BAYONNE, N.J. --
Royal Caribbean International has taken its penchant for shipboard
gadgetry to the next level. Having introduced the rock-climbing
wall, the ice rink and other innovations, it is now taking the
wraps off the FlowRider, perhaps best described as a treadmill for
surfers.
The apparatus will
make its debut on the Freedom of the Seas, which will begin sailing
in May.
The toy had been
kept strictly hush-hush, and it was literally under wraps as guests
arrived for the big reveal at the Royal Caribbean Cruises terminal
at Cape Liberty here in Bayonne.
Assembled agents
and Crown and Anchor loyalty members burst into applause when CEO
Richard Fain and President Adam Goldstein showed the first national
TV ad for the surfing machine. The ad was populated with surfer
dudes and dudettes ripping gnarly surf and hanging ten and doing
other surfer-type things.
Goldstein and Fain
then revealed the real thing: the worlds first shipboard FlowRider,
a 32-by-40-foot apparatus that shoots a sheet of water up a
wave-like incline that allows people to get on a flowboard (a
shorter version of a surfboard) or a Boogie Board and surf.
The water comes
fast and strong, at 30,000 gallons per minute. Novices will
fall.
The first time you
do it, its a very short ride, said Fain,
especially if you try to stand up.
At the
demonstration, seasoned surfers and Boogie Boarders, all in blue
Royal Caribbean rashguards, took turns carving into the FlowRiders
water.
I wish Id brought
my board shorts, said Bill Sivillo of Captains Club Cruises and
Tours in Middletown, N.Y.
Ignacio Maza,
executive vice president of Signature Travel Network, said, Its
another reason to go on a cruise. I can see teens really excited
about doing this.
There are
FlowRiders all over the world -- San Diego, Cancun, Dublin, Osaka
and Moscow -- and a community of devotees. Tom Lochtefeld, the
inventor the FlowRider, described the experience as a cross between
snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding.
Want one in your
backyard? Lochtefeld gestured at the FlowRider at the Bayonne pier
and said, We can do this one for three quarters of a
million.
The FlowRider
follows a long list of firsts in shipboard entertainment at Royal
Caribbean. In addition to its signature rock-climbing wall, the
company has introduced mini-golf, self-levelling pool tables,
bungee trampolining and ice skating.
To contact
reporter Rebecca Tobin, send e-mail to [email protected].