Talking with the Captain and Hotel Director of Oasis of the Seas

Many ships have held the title of world’s largest cruise ship in recent years. With numerous new ships coming out of the shipyards, the title has changed hands seemingly every few years. However, it is unlikely that any ship will take the title away from Oasis of the Seas for some time. She is half again larger than the ships that held the title before her and aside from her sister ship Allure of the Seas now under construction in Finland, there is nothing being built that will come anywhere near to her in size.

However, for Captain Thore Thorolvsen, master of the Oasis, size is the wrong focus. A reflective man who has been with Royal Caribbean began, the Captain considers all the talk about Oasis’ size to be almost a distraction from what makes the ship unique. To him, the contents of the ship are what makes it great.

Having served with Royal Caribbean so long, Captain Thorolvsen was also able to place Oasis in context. Yes, Oasis is a revolutionary ship. However, that does not mean that the rest of the ships in Royal’s fleet are now obsolete.

My conversation with Captain Thrololvsen appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-art-captain.html

Raimund Gschaider, the Hotel Director of Oasis, was intimately involved in the construction of Oasis of the Seas. As a result, he is able to talk about what Royal Caribbean was seeking to achieve when it built this ship.

In addition, as the Hotel Director, he is involved in the actual operation of the ship. He knows who the ship appeals to. He can also explain how a ship that carries 6,000 passengers - - more than a thousand more than any other cruise ship - - is able to operate with no significant lines or crowding.

My conversation with Mr. Gschaider is at: http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-art-HD.html

Profile and Photo Tour of Oasis of the Seas

Oasis of the Seas is a historic ship. The mere fact that she is so much larger than any passenger ship before her by itself is enough to ensure her a place in history. However, what is more important about her is that she brings a revolutionary approach to cruising.

With regard to size, she is 220,000 gross tons. Before Oasis entered service, the largest cruise ships were approximately 150,000 gross tons. Thus she is about half again larger than her biggest predecessor. She is not much longer or taller than other ships and thus the difference in size is primarily due to the fact that she is much wider than previous ships.

The cruise experience on Oasis is something new and different. It builds upon what Royal Caribbean has done with its Voyager and Freedom class ships but is a quantum beyond that. By organizing the ship into sections, each with a unifying theme, Royal allows passengers to have several different experiences. One can stay in one of these “neighborhoods” and soak up that experience or one can move between them having several different experiences a day. In some ways it reminded me more of Disney’s Epcot theme park than the experience on other ships. Moreover, like the Disney park, it is operated efficiently and with sophistication, making good use of technology.

This is not to say that Royal has done away with everything that made cruising a good fun experience. The daily program still contains many traditional cruise ship activities - - those that are not only fun but which afford an opportunity to get to know your fellow passengers. In addition, management has placed an emphasis on personal service and the crew is friendly.

Oasis was not built to be a transatlantic express liner. However, her nautical qualities are too often overlooked. When you look at her bow on, one sees that at the waterline she has a slim bow that tapers back rather slowly. This is an efficient form for cutting through the waves. She also has a relatively deep draft - - 30 feet, which when combined with her width and low center of gravity makes her rather stable. Indeed, if one is in the Central Park area of the ship, much of the time it is easy to forget one is on a ship inasmuch as there is so little movement.

I had the experience of sailing on Oasis in the morning and then on another modern ship in the afternoon and was surprised at the amount of motion in the afternoon sailing. Oasis had disguised the fact that the sea was actually rather rough.

Beyondships’ profile of Oasis of the Seas is at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-Profile.html : The multi-page photo tour begins at: http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-1-tour.html
Next week, we talk with the captain and hotel director of Oasis.