Monday, November 2, 2009

World's largest cruise ship

The Straits Times, Saturday October 31, 2009, Lifestyle
From: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_448884.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/gallery/Breaking%2BNews/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_448884.html - Photos
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Lifestyle/Story/BgSty_448884_1.html



PHOTO: http://elitechoice.org/2008/04/26/elite-find-of-the-day-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-worth-793-mn/ - worlds-largest-cruise-ship.jpg
http://elitechoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/worlds-largest-cruise-ship.jpg The Oasis of the Seas will meet its first obstacle Saturday when it exits the Baltic Sea and must squeeze under the Great Belt Bridge, which is just 1 foot (30 centimetres) taller than the ship - even after its telescopic smokestacks are lowered.



VIDEO: http://www.stxeurope.com/upload/?id=3860dc6536abf2dc2da1a15a6ebbe5ee


HELSINKI - IT'S five times larger than the Titanic, has seven neighbourhoods, an ice rink, a golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. The world's largest cruise ship is finally finished and beginning to glide toward its home port in Florida.


PHOTO: http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/363/31/


The Oasis of the Seas will meet its first obstacle Saturday when it exits the Baltic Sea and must squeeze under the Great Belt Bridge, which is just 1 foot (30 centimetres) taller than the ship - even after its telescopic smokestacks are lowered.


PHOTO: http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/363/31/


PHOTO: http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/363/31/


To be on the safe side, the ship - which rises about 20 stories high - will speed up so that it sinks deeper into the water when it passes below the span, said Lene Gebauer Thomsen, a spokeswoman for the operator of the Great Belt Bridge.


PHOTO: http://www.snegidhi.com/2009/5-3/World_Largest_Cruise_Ship_Genesis.html
http://www.snegidhi.com/2009/5-3/Genesis_oasis.jpg

Once home, the US$1.5 billion (S$2.1 billion) floating extravaganza will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging US economy, questions about the consumer appetite for luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths are damaging to the environment and diminish the experience of traveling.



PHOTO: http://themaritimeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/3606830397_a180ab75b0_b.jpg

Travel guide writer Arthur Frommer has railed against Oasis and other mega-ships he calls 'floating resorts,' suggesting that voyages on such large vessels are 'a dumbing down of the cruise experience.'


PHOTO: http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/oasis-of-the-sea-worlds-largest-cruise-ship.html

Oasis of the Seas, which is nearly 40 per cent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths.


PHOTO: http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/oasis-of-the-sea-worlds-largest-cruise-ship.html






PHOTO: http://www.cruiseweb.nl/images/freedomoftheseas/SideView.jpg



What's in a ship?
From: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Lifestyle/Story/BgSty_448884_1.html


Photo: http://www.desso.com/Desso/Other_Content/Images/Overige/Independence_of_the_Seas.jpg

THE Oasis of the Seas has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.


PHOTO: http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/oasis-of-the-sea-worlds-largest-cruise-ship.html


It has various 'neighbourhoods' - parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale.




PHOTO: http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/oasis-of-the-sea-worlds-largest-cruise-ship.html

In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater - modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater - doubles as a swimming pool by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 10-metre high-dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.


PHOTO: http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/363/31/

Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and 487-metre luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.


PHOTO: http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/363/31/


PHOTO: http://www.travel-friends.com.au/images/100_2346.JPG

One of the 'neighborhoods,' named Central Park, features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars, including a bar that moves up and down three decks, allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.


PHOTO: http://www.travel-friends.com.au/images/100_2346.JPG

The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.


PHOTO: http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/oasis-of-the-sea-worlds-largest-cruise-ship.html

Cost of rooms - US$1,299 to $4,829.


PHOTO: AFP (In-life-oasis4AFP.jpg) Workers were seen aboard the "Oasis of the Seas" cruise ship at a dockyard.



PHOTO: REUTERS (In-life-oasis5R.jpg) A miniature golf course is seen aboard the Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas cruise ship which was under construction at the STX Europe shipyard.


Photo: http://www.goodnewsfinland.com/Oasis%20of%20the%20seas_240609.jpg


PHOTO: http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/oasis-of-the-sea-worlds-largest-cruise-ship.html


PHOTO: http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/oasis-of-the-sea-worlds-largest-cruise-ship.html


PHOTO: http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/oasis-of-the-sea-worlds-largest-cruise-ship.html



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