Sunfun68

In the summer of 2017 we did exactly that on an Alaska cruise but I think Royal changed their policy since then and now requires both occupants of a cabin to purchase the deluxe package if one wants it.

20 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

I thought Captain Dahlgren is expert enough for those of you who still know him but maybe not for all these technical masterminds here on Cruisecritic. And next class built after Voyager was Radiance class not Quantum. This thread should go back to topic: Oasis remains too big for Bermuda which is currently absolutely true even if she would have 8 Azipods....

It really doesn't matter what the sequence was of ship class build, does it?  Quantum and Radiance class have two azipods and Oasis class has three.  If Bermuda increases as a revenue producer, I predict there will be Oasis class ships calling there in a decade or less, without re-dredging the channel or lengthening the Heritage wharf.  Why?  B/C the game is making money and the Oasis is perfectly capable of maneuvering through the newly dredged channel and docking at the Heritage wharf despite the slightly larger length and width of the Oasis compared to the Anthem.  The only thing I have seen in all these threads that MIGHT limit the Oasis would be IF the pilings would need to be strengthened due to the significantly increased mass of the Oasis and, if the smell of money becomes strong enough, this too will come to pass.

18 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Wikipedia? Expert?

Darned if I know.  I received this from Saab4444 and he said it was from "an expert".  Rather than question Saab4444 about the veracity of his expert, I merely added additional information to make his information more informative.

16 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

This is a quote from an expert:

 

In 1999, with the launch of Voyager of the Seas – then the largest cruise ship in the world – RCL has also cut a substantial chunk out of its ships’ operating costs by using a massive propulsion device trade-named the Azipod.

 

Produced by Swedish-Swiss engineering concern ABB, the Azipod is a fixed-pitch propeller mounted on a gondola or pod that can be turned in a complete circle – enabling the ship to turn 360 degrees without moving forward or back. The pod contains the electric motor that drives the propeller. Because it can turn to any point of the compass, the need for a rudder is eliminated.

 

„The pod improves efficiency, and it improves the maneuverability significantly,” says Capt. Patrik Dahlgren, vice president of marine operations for Celebrity Cruises’ and fleet optimization for all RCL brands. “When you build really large cruise ships like when we started with the Voyager class, there were two Azipods and one fixipod,” which provides thrust but doesn’t rotate.

 

The fixipod was left off of subsequent newbuilds, and the Azipods continued to be mounted in pairs, with the redundancy providing backup propulsion if one fails.

 

An addendum to the information from the expert - "...subsequent newbuilds, Azipods continued to be mounted in pairs.." should have continued  "...as in the Quantum class of ships.  However, the Oasis class of ships has been outfitted with three azipods, all three of which are able to rotate 360 degrees".

5 minutes ago, Sunfun68 said:

 

The picture supplied by Cool Cruiser,  certainly would indicate that none of the azipods is fixed. 

3 hours ago, Pratique said:

This doesn't sound right.

 

 

4 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

Yes the one in the middle is a fixed pod. And you have to consider bow thruster power as well. Overall Radiance class still offer the best maneuverability due to their gas turbine power and sleek design. Much better than e.g. Voyager and Freedom class.

 

And who is more powerful, a bus with 500 hp or a Porsche with 300 hp?

All of these ships have astronomical maneuverability as a result of their 360 degree azipods; the type of generator that supplies the electric power to the azipod has zero effect on maneuverability.

10 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Short tutorial on quoting, go to the post you want to quote and use the quote button that is under the text.  If you want to quote multiple posts, click on the + sign and then click quote on each you want to quote.  

 

On to content, who says the propulsion is more advanced?  Are you just comparing numbers or did someone tell you this?

Thanks; I just gave it a try and it appears to work.  As a retired engineer, I am using logic.  If a ship has three points from which to direct 360 degree propulsion (i.e. Oasis) it will have at least the same and most likely better ability to maneuver than a ship that has only two points (i.e. Anthem) to direct propulsion.

Sunfun68: "...especially since the propulsion system on the Oasis is even more advanced and precise as that on the Anthem". 

Biker19:  "How is that?"

Sunfun68:  Oasis has 3 azipods with a total of 60MW of power for maneuvering while the Anthem has only 2 with 41MW.

The mass of the Oasis may cause the pilings to be a limiting factor since the Oasis is 1.5 times as massive as the Anthem.  The additional length of 40 feet is not a limiting factor (40 feet is about 25 paces for an average person.  Pace off 25 paces from the front or back of the Anthem, depending how its docked, the next time you're in Bermuda on the Anthem and you will immediately see how this additional length is insignificant for docking purposes.)  The additional 50' of width is also not a factor for docking as the side of the ship would just be 50' (about 30 paces) further out into the water.  As far as the channel is concerned, the 40' length difference and the 50' width difference in a 500 foot wide channel is not significant, especially since the propulsion system on the Oasis is even more advanced and precise as that on the Anthem (and for safety, the Oasis could just go a little slower than the Anthem).  Bermuda limits ships in the channel that have drafts of greater than 33'; this would also not be limiting as the Oasis has a draft of only 31' and the channel is actually more than 40' deep, giving the Oasis more than 10' clearance from the bottom of the channel.  It appears to me that, except possibly for the strength of the pilings, any limitations to the Oasis docking at Heritage Wharf are regulatory, not physical.  

If I could figure how to reply to a specific post rather than the bottom-of-the page reply to the entire thread, this would be a whole lot shorter; since I can't, it isn't.

Sunfun68 said "I am not sure what you mean by "structurally".  If you are referring to the number of passengers, that is  certainly a possibility.  You are however, absolutely incorrect about the additional 40 foot length not being able to be accommodated.  As long as the Oasis docks in the seaward berth it could EASILY dock at the Royal Dockyard.  You are absolutely incorrect about the channel.  As I mentioned previously, these channels are dredged out to several times the width of the Anthem and are about 42' deep.  The Oasis on a human scale appears much larger than the Anthem, but on a scale of moving through these newly dredged channels, the extra 40' in length and 50' width at the water line are insignificant.  A report of the Bermuda commission planning the dredging mentioned accommodating larger ships with up to 6000 passengers which indicates planning not only for the scheduled Quantum class, but for larger ships (Oasis) in the future."

Ourusualbeach replied "So, if it is that easy as you insist for the Oasis to dock in Bermuda could you explain why she does not have one stop scheduled for her 2020 itineraries out of Bayonne.  Instead she is almost exclusively doing the boring 7 night Bahamas run."

Finally, Sunfun68 says - Not being on the RCL cruise itinerary planning staff, I haven't the foggiest idea which of the dozens of possible reasons or combinations thereof find Oasis not docking in Bermuda.  My comment only had to do with what is POSSIBLE, not what is likely or planned.  The same with the summer Oasis itineraries being somewhat unexciting; I am sure there are very good reasons but, again, I don't have a clue what they are.

I have lived in the NYC area for the last 70 years and there has NEVER been snow between the beginning of May and the end of September, the time Oasis will be here.  The Anthem is scheduled to be back in Bayonne in October 2020.

Enough already of the snow shoveling and ice sculpture stories in Oasis' Central Park.

Let's just face it; we are just a bunch of dopes who take cruises.  Royal Caribbean is a 30 billion dollar company with 70,000 employees.  I can pretty much guarantee they have crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's even though they haven't sent personal messages about their deliberations, research and planning to us dopes.

I am not sure what you mean by "structurally".  If you are referring to the number of passengers, that is  certainly a possibility.  You are however, absolutely incorrect about the additional 40 foot length not being able to be accommodated.  As long as the Oasis docks in the seaward berth it could EASILY dock at the Royal Dockyard.  You are absolutely incorrect about the channel.  As I mentioned previously, these channels are dredged out to several times the width of the Anthem and are about 42' deep.  The Oasis on a human scale appears much larger than the Anthem, but on a scale of moving through these newly dredged channels, the extra 40' in length and 50' width at the water line are insignificant.  A report of the Bermuda commission planning the dredging mentioned accommodating larger ships with up to 6000 passengers which indicates planning not only for the scheduled Quantum class, but for larger ships (Oasis) in the future.

My point being, these approaches are not dredged out like the Panama canal; they are considerably wider than the width of a large ship.  If the Anthem moves through these channels with ease, the Oasis at 60 feet wider at the water line, will also move through with ease.

Puuleese!  The approach to Bermuda?  You are obviously not a boat person.

There may be some ports where length matters, but certainly not most and absolutely not the Royal Dockyard where I have been a half dozen times.  As long as the end of the ship pointing toward the other berth does not extend beyond some designated point, the end of the ship pointing toward the sea could, theoretically, be infinitely longer as long as the depth continues at 30 something feet.

Oasis may not be able to pass under the VNB, but it certainly can dock in Bermuda.  The ability to dock is not limited by the width of the ship or length (Oasis is only 40 feet longer than the Anthem anyway), but by its draft. The Royal Dockyard is a former British Navy Base where heavy cruisers used to dock; their draft is about 27 feet, the draft of the Oasis is 29 feet.  The draft of an aircraft carrier is about 37 feet, but I don't know if any of them ever docked at the Royal Dockyard..

A number of posts have addressed concerns that many destinations available to the Anthem would not be accessible to Oasis.  Except for the height problem in getting under bridges, Oasis is only 40 feet longer than the Anthem and its draft is 30 feet opposed to Anthem's 29 feet.  The big difference is in the width of the Oasis and in most ports, the width, within reason, is not a factor.

Yes, I believe it is stretched by about a foot!!!!!!!

I just returned from a Bermuda cruise on the Anthem; at the Captain's corner, the captain said the Oasis will return to Bayonne the summer of 2020.  I don't know if they will take on a million gallons of balast, lower their stacks and sail only at low tide, but RCL appears intent on sailing the Oasis out of Bayonne.  Since the Oasis' listed height is 236' and the Verrazano allows ships up to 228' tall, this should be interesting.  I know one thing though, if you want to part in the parking garage when the Oasis comes to town, arrive early.  We arrived about 12:30 and parked in a spot only about ten feet from the edge of the roof on the 4th floor.