I drove past the yard in Turku last week and the thing looked massive. For me it was the width (47 meters, 154 feet) that sort of put it into scale. It's being handed over to the customer today and sails away at the end of the week.
Despite all the kitsch inside, it's something for the builders to be proud of. Sadly, there are no new orders in so once they complete the sister ship it's big layoffs ahead.
Interesting vids on their website -> http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/ The 'Power up' -tab is more about the technical stuff.
We took an Alaskan Cruise five years ago and loathed it form beginning to end.
The scenery was stunning but the whole 'cruise' routine left us cold. Had we been offered a flight home after 48 hours we would have jumped at the chance.
Curiously there is only scant clearance of 1ft to get this monster under the Great Belt Bridge,Denmark, in order to exit the Baltic.
The bridge operator is being quoted as happy with this figure!!!
I am wondering does anybody know if the bridge clearance quoted of 65 Metres is one calculated taking into account factors which produce least clearance?
Sort of Highest Astronomical Tide level?
Whilst tides are said to be slight, what about pressure, wind and swell factors?
Oasis of the Seas is 7m too tall to sail under the bridge but should fit under by lowering its telescope ‘chimneys’ 6.15m while a low tide and a timely full thrust from the ship will take care of the remaining 85cm.
How can they possibly manage to evacuate that number of geriatric, litigious americans plus the 2500 crew within the 45 minutes required by the regs.
Can you imagine it, smoke in the passageways, emergency lighting and the ship rolling in bad weather, powerless, at three in the morning. That's the reality of an emergency.
I am convinced that, despite all the modern technology, we are engendering a latter day "Titanic Mentality" on the fleet of modern superliners with the passengers believing that they are completely safe whatever happens.
Passenger drills are a farce because you might alarm the paying customers.
What passengers choose to forget is that the nearest land is usually underneath them.
What a truly hideous vessel. Looks like a block of flats (or several blocks) and the interior is beyond words. An icon of poor taste!!
Always fancied a cruise but it would have to be on a 'traditional' liner, one where you always have at least a vague notion that you are on a ship and at sea.
Still, guess my views must be in the minority as there must be a huge market there.
Each to their own.
Im a cruise fan, and hgave been on 10 with RCI. Even so, Oasis is too big for me to even contemplate. Will be sticking to the smaller ships in the fleet, and may even change lines as have enjoyed a very pleasurable week on board Celebrity's comparitively tiny (80,000 tonnes) Century...
Always fancied a cruise but it would have to be on a 'traditional' liner, one where you always have at least a vague notion that you are on a ship and at sea.
Still, guess my views must be in the minority as there must be a huge market there.
Each to their own.
My view exactly, most of my friends love cruising so I accept that we are the odd ones out.
We keep receiving cruise material through the post, usually including a DVD. We watch the DVD looking for anything that would persuade us to try cruising again and end up shuddering at the thought.
What a truly hideous vessel. Looks like a block of flats (or several blocks) and the interior is beyond words. An icon of poor taste!!
Always fancied a cruise but it would have to be on a 'traditional' liner, one where you always have at least a vague notion that you are on a ship and at sea.
Still, guess my views must be in the minority as there must be a huge market there.
Each to their own.
Floating resort for the "Bucket and Spade Brigade" thats all it is, not traditional cruising.
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If you cannot see the hills, it's because it's raining, if you can see the hills that's because it's going to rain.
Build for the Americans to their specs, so you get what you pay for.
Maybe when Royal Carribean goes belly up this 'museum at sea' should be preserved as such for future generations. In so many ways it would be a great snapshot of our times. And I'm not referring to the interior designs here.
Mind you, it may well become our call with all our governments financial backings...
Still as a technical achievement, I still think it's something that the builders should be proud of.
Basically all that junk above the waterline weighs, relatively, little compared to the engines, fuel, water and ancilliary equipment necessary to service all the passengers.
I know it seems counter intuitive but it does work (thank goodness it does otherwise I would have been swimming many years ago). The data is supplied by the shipyard and the calculations for determining transverse and longitudinal stability are relatively simple.
In fact passenger vessel stability calculations are simpler than those for cargo vessels (pax weigh nothing and the other variables are relatively small compared to cargo weights where heights above the keel can be critical).
Re stability, in order to save weight high up the superstructure is usually built of aluminium while the hull is steel - they might use a bi-metal strip of steel and aluminium bonded together for the joint - here is one example http://www.triplate.com/?pagina=application
Before these joining strips were invented, the aluminium superstructures were usually riveted to the steel hull.
I would not like to be on a ship like Oasis in heavy weather with the main propulsion system disabled and the vessel lying broadside to the seas - just look at all that windage!
Although the odds of this happening are probably very small, especially as they would normally be able to avoid any heavy weather with good routing advice.
They probably also have very complex foil stabilising systems for use when underway to ensure virtually no movement of the vessel.
Although the odds of this happening are probably very small, especially as they would normally be able to avoid any heavy weather with good routing advice.
I have to say I was an ultra sceptic about paying actual money for a "so called" hell holiday on board an over crowded floating tower block full of american octagenarians. I don't like crowds or noise, and like a bit of private space. Under duress I agreeed to try a cruise on Voyager of the seas last summer, and I was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't be a cruise evangalist, but I would go again which is not the attitude I anticipated before I went. I had expected a sort of crowed hell in a glorified butlins shopping mall, but despite the math, the ship was quite, never seemed crowded and very relaxing. Travel arrangements including luggage handling were utterly painless. An outside cabin with a balcony seems an absolute must. Oasis looks just a little too large for comfort in terms of pax numbers. Think the Freedom or Voyager class are big enough. Pax age profile seemed predominantly 30-60 which was not what we'd expected. I can't beleive I'd do it again!
Perhaps a smaller ship in the Artic or Antartic might be more adventurous
She was in the Solent late yesterday afternoon to disembark workers, on her way to Florida where she will be based. quite impressive 220,000 ton, 6300 passengers, 2000 crew.
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Well just returned on a Cruise on the P & O Ventura to the Med (3500 pax plus 1800 crew)and encountered 2 F 8 to 9
first one of the Bay of Lions in the Med with an Off Shore F9.. yesthe Cap did warn us (That was a First) to expect bad Weather..Yes the Ship went up and down but did not go left or right and was able to place a glass on the Table and surprise surprise it staid put.. so they might look like Tower Block but they work and are quite sea kindly.. SWBO wants me to book on the Azura in May soo if she says its o k then thats fine by me
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We've been on some larger RCI ships (eg Navigator) but enjoy the smaller ones (eg Monarch) just as much. To my eyes Oasis looks too big but I'd give it a go if the itinery/price was right.
It's worth saying that like hotels and any other type of holiday not all cruises are the same. For our family, cruises are by far the best holiday type.
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