Freedom of the Seas first look: surf's up!

Now that Freedom of the Seas has finally arrived at her toasty warm home in Miami--concluding her introductory tour for invited guests of cold, rainy, and water-sports-unfriendly places like Southampton, England and New York--we're happy to report that it's time to hang ten on the ship's super-cool Flowrider wave machine.

The aft end of deck 11, where the Flowrider is surrounded by stadium-style seating to entertain even those not brave enough to try surfing, was the most popular spot on the ship on the short introductory trip we just finished.

The Flowrider blasts 30,000 gallons of water a minute (more than enough to fill your backyard 20- by 40-foot inground pool) in a 3-inch sheet up a wave-shaped trampoline-like surface. Falling, which happens often, can look spectacular but is generally painless and fun.

Flowrider accommodates body-boarding on foam boards and surfing on 4-foot long hard-edged boards. Even someone who has tried neither can be body boarding quickly with the positive attitude and helpful tips of the sports staff. And once basic stability is mastered, it's time to start kneeling or standing and working on some tricks.

At separate times stand-up surfing on the hard-edged boards is allowed, and again, even rank novices are welcomed and encouraged. The staff will stand you up at the bottom of the machine on a board just out of the current, then, while holding your hands, edge you out into the water, let you stabilize a bit, and set you on your way. In our 100-passenger group, the vast majority washed out in 5 seconds or less, and a few past surfers were able to stay up for 15 seconds or so. Meantime everybody is applauding, hooting and hollering.

The ship's sports staff, meanwhile, could perform amazing tricks and just generally look super-cool as in the photo.

We'll have more details on Freedom, photos, and more in a future update.