The Original Is Back!

After a two-month dry dock, the newly “amplified” Oasis of the Sea returned to service over the weekend from Miami with a bunch of new and updated features, bringing the ship up to and beyond Royal Caribbean's newest ships.

The complete story appeared in the November 25 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Where's Oasis?

In case you've missed Oasis of the Seas, it's been hiding out in a dry dock in (Cadiz) Spain for almost two months getting updated - or “amplified” as Royal Caribbean calls it by some 2,700 contractors who have been working hard aboard the ship. The work is touching almost every space on the ship over its 63 days out of service, and the “amplification” will make the 10year-old ship seem new again.

The complete story appeared in the November 12 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Amazing View

For many years, helicopters have given us amazing aerial views. They are expensive, so despite the spectacular visuals, their use is limited. Now we have drones which are relatively inexpensive to own and virtually free to operate. They can also go where helicopters can't.

As evidence, take a look at the amazing drone video Royal Caribbean has released of Oasis of the Seas in dry dock in Cadiz. The b-roll was shot mainly to show the extensive renovation work being conducted on the ship's top deck, but it also shows some outstanding views of the ship itself and some interesting detail of the dry dock.

This story appeared in the November 5 edition of Cruise News Daily.

A New Oasis for 2019

It's hard to believe, but Oasis of the Seas is ten years old. That means it's time to update the ship with not only Royal Caribbean's newest features already installed on other ship but also with features which will debut on Oasis.

Royal Caribbean announced today Oasis will be “amplified” in a 63-day period beginning in September. The $165 million project will be completed when the ship returns to service on November 24, 2019.

The complete story appeared in the May 21 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - May 3, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• Oasis of the Seas left the Cadiz yard where it was repaired after "extensive" damage it received in the Grand Bahama Shipyard accident. 
• Carnival has chosen a name for the big green waterslide that will be added to Carnival Splendor.
• Carnival Corp has been sued by the Americans who claim ownership to Cuban cruise facilities.

Details appeared in the May 3 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Royal Caribbean Calling

Royal Caribbean held their conference call today to discuss their first quarter earnings. As usual, a couple of topics seemed to keep arising. This quarter it was Perfect Day at Coco Cay and the impact on earnings of shipyard accident involving Oasis of the Seas. There were also a couple of other interesting comments.

The complete story appeared in the May 1 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - April 17, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• Oasis of the Seas safe arrival at the shipyard in Cadiz for repair after its transatlantic crossing
• Mobile working to keep Carnival there when its contract expires

Details appeared in the April 17 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - April 8, 2019

CND subscribers also read about:

• Oasis of the Seas departing the Bahamas for Cadiz to be repaired
• Norwegian Cruise Line doubling the prizes for teachers in their Giving Joy teacher appreciation contest
• Royal Caribbean executives talking about the creation of Perfect Day at Coco Cay and giving a preview of the attraction which will open next month (video below).

Details appeared in the April 8 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Video courtesy of Royal Caribbean International.

The Journey Begins

As you remember, on Monday afternoon, a shipyard crane collapsed onto Oasis of the Seas while it was in the floating dry dock in the Grand Bahama Shipyard. The damage to the ship caused Royal Caribbean to cancel three sailings. Although Royal Caribbean has yet to publicly detail the damage, they did say they were going to move the ship to a yard in Cadiz (Spain) for repair, and Oasis would return to service with its May 5 sailing from Barcelona.

The line did not give a timetable for the move but it began in a small way today.

The complete story appeared in the April 4 issue of Cruise News Daily.

Oasis to Return to Service in May

While Royal Caribbean still hasn't told us specifics about the damage Oasis of the Seas sustained yesterday when a crane collapsed on it at the Grand Bahama shipyard, they have acknowledged the inevitable and begun to advise passengers booked on canceled sailings.

Royal Caribbean said today they will cancel three sailings: April 7, 14 and 21. Those are what were to be its last three sailings from Port Canaveral, and include what would have been the 14-night transatlantic repositioning cruise to Barcelona.

Details appeared in the April 2 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

Oasis of the Seas Involved in Shipyard Accident

This is no April Fools Day joke. Oasis of the Seas was damaged this afternoon at the Grand Bahama Shipyard when a construction crane collapsed. The ship had arrived in the shipyard last night for maintenance, so no passengers were aboard.

The complete story appeared in the April 1 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Norovirus on Oasis of the Seas Brings It Home a Day Early

We haven't been reporting cases of norovirus lately because cruise lines have been able to deal with it so effectively that it seldom reaches the threshold any longer that the CDC classifies as an “outbreak” (3%). In all of 2018, there were only 11 “outbreaks” that they tracked, according to the CDC website, and it's highly unusual these days for a cruise line to ever miss a port or need to return early because of it.

We now have the first outbreak of 2019 necessary report to the CDC, and it has caused the ship to be barred from landing passengers in one port, and caused the cruise line to return the ship early for extra sanitation.

The ship is Oasis of the Seas, and the latest figures reported on the CDC website this afternoon are 385 passengers out of 6,285 (6.12%), and 17 crew members out of 2,169 (0.78%). Some media reports put the total this afternoon at 475.

The complete story appeared in the January 11 issue of Cruise News Daily. 

New York to Have Its Own Oasis

Royal Caribbean International has announced Oasis of the Seas will replace Anthem of the Seas in the New York market (sailing from Cape Liberty in Bayonne) for the summer 2020 season, marking the first time an Oasis-class ship has sailed from the Big Apple.

Yes, it will fit under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge thanks to its unusual feature of being able to lower its funnel. The feature was last used on its delivery sailing from the yard in Turku (Finland) as it went under Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge.

The complete story appeared in the December 17 edition of Cruise News Daily.




Video courtesy of Royal Caribbean International. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

There's No Time to Enjoy the View

Oasis of the Seas is one of the world's largest cruise ships. On its eastern Caribbean itinerary, one of the ports of call is St. Thomas. With a very narrow channel, sailboats anchored in the harbor, a tight turn and just six feet of water below the keel, it's very challenging to maneuver the giant ship into “everyone's favorite port.” In the video below, the master explaining just how it's done every time the giant ship arrives.

A Pair of Total Eclipses on Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean kind of got out ahead of everyone else with this week’s sailing of Oasis of the Seas. Early on they sold it as a cruise to see the eclipse of the sun and made it a point to have the ship in the path of the total eclipse and (thanks to their own meteorologist) have that place along the path be under clear skies - a definite advantage of viewing from a cruise ship.

Details appeared in the August 21 edition of Cruise News Daily.





Bonnie Tyler and DNCE perform “Total Eclipse of the Heart” on route to the Total Eclipse onboard Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. Video provided by Royal Caribbean.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - June 2, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• Mein Schiff 6 being christened in Hamburg. 
• Adonia wrapping up its cruises for Fathom and returning to P&O
• AIDAperla has arrived at its home port
• Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas will operate a cruise that will put it right under the path of a total solar eclipse.

Details appeared in the June 2 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Mein Schiff 6 christening at Hamburg

Photo courtesy of TUI Cruises. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission. 

Big Meeting

Meanwhile, today, off the coast of Florida, there was probably the biggest meeting in the cruise industry.

The three largest cruise ships in the world met for a photo op on the eve of Harmony of the Seas' first arrival in the US.

This story appeared in the November 4 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Harmony of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas lined up today off the south Florida coast.

Harmony's crew turns out on the bow to see the event. Allure of the Seas can be seen ahead.

The ships are beginning to line up for the family photo. Here the other two ships are seen from the bridge of Harmony of he Seas. 

Photos courtesy of Royal Caribbean International. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Holly Golightly Would Be Pleased

Iconic New York Jeweler, Tiffany & Co, has joined the growing number of high-end jewelers opening seagoing branches. Tiffany opened their first freestanding boutique at sea today aboard none other than the largest ship at sea, Oasis of the Seas. Where will the store be located? In Central Park, of course.

The complete story appeared in the November 20 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Overboard from Oasis of the Seas

A 35-year-old Brazilian man was seen going overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas shortly after midnight this morning. Despite an all-day search by the ship and the US Coast Guard, he had not been found.

Royal Caribbean said he was spotted by crew members “intentionally going over the side of the ship” 17 miles east of Turks and Caicos Islands.

The complete story appeared in the November 6 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Royal Caribbean to Have 3 Oasis-class Ships in the Caribbean

Royal Caribbean released their Caribbean deployment plans for the winter 2016-2017 season this morning, and the biggest news to come from it is that during the winter they will have all three of their Oasis-class ships in the Caribbean.

The new Harmony of the Seas will join Allure of the Seas at Port Everglades for seven-night eastern and western Caribbean itineraries.

Oasis of the Seas will sail alternating 7-night eastern and western Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral. Royal Caribbean clearly indicated that the Central Florida port is Oasis' "winter home," so the speculation continues where it will go at the end of the season.

The complete article about Royal Caribbean's Caribbean deployment will appear in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.