Oasis of the Seas
This past weekend many travel agents and travel journalists, including me, finally got a chance to see Oasis of the Seas, one of the most eagerly anticipated cruise ships in recent memory. In the words of Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the vessel is a “game changer” for its mix of traditional, evolutionary and revolutionary elements.
To say Oasis of the Seas is massive is a bit of an understatement. It quite literally dwarfed the other ships in Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades. Yet, because of its “neighborhood” concept, it doesn’t feel as large as it most definitely is. Those seven neighborhoods – which include Central Park, Boardwalk, Royal Promenade, Pool & Sports Zone, Vitality at Sea Spa & Fitness, Entertainment Place and Youth Zone – help you navigate around the ship with greater ease. Multiple maps and interactive displays also help guests get to their destination. I can’t say I ever felt lost for long.
Despite its size, Oasis seemed to have a good passenger flow and easy boarding from the massive new dedicated terminal at Port Everglades. It took us just 15 minutes to check in, go up the escalators to the gangways and board at the Royal Promenade on Deck 5 (though we carried only about 3,200 passengers on this two-day sailing). I’ll have more to say about the ship’s dining, entertainment and design in subsequent columns. But for now, I’ll just comment on a few of the more significant innovations:
Central Park: Almost everyone has focused on Central Park, the open air park that runs through the center of the ship seven decks below the pool area (with stateroom balconies rising on both sides of the park). Walkways snakes guests past trees, plants and vines running the center walls. But this is much more than a park – it’s a dining area and public gathering space. Three of the ship’s top restaurants are located around the park – 150 Central Park, Chops Grille and Giovanni’s Table. These restaurants also open up onto the park itself to create open air cafes. But you can also experience more casual fare at Park Café, have a great glass of wine at Vintages or have a drink at Trellis Bar in the center of the park. At night, with the lights of the staterooms and the starlight above, this is a spectacular place.
Royal Promenade: This indoor shopping, dining and entertainment area, located on Deck 5, is really the heart of the ship. It’s also where Guest Services is located and where you board and disembark the vessel. On both sides of a very wide indoor boulevard are shops, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Here you can have a drink at Champagne Bar on one end of the boulevard, or dance to a Latin beat at Boleros at the other. You can shop for necklaces at Regalia Jewelry, have an espresso at Café Promenade, or buy a cupcake at the Cupcake Cupboard. You can sip a pint of Guinness at the Globe & Atlas Pub or have fresh pizza at Sorrento’s Pizza. And, if you get tired of the shops and dining, you can board the Rising Tides bar, a hovercraft like platform that takes you all the way up to Central Park on Deck 8.
Boardwalk: This unique space in the stern of the ship on Deck 6 is built around a full-size working carousel. Staterooms rise 12 decks on either side of the Boardwalk and the giant wing of the ship connects both sides at Deck 15 overhead (this is where the zip line takes guests across the canyon created by the Boardwalk). Back down on Deck 6, you can eat a hamburger at Johnny Rocket’s diner, have fish fry at the Seafood Shack or enjoy family activities on the Boardwalk. Just a short stroll to the stern you’ll find two of Royal Caribbean’s signature rock climbing walls (just as there are two signature FlowRider surfing machines up on the Sports Zone on Deck 15). Finally, at the very stern is the brand new Aqua Theater, an outdoor amphitheater, with two huge video screens on either side, where you can see two diving and synchronized swimming shows each day with Olympic divers and swimmers (they were still rehearsing those shows this past weekend).
Yes, Oasis of the Seas is large, but it has more features, amenities and public spaces than any vessel at sea. It will be interesting to see what a cruise with a full complement of 6,296 guests is like, but I have the feeling this massive vessel will absorb them quite nicely.