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Enchantment of the seas: RCI's newly stretched Vision Class vessel has been enhanced with new enchantments.

Article Excerpt
One afternoon back in 1997, during an inaugural-season sailing of Royal Caribbean International's Enchantment of the Seas (part of the line's innovative six-ship Vision Class), I sat in her seven-level atrium enjoying its oversized windows and glass walls--offering a crystal-clear sense of being at sea no matter where you turn--plus its glass elevators, shimmering sculpture, and contemporary light-toned decor that added to the open and airy ambiance. A string quartet provided just as light (almost caress-like) sounds near the Champagne Terrace. I remember thinking, "Wow! What a breathtaking ship!" Now, after last summer's $60-million stretch project, plus a general sprucing up of the vessel's existing parts, there is simply more enchantment to wow her lucky passengers.

The lengthening of the cruise liner was in itself awe-inspiring, an engineering marvel accomplished through the teamwork of two European shipyards--Aker Finnyards of Finland, where the ship was originally built and where the new mid-section was constructed; and Keppel Verolme of Rotterdam, where the mid-body was inserted after being barged 1,430 miles. Done in a dry-dock for the first time ever, the stretch took only 31 days to complete, thanks to modern technology (25 years ago it would taken three months). Now the two key parts of the process can be accomplished swiftly: splitting the vessel by cutting through more than 1,969 linear feet of steel with gas...

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