking Crown.  It's a popular spot at night, but I enjoyed being here during the day to be able to move around, admire, and capture images of the beautiful glass spheres.  One of them is in the foreground of the above picture.

Each of these is individual...

...and absolutely gorgeous.

They remind me of the glass My Honey and I saw for sale in Venice, Italy.

And, perhaps that is where they were made.  I will have to see if I can find someone who knows.

They also make me think of my friend, Lynn, at Olive Knitting who does beautiful bead work.  Have you seen these before Lynn?

Tomorrow I'll still be wandering the ship with camera in hand.  I hope you'll all still be here with me to see where I will go next.

Very best,
Lois

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 The Complete Encyclopedia of Antiques

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Sharks Circling?

Good morning,

I'm back on the pool deck today.  While strolling along the outside of the deck I glanced over to one of the pools and caught the above out of the corner of my eye.

No, it wasn't sharks circling, it was a scuba training class.

I waited around for what seemed a terribly long time...

...and even strolled over to another part of the deck to get a bigger perspective on this whole picture.

Finally!

This is one class I'll pass, but it sure is neat to be able to do this training on a ship.  We'll be going to three different places where people can dive on this cruise.

Tomorrow I'll still be taking walks around the ship with camera in hand.  I hope you'll join me.  I am having a great deal of fun here!

Very best,
Lois

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 444 Mares Scuba Gear Package | Mares Regulator, Octo, BCD, & Gauges, XSmall

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Freedom's Pool Deck

Good morning,

Each day I go on a couple of walks around the ship and take lots of images.  Today I have images of the Pool Deck of the Freedom of the Seas.

I should call it the Pools Deck because there is a whole collection of them here to suit everyone's idea of fun in the sun.

And, of course, there are bars available.  ;)

I haven't counted all of the hot tubs yet, but they seem to be everywhere.

This is the H2O Zone that kids of all ages seem to enjoy.

I came back another day and got many more images here that show more of the water fun.  Most of these figures have water spouting, shooting, or dumping out of them.  Great fun!

So, tomorrow I'll take another walk with camera in hand.  I hope you're having fun learning all about this new ship.

Very best,

Lois

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 Wild Planet Dive Balls

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