Quantum Class and Oasis Class Design

It is apparent that the Quantum Class ships are different in design from the Oasis Class and I have been trying to figure out the reason Royal moved away from the aft open deck area (aqua theater and boardwalk) and the interior balcony staterooms that the Oasis Class ships have.

I really thought the design of the Oasis Class was a winner and would be carried onto their new builds but apparently not.

Does anyone know the reason behind this because I'm totally confused :confused:

I don't know if this is the main reason, but the shipyard they chose to build Quantum limits the maximum width of a ship. It would have been impossible to build an Oasis class ship at that shipyard. Well, that may be slightly incorrect. They might have been able to build it, but they would not have been able to float it out to sea.

Royal is an innovative brand and if they kept on doing the same design from ship to ship then people may not want to sail on the newer ships. By keeping everything new and 'alluring' it creates demand for a new product, meaning more profits. The Oasis class is an incredibly different perception of cruising and has its own feel, as does every class they build. Royal has actually kept design before, though, from the Voyager-class to the Freedom-class. Even the project name for the Freedom-class before it was officially launched was Voyager-plus, or something like that.

I hope this helps.

It is apparent that the Quantum Class ships are different in design from the Oasis Class and I have been trying to figure out the reason Royal moved away from the aft open deck area (aqua theater and boardwalk) and the interior balcony staterooms that the Oasis Class ships have.

 

I really thought the design of the Oasis Class was a winner and would be carried onto their new builds but apparently not.

 

Does anyone know the reason behind this because I'm totally confused :confused:

I would guess its so they can provide a variety of types of ships, and it keeps people coming back to Allure & Oasis

I wouldn't say RCI is moving away from it just yet. They are building 1, maybe 2 more Oasis Class ships.

I'm more curious why they moved away from their traditional Viking Crown Lounge. :confused:

Just a guess: the Oasis class ships were designed to sail out of warm water ports year-round while the Quantum class were designed for colder water ports.

For instance, if you're sailing out of Bayonne in January you really don't want a ship with as much of the interior exposed as you get on the Oasis class.

I'm more curious why they moved away from their traditional Viking Crown Lounge. :confused:

While I have always enjoyed the Viking Crown Lounge, it does seem to be woefully underutilized. Most of the time, it has a sparse crowd at best.

I would guess its so they can provide a variety of types of ships, and it keeps people coming back to Allure & Oasis

The newer class is a little smaller and carries less people. One of the thoughts of the open middle area which continues into Central Park was the wider design gave more stability for her length and weight. Perhaps this is on the other side of that threshold, but I do agree with they had other ideas for that space.

I wouldn't say RCI is moving away from it just yet. They are building 1, maybe 2 more Oasis Class ships.

 

I'm more curious why they moved away from their traditional Viking Crown Lounge. :confused:

That is correct there is to be a fourth Oasis-class ship. During the keel-laying ceremony for the third Oasis-class ship at STX in St. Nazaire, France, Royal Caribbean announced that a fourth Oasis-class ship is planned.

In one of the recent interviews with the CEO. They approached the design from different directions in regards to Oasis class vs Quantum class. I believe he said that they had a kitchen sink attitude with Oasis class, so all of the ideas dictated the size of the ship. Whereas, for Quantum class they had a idea of the size the ship they wanted, so went from there.

I think, if they had interior balcony cabins on the Quantum, you would be able to hop across the balconies:eek:

In one of the recent interviews with the CEO. They approached the design from different directions in regards to Oasis class vs Quantum class. I believe he said that they had a kitchen sink attitude with Oasis class, so all of the ideas dictated the size of the ship. Whereas, for Quantum class they had a idea of the size the ship they wanted, so went from there.

That may be a simple but elegant answer. Also the fact that she was reportedly designed to be based in more temperate, non-tropical home ports.

I would guess its so they can provide a variety of types of ships, and it keeps people coming back to Allure & Oasis

Bingo! Just because something is wildly popular doesn't mean a company will design every future product offering to be similar. That would be like saying that since the Ford Explorer was one of the most popular vehicles ever to be introduced, Ford should have stuck with that design and made nothing but SUV's forever after. :)

Just a guess: the Oasis class ships were designed to sail out of warm water ports year-round while the Quantum class were designed for colder water ports.

 

For instance, if you're sailing out of Bayonne in January you really don't want a ship with as much of the interior exposed as you get on the Oasis class.

You are absolutely correct. Quantum class was designed as a colder weather ship with the focus on the indoor spaces.

The size of the Oasis is just way to large for some ports. For example, they were planning to send Quantum to Bermuda (Bermuda didn't dredge yet), but the Oasis would not even have been an option to sail to Bermuda because of its size. The Quantum is still going to be a hugely innovative ship.

With the way events unfolded perhaps RCI deemed the Oasis Class design such a huge success over everything else out there that it exercised the option to build a fourth Oasis Class and not a fourth Quantum Class. I think a while back they stated that they will not exercise the option for a fourth Quantum Class. Yes things may change, and they could decide to build Q4. If you look at the current order book Meyer Werft in Papenburg is booked through 2019. So anything earlier maybe at Meyer Turku Yard. And with that we may see a "Quantum Plus" since they are not limited to size of the beam due to the building dock.

With all the new technology and futures to be included in Quantum, I think Oasis 3 and 4 will take it to a greater level and be even more successful.

When first renderings were released I was disappointed with the Quantum design.

Then I "explained to myself" that this is simply a different class of ships designed for different type of cruising that should be accepted as is.

From that prospective I am now looking forward to the Quantum premiere.

It is apparent that the Quantum Class ships are different in design from the Oasis Class and I have been trying to figure out the reason Royal moved away from the aft open deck area (aqua theater and boardwalk) and the interior balcony staterooms that the Oasis Class ships have.

 

I really thought the design of the Oasis Class was a winner and would be carried onto their new builds but apparently not.

 

Does anyone know the reason behind this because I'm totally confused :confused:

In a nutshell one size does not fit all, even within the same cruise brand. The Oasis Class is a winner for sure, which is why Oasis 3 and Oasis 4 are being built. This being said, these ships are not ideal for all destinations and ports. The ships are very open to the elements so warm weather cruising is especially ideal for the Oasis Class. Of course being exceptionally large there are also restrictions on what ports they can sail into to. There are also other considerations such as tank sizes and fresh water production that limit just how long of a cruise these ships can sail on.

The Quantum Class is designed for all-weather cruising with more enclosed areas and a design more suited for worldwide cruising. Unlike the Oasis Class these ships will do well even in colder climates which is one reason QUANTUM is being sent to China. I'm also guessing they have all the capacities needed for longer cruises as well. In addition while certainly not small ships, their size (more narrow hull) permits entry to pretty much all the major ports of the world.

I wouldn't say RCI is moving away from it just yet. They are building 1, maybe 2 more Oasis Class ships.

 

I'm more curious why they moved away from their traditional Viking Crown Lounge. :confused:

There are TWO more Oasis class already on order at Saint-Nazaire, France, and with an option for a third additional one (so far). And the Meyer Werft people are trying to buy either (or both?) of the shipyards in Turku and Saint-Nazaire. I expect that at least one of the new Oasis-class ships will end up in China too.

You are absolutely correct. Quantum class was designed as a colder weather ship with the focus on the indoor spaces.

Remember the original name during the design process - before they selected Quantum and Anthem...Project Sunshine.

There are TWO more Oasis class already on order at Saint-Nazaire, France, and with an option for a third additional one (so far). And the Meyer Werft people are trying to buy either (or both?) of the shipyards in Turku and Saint-Nazaire. I expect that at least one of the new Oasis-class ships will end up in China too.

Meyer Werft has acquired the former STX yard in Turku a few weeks ago. One reason why Oasis 3&4 are built in France, not Finland, is, that back in the time RCI ordered them, nobody knew, if the yard in Turku would survive and the ships would be delivered in time. Additionally the finish government did not provide credits for the yard to finance the ships. If Meyer had bought the yard back then, RCI would have let them build Oasis 3&4 in Turku.

Also, Meyer Werft offered RCI a different blueprint of a class of ships with more cabins than Oasis-class, but less gross tonnage. That is what Peter Hackmann, spokesman of Meyer Werft, told me back then.

Meyer Werft has acquired the former STX yard in Turku a few weeks ago. One reason why Oasis 3&4 are built in France, not Finland, is, that back in the time RCI ordered them, nobody knew, if the yard in Turku would survive and the ships would be delivered in time. Additionally the finish government did not provide credits for the yard to finance the ships. If Meyer had bought the yard back then, RCI would have let them build Oasis 3&4 in Turku.

 

Also, Meyer Werft offered RCI a different blueprint of a class of ships with more cabins than Oasis-class, but less gross tonnage. That is what Peter Hackmann, spokesman of Meyer Werft, told me back then.

I believe the same thing. This could also lead to why TUI just confirmed an order to two more ships, the Mein Schiff 7 & 8.

The building dock where Quantum was built is 46 meters wide which way less Oasis.

I really thought the design of the Oasis Class was a winner and would be carried onto their new builds but apparently not.

It's a big world out their with many different countries and cruise itineraries.

For example if you based an Oasis class ship at Southampton, UK (the worlds second biggest cruise market) Central Park's plants would probably die - it would certainly be too wet/too cold to use at times. Aqua Theatre shows would often be cancelled to rough seas and cold weather. The sun deck would sometimes be deserted.

(Not forgetting that many of the worlds ports/cruise terminals cannot handles a ship that big).

Operating different classes of ships is not unusual for RCI. Some of the 'Radiance' class ships (also built for cooler climates) were being built at the same time as the 'Voyager' class. Some people feel that they are a better design.

Quantum is an evolution of 'Radiance' rather than 'Oasis'.