Oasis cruise ship to get live Web coverage

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — If you're curious about what it's like aboard the world's largest cruise ship, check out the live, interactive coverage that CruiseCritic.com will offer fromOasis of the Seas later this month.

Three staffers from the Web site, including its editor, Carolyn Spencer Brown, will be blogging, tweeting and answering questions from the public when Oasis makes its first U.S. sailing.

The short cruise to nowhere, designed to show the vessel off to travel agents and media, departs Port Everglades, Fla., Nov. 20 and returns Nov. 22. CruiseCritic.com's online coverage will begin Nov. 19.

"We're covering everything we can think of, morning, noon, night, and even the middle of the night," Brown said. "We'll be tweeting and putting up photos and videos. Whether you've been on a cruise or not, this ship is really special and we want people to get excited about it."

Five times larger than the Titanic, the $1.5 billion ship from Royal Caribbean Cruises departed Oct. 30 for the U.S. from Finland, where it was built.

With 2,700 cabins, Oasis can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members. Staterooms include loft cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows and 1,600-square-foot luxury suites with balconies.

The ship has more amenities and activities than many land-based resorts and vacation destinations, including an ice rink, a small golf course, four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, a youth zone with theme parks, nurseries for children, a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater and an indoor theater that seats 1,300 guests.

Oasis also features seven "neighborhoods" — parks, squares and arenas with special themes, including a boardwalk area, a mini-Central Park and a tropical environment with palm trees and vines.

Nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, Oasis was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths. Royal Caribbean is charging more for cruises on the Oasis than for ships with similar Caribbean itineraries, betting that the public will pay for the novelty.

Not everyone thinks megaships are a good idea. Legendary travel writer Arthur Frommer has railed against them, saying they diminish the travel experience and that they might as well never leave port. Others have criticized the big ships for flooding ports of call with thousands of people at once.

But Brown said that Oasis and other megaships are creating a younger audience for the cruise industry. "This is the ship of the future," she said. "That's what this is all about — it will appeal to a younger generation, and if you appeal to younger people, they're going to come and cruise forever."

She added that "we're not recommending this as a ship for people who are older and want a quiet experience." But she noted that the cruise industry offers many options for different types of travelers: "If you don't like the big ships, pick a small one."

You can follow CruiseCritic's Oasis coverage — including a trivia quiz — at http://www.cruisecritic.com. Or check out Facebook.com/CruiseCritic or Twitter.com/CruiseCritic. Questions or comments can be sent to oasis(at)cruisecritic.com.

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November 09, 2009 12:55 PM EST

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