Titanic II? World?s largest cruise ship setting sail

[David Baxter PhD]

World?s largest cruise ship to set sail in December
By RobinD_travel , Bing Search
November 5, 2009

Want to make history? You can still be the first person on your block to sail on Royal Caribbean?s Oasis of the Seas, which will debut next month as the world?s largest cruise ship.

Oasis could easily have been named ?Mammoth of the Seas.? It?s nearly five times the gross tonnage of the Titanic, one and a half times longer than the U.S. Capitol building, sports 16 decks and has a capacity for 6,296 guests. It will have seven ?neighborhoods,? loft suites, an ice rink, a zip line, a climbing wall and surfing pools.

The ship made news this week when it had less than two feet of clearance to squeeze under a Danish bridge as it left its Finnish shipbuilding yard for its Caribbean cruising grounds. Its first public sailing will be a four-night mini-cruise departing on Dec. 1, which will visit Royal Caribbean?s private resort at Labadee, Haiti. The official inaugural cruise kicks off on Dec. 5, when the ship will begin its regular schedule of seven-night sailings in the Eastern Caribbean. Cruises will depart from Ft. Lauderdale and squeeze into the ports of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Nassau, the Bahamas.

For the mini-cruise, Orbitz still shows availability for a full selection of cabins, from interior staterooms ($699 per person, double occupancy) to the wildly luxurious Crown Loft Suites ($3,299). Cabins are also available for the official inaugural cruise, ranging from $1,299 to $7,159 per person, double occupancy.

How much room is left?

?There is space on the Dec. 1 sailing, though not much,? says Linda Hahn, cruise specialist and owner of Hahn Blue Sky Travel. Hahn is one of the top sellers for Royal Caribbean in the central Texas area.

If you?d like to sail over the Christmas holidays, however, chances are there will be room at the inn.

?Our holiday sailings have required more discounting (to fill) than we anticipated,? said Royal Caribbean Chief Financial Officer Brian Rice on a Nov. 3 conference call to discuss the company?s third-quarter earnings.

What do you think about behemoth cruise ships? Would you sail on Oasis of the Seas, a ship whose potential guest population is twice as large as that of many small towns? What about Disney?s Dream, scheduled to launch in 2011 with a guest capacity of 4,000 ? and the world?s longest water coaster at sea? Share your thoughts with other travelers in the comments section.

 

[NicNak]

I just wonder about the chaos trying to board a boat that size with all those people :blush:

Where's my cabin?

 

[Retired]

Cruise ships have worked out logistical plans to get passengers on board their ships. The terminals (in Florida) from which they depart are immense and people are boarded methodically.

From what I've heard, Royal Carribean has built various facilities around the world to accomodate Oasis, including the docking facilities at their private resort in Haiti.

I don't think I would enjoy such a large cruise ship, but I am certain onbioard logistics have been worked out, such as dining at various dining rooms to avoid traffic jams.

The larger ships seem to appeal to younger travelers because of bigger and more outrageous onboard facilities.

Older travelers tend to seek out the smaller ships that might have about 2000 passengers. They may not have ice skating rinks, climbing walls and water slides, but would have lectures, entertaining shows and relaxing amenities.

One of the cruise lines appealing to the older crowd is Holland America.

Oasis can be seen at its home port in Fort Lauderdale

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Any way you slice it, that is one ginormous ship!

 

[Retired]

I have not seen it in person yet, but expect to see it sometime in the next few months, however the video of the Oasis clearing the bridge in Denmark clearly showed its size.

No doubt, it's a big tub!

 

[Eye Stigmata]

Here is some info I found online about this. REALLY neat stuff !!!!


The zip line is suspended 9 decks above Boardwalk. Adventurers will speed diagonally across the open air atrium, a distance of more than 82 feet (25 meters).



The Oasis of the Seas will be the first cruise ship suites to feature two levels and floor to ceiling windows.


The exclusive Royal Loft Suite is available to accommodate groups of six. The Royal Loft Suite is the largest of all lofts onboard Oasis of the Seas. Spanning 1,524 sq. ft. (141 sq. m.), it will feature its own Baby Grand piano, indoor and outdoor dining rooms that seat eight, private wet bar, a library and extended 843-square-foot (78.3-square-meter) balcony with its own LCD television, entertainment area and Jacuzzi. The Royal Loft Suite has the ability to connect to a Crown Loft Suite for additional room to accommodate a total of ten guests, providing 2,069 sq. ft. (192 sq. m.) of space.



Anyone else dying to go on this cruise now???!?!!!

 

[Retired]

Anyone else dying to go on this cruise now???!?!!!

The fact is, when on a cruise, one spends precious little time in one's stateroom except in the case of sea sickness, sleeping or changing attire.

Most time is spent on deck, or on shore excursions or in some shipboard activity.

A stateroom might be used for entertaining when traveling with a group, and these oppulent ostentatious staterooms have been designed for their WoW appeal in travel brochures, IMO.

Unless the cruise is very long such as world cruise, a two storey stateroom would be an unnecessary extravagance for most travelers.

The money would be better spent on the actual itinerary, and shore excursions rather on the stateroom which is used mainly for sleeping.

 

[Banned]

These cruise ships don't exactly cater to the working poor, though. I can see very wealthy people using the suites for private entertaining and such. If I was on a cruise ship, I would be spending my time likely by the pool, or sleeping until our next port. I've actually been considering a cruise, but maybe not this one.