Live from the Oasis Event in NYC

[Barbiegator]

I can't wait to book on Sept 3rd.How exciting!!

[Cruising89143]

Boardwalk

 

 

 

 

[FlyingPhotog]

6,300 people and crap ports, I agree, I think I'll give it a miss:rolleyes:

 

I agree! Cozumel? Nassau? No thanks!

[Cruising89143]

Incredible yes. But Royal Caribbean has literally turned in a huge carnival. I don't care for a ship with an amusement park, an outdoor garden or a zip line. When half of a ship's cabins face inward instead of out toward the sea, you know you're not on a ship anymore. This is hardly a ship as it is a barge with a piece of Coney Island on it. I lokked at the exterior renderings, and it doesn't even have a promenade under the lifeboats! I mean, the entire environemtn is inward facing except for the lucky I would guess third who have the oceanview balconies, what a shame...

 

Give me the sea, I don't care for the rest...

 

This ship is not for everyone but I don't understand your statement about half the cabins face inward. Only so many cabins can face the ocean and there are eight decks of balcony cabins. Cabins on other ships that are inside face what? Nothing. At least the cabins on this ship not facing the ocean have some type view and not a wall.

[GXmanDC]

...When half of a ship's cabins face inward instead of out toward the sea, you know you're not on a ship anymore. ..

 

I think more than half of the cabins will face the sea. These inward facing cabins will replace most interior rooms without windows.

[Jeeden]

Yup, half of the cabins face in now too, but to a wall. Kinda the way a ship works unless it's so narrow that you only have two columns of rooms each with outward balconies.

 

What RCCL is trying to do here is open up the balcony experience to everyone so nobody is "staring at a wall" and they can all see something.

 

It will be interesting to see what the pricing is for this. The outside facing rooms will be more expensive as usual, but some of the insides will too I think, like the ones facing the aqua park. I'm sure when they reveal more they will have "quieter" parts of the ship for people to face their balcony onto. Instead of figuring out which room you want based on location to the elevator for noise, etc, you will be selecting what you would like to see out your room and if you would prefer more lively things happening or it to be more tranquil.

[98Charlie]

I say wow, too. I just can't imagine what life onboard this ship will be like during an outbreak of Norwalk virus. 6,300 pax. :eek:

 

Dianne

[3213dev]

Anyone got any ideas when next release is?

[Cruising89143]

Looks like the Aqua Theater will also have two large screens for showing movies and such. They are located on each side of the high dive.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Incredible yes. But Royal Caribbean has literally turned in a huge carnival. I don't care for a ship with an amusement park, an outdoor garden or a zip line. When half of a ship's cabins face inward instead of out toward the sea, you know you're not on a ship anymore. This is hardly a ship as it is a barge with a piece of Coney Island on it. I lokked at the exterior renderings, and it doesn't even have a promenade under the lifeboats! I mean, the entire environemtn is inward facing except for the lucky I would guess third who have the oceanview balconies, what a shame...

 

Give me the sea, I don't care for the rest...

 

I agree, I think it's a shame. Incredible, yes, but I don't understand why people want to sail on ships like this. It's not even cruising anymore, it's more like a circus. Very disappointing.

[chazg]

This is incredible!!!

 

I can't get any work done! I just keep checking back for updates.

 

I can't wait to get the Family on board this one. Hopefully the cabin prices are somewhat reasonable.

[GwenyP]

I guess I'll have to start checking the sailing schedules of the Genesis class to make sure I'm not at one of those ports at the same time. It's a shame, too -- I love St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Can you imagine what it's going to be like to see all the pax from Oasis combined with another ship or two already there?

[CruiserRD]

I would sail her in a heart beat!!!:p

[VillaHappy]

So... no aft cabins to be had I guess. Bummer for those who love the aft. Looks like everyone onboard can enjoy the aft's view now!

[DonnaK]

I'm very disappointed in the ports, but I suppose one chooses a cruise like this for the ship and not for the itinerary.

[Copper Lanterns]

Also wondered what it would be like with 6,300. passengers and an outbreak. Will the medical facilities be larger and have more doctors?:confused:

We had an experience with the virus and would not like to do it again. Husband ended up at the doctors in St. Kitts, pretty scary even with insurance. Especially with sooooooooooooo many people on board.

 

Everyone is so excited! Its fun just to hear your excitement!

 

Hope it works out for you all.:D

 

Connie

[greeneng]

Thanks, Melissa.

 

Sure wish I could have been there!

 

Jim

[blueboro]

I agree this will be an amazing ship. But with that many people I don't ever see myself cruising on it. However, I said that about the Voyager class and ended up loving it.

[Saracruise]

WOW.... After cruising this ship you will need a week to recover because I doubt there will be a lot of sleeping going on!

[tx121]

Looks like an awesome and fun ship to sail on. There will probably be more elevators and gangways open so everyone can get off the ship faster. I suspect that the ports will only allow the Oasis and maybe one other ship in at a time since there are so many passengers / crew. I guess since they are building a pier at Labadee, there will be no tendering (hopefully) =)

[Er12001]

Aaaaa-mahhh-ziiing!!!

 

I got chills when I looked at the video... I can't wait for it to come out!!! Come on Already!!! :)

 

And the expectative is just sooooo large when it comes to what else will be revealed!!! YIKES!!! :eek:

[wolfcathorse]

Once again RCI has delivered the "WOW" factor. And now, for the first time ever, the ship is the destination, not the ports nor the ocean.

[sailinglisa]

Count me as another who will never set foot on this ship. Every feature on this ship can be found at a land resort. Why go to sea to get these features? And I just cannot imagine how congested and crowded this ship and the poor ports that it visits will be. And I will also be checking itineraries to try and make sure I never cross it's path.

 

For those who are excited, congratualations and have a great time. It means more space on the smaller and nicer ships.

[kingsgirl]

Live updates from : http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=51507930.blog

 

12:28 PM EST: Good afternoon, Cruise Loggers. I'm here at the Nokia Theatre at Times Square in New York, where Royal Caribbean has laid out a (Royal Caribbean) blue carpet, complete with rope line, to welcome guests to what they're promising will be quite the extravaganza. The line has invited hundreds of people for the big unveiling, including the media, travel agents, investors, Wall Street analysts and foreign dignitaries from the ports where the ship will dock. I'll be back in a moment as the event begins (be sure to hit the refresh button on your computer as you follow along to see the very latest).

12:38 PM EST: It looks like it'll be a few more minutes until the event begins, but I already have a bit of news: The itineraries planned for Oasis. A brochure handed out in the press room here shows an Eastern Caribbean itinerary from Fort Lauderdale to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Nassau, the Bahamas. It will alternate with a Western Caribbean itinerary to Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico.

12:44 PM EST: An update on those itineraries: the ship will sail the Eastern Caribbean exclusively until April, 2010. The Western Caribbean voyage begins alternating in starting in May, 2010.

12:53 PM EST: They've opened the doors and most of the crowd has taken their seats here at the Nokia Theatre. A hint of what may be coming: There are merry-go-round horses hanging from the ceiling.

12:57 PM EST: The show has begun with . . . a Royal Caribbean dancer doing one of those hanging-from-sheets-attached-to-the-ceiling performances. A sign of something to be unveiled?

1:04 PM EST: Royal Caribbean cruise director Ken Rush has appeared to MC the event, introducing a video now playing showing illustrations of what's coming, and it includes . . . a new neighborhood called Boardwalk that will have amusements. "It will feel a little like you are on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City," Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain says in the video.

1:06 PM EST: Another big reveal just showed off in the video . . . an amphiteater on the back of the ship for water-based shows. And now the video is showing us double-decker loft apartments.

1:07 PM EST: And yet more. The ship will have a Royal Promenade that is twice the width of the ones on the line's Voyager and Freedom class ships. Another innovation: A mezzanine level the overlooks the Royal Promenade.

1:10 PM EST: That's it for the big reveals. The video has ended and a beaming Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain has taken the stage. "We're beginning to answer the question I have been asked for a long time: Why have you decided to spend a billion or so dollars on something so large," he says. "And the answer is . . . we're listening to our guests (who say) we love the choices that you offer us."

1:14 PM EST: The head of the Royal Caribbean brand, Adam Goldstein, has taken the stage to talk about the ship's itineraries (which are as I mentioned earlier). One key tidbit is that the Eastern Caribbean cruises will begin Dec. 12, 2009, so that apparently is the date for the ship's maiden voyage. Now he's introducing dignitaries from the various ports on the schedule.

1:17 PM EST: Goldstein says the line will open bookings for the ship on Sept. 3.

1:19 PM EST: Apparently we're not going to get it all today. Goldstein notes that, with today's announcement, the line only has announced three of the seven "neighborhoods" planned for the ship (Central Park, Boardwalk and the Aquatheater).

1:22 PM EST: Goldstein has opened the floor to questions, and CEO Richard Fain has joined him on the stage. The first question? What's the total capacity of the ship with third and fourth passengers included in cabins (until now the line has only revealed the passenger capacity based on double occupancy, which is 5,400). Goldstein says that with third and fourth people included in cabins the ship will be able to hold up to 6,300 passengers.

1:26 PM EST: Will there ever be a ship larger than this one? Don't count it out, says CEO Richard Fain. "Voyager of the Seas was so large that we were convinced ships wouldn't get any larger," he notes. "But the response to that was so overwhelmingly positive and everyone enjoyed it so much that we found they want even more. At this point we don't envision anything larger, but we have learned to say never say never."

1:29 PM EST: In response to a question Goldstein notes that there will be 28 of the two-deck-high loft suites. Illustrations put up on the screen show soaring floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows with hip contemporary furniture.

1:32 PM EST: What will the fares be for the ship? Goldstein is coy on the question, noting that the line has until Sept. 3, when the ship goes on sale, to reveal such details. But don't expect a discount. "Customers are prepared to pay a premium to go on the latest and greatest ships," he notes.

1:36 PM EST: How did Royal Caribbean pick the ports for the Oasis itineraries? With a ship this big one key element was port facilities. "One of the things that we were very interested in is that each of the ports has a dock and we do not have to tender," notes Goldstein. To that point, Goldstein has some additional news for Royal Caribbean fans: After 25 years of tendering its passengers to the shore at Labadee, the line's private beach area in Haiti, the line will be building a dock.

1:40 PM EST: The issue of getting on and off has come up. "Those kind of questions are often asked, but actually it's just an issue of scale," says Fain. "We will have more than a proportionally larger number of ways for getting people and luggage off the ship (than current ships). We think this will be as good or better than our norm."

1:43 PM EST: Surprise . . . another gee-whiz reveal. The ship will have a zip line that let's passengers zoom across the ship, starting (if I heard it correctly) from the new Boardwalk area of the ship.

1:48 PM EST: Goldstein and Fain are wrapping up the question-and-answer session. Goldstein reiterates that there still are four more neighborhoods on the ship to be announced.

2:07 PM EST: Cruise Loggers, I'm now back in the press room, waiting for an audience with Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain. In the meantime, I have answers for a few of your questions below. For starters, on the pools: A spokeswoman says the AquaTheater on the back of the ship will have the largest and deepest freshwater pool at sea. While there will be shows there at night, passengers will be able to use the pool to swim during the day. The line also will offer scuba lessons in the pool.

2:13 PM EST: For those who haven't found it already, the video of the new attractions that Royal Caribbean plans for Oasis that was shown at the press conference is now available at oasisoftheseas.com.

3:06 PM EST: Sorry for the long silence, Cruise Loggers, but I was talking with Royal Caribbean Cruises CEO Richard Fain and the head of the Royal Caribbean brand, Adam Goldstein. I now have more details on Boardwalk, one of the new neighborhoods announced today. The area, which includes the AquaTheater, will have a hand-carved wooden carousel -- another cruise ship first. It also will have carnival games and outlets selling cotton candy, salt water taffy and other shore favorites, as well as the Johnny Rockets eatery that is a staple of Royal Caribbean ships. The aforementioned zip line will traverse the sky nine decks above the boardwalk.

Goldstein says the area is expected to be a big draw for families, while couples likely will gravitate to the Central Park area of the ship.

3:13 PM EST: A final little detail to whet your appetites. The pool in the AquaTheater on the back of the ship (we'll be posting illustrations later today) will have a floor that rises and falls depending on what activity is happening in the area. Royal Caribbean plans a water-based acrobatic show with divers, and when that occurs the floor of the pool will drop to make it deeper for the divers. During the day, when passengers can use the pool, the floor will be raised to make it more accommodating to sunbathers.

[ottawapuppy]

I don't care for a ship with an amusement park, an outdoor garden or a zip line. When half of a ship's cabins face inward instead of out toward the sea, you know you're not on a ship anymore. This is hardly a ship as it is a barge with a piece of Coney Island on it. I lokked at the exterior renderings, and it doesn't even have a promenade under the lifeboats! I mean, the entire environemtn is inward facing except for the lucky I would guess third who have the oceanview balconies, what a shame...

Give me the sea, I don't care for the rest...

 

You'd just be in the way, anyway...