Hail! Hail! The Crew's All Here!

In his blog, Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain reports that the last of the crew members have arrived in Finland today for duty on Oasis of the Seas which will be handed over to RCCL next week.

The crew now totals 2,165. Earlier in an interview with Lisa Bauer, RCI's SVP of Hotel Operations, told Cruise News Daily subscribers that 95% of the crew is experienced on other Royal Caribbean ships. She said that the other 5% are filling jobs which are unique to Oasis and just don't exist on any other ship in the fleet, such as horticulturalists, bagpipers or high divers.

Pirate Available

High tech resumes and searches for work have even spread to the Gulf of Aden. Lloyd's List reports they have come across a profile on Linked In for Abdulla Ahmed. Abdulla is available for hire. His field is listed as "pirate in the Gulf of Aden," and he says his experience includes "Pirate, Shipping & Maritime Industry, January 2007 — Present (2 years 10 months)."

He's interested in job inquiries, business deals and expertise requests. The Lloyd's List article list the link to his profile, should you be in the market for a pirate in the Gulf of Aden.

Report: Talks under way for new Princess ships

Lloyd's List reports Carnival Corp is talking to Meyer Werft about a new two-ship order for their Princess brand.

Meyer Werft isn't really commenting. Carnival does have a history with Meyer with their latest class of ships for their German AIDA brand being placed with the German yard. In recent years, all the orders for their other brands seem to have been going to Fincantieri.

Strike Disrupts Cruise Traffic at Costa Rican Ports

Costa Rica's Tico Times reports that a strike by dockworkers at Port Limon on the country's Caribbean coast caused Holland America's Zuiderdam to have to bypass the port yesterday. Port Limon is a popular port on cruises to the western Caribbean, and several other cruise lines have upcoming calls scheduled there. There is no indication how long the work stoppage will continue.

Oasis to Receive Finishing Touches in Florida

When Oasis of the Seas sails out of the STX yard in Finland next week, it won't be quite complete. The thousands of plants aboard, especially those which will decorate the Central Park neighborhood, won't be installed until the ship reaches Florida.

The Miami Herald reports that the order for some 12,000 plants has been keeping a couple of South Florida nurseries busy growing the plants for Oasis, which will be the world's largest cruise ship. The Herald says that it comes at time when business has been down for landscapers and nurseries in the area due to economic downturn and the slow housing market.