Oasis of the Seas

Design and description

The gross tonnage (GT) of Oasis of the Seas at launch was 225,282, but it was expanded to 226,838 GT when additional cabins were added to Deck 14 in 2019. Her displacement—the actual mass of the vessel—is estimated at 100000 MT, slightly less than that of an American .

To keep the ship stable without increasing the draft excessively, the designers created a wide hull; 9.3 m of the ship sits beneath the water, a small percentage of the ship's overall height. Wide, shallow ships such as this tend to be "snappy", meaning that they can snap back upright after a wave has passed, which can be uncomfortable. This effect, however, is mitigated by the vessel's large size. The cruise ship's officers were pleased with the ship's stability and performance during the transatlantic crossing, when the vessel, in order to allow finishing work to go on, slowed and changed course in the face of winds "almost up to hurricane force" and seas in excess of 12 m.

Propulsion and Power

The ship's power comes from six medium-speed, marine-diesel generating sets: three 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 16V46D common rail engines producing 18860 kW each and three similar 12-cylinder Wärtsilä 12V46D engines producing 13860 kW each. The fuel consumption of the main engines at full power is 1377 USgal of fuel oil per engine per hour for the 16-cylinder engines and 1033 USgal per engine per hour for the 12-cylinder engines. The total output of these prime movers, some 97020 kW, is converted to electricity, used in hotel power for operation of the lights, elevators, electronics, galleys, water treatment plant, and all of the other systems used on the operation of the vessel, as well as propulsion. Propulsion is provided by three 20000 kW Azipods, ABB's brand of electric azimuth thrusters. These pods, suspended under the stern, contain electric motors driving 20 ft propellers. Because they are rotatable, no rudders are needed to steer the ship. Docking is assisted by four 5500 kW transverse bow thrusters.

Additional power comes from solar panels fitted by BAM Energy Group, which provide energy for lighting in the promenade and central park areas. The installation cost and covers 21000 ft2 on deck 19.

Lifeboats

The ship carries 18 lifeboats that hold 370 people each, for a total of 6,660 people. Inflatable life rafts are provided for any additional passengers and crew.

Facilities

The ship features a zip-line, an ice-skating rink, a surf simulator, an aquatic amphitheater, a moving bar, a casino, a miniature golf course, multiple night clubs, several bars and lounges, a karaoke club, comedy club, five swimming pools, three waterslides, volleyball and basketball courts, youth zones, and nurseries for children. Oasis of the Seas also features the largest dry-slide at sea, the Ultimate Abyss. Many of the ship's interiors were extensively decorated by muralist Clarissa Parish.

History

The vessel was ordered in February 2006 and designed under the name "Project Genesis". Her keel was laid down on 12 November 2007 by STX Europe Turku Shipyard, Finland. The company announced that full funding for Oasis of the Seas was secured on 15 April 2009.

The name Oasis of the Seas resulted from a competition held in May 2008. The ship was formally named on 30 November 2009 during a charity sailing for Make-A-Wish Foundation. At this ceremony the ship was sponsored by seven "godmothers", each representing one of the seven neighborhoods on board. Her godmothers are Gloria Estefan, Michelle Kwan, Dara Torres, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Shawn Johnson, Jane Seymour and Daisy Fuentes.

During the first float-out of the vessel the tugboats that were pulling the ship from its dock failed to control the ship, resulting in the port side of the ship hitting the dock. This resulted in some cosmetic damage and minor damage to the hull, which was repaired and did not affect the final delivery date of the vessel.

The ship was completed and turned over to Royal Caribbean on 28 October 2009. Two days later, she departed Finland for the United States. While exiting the Baltic Sea, the vessel passed underneath the Great Belt Fixed Link in Denmark on 31 October 2009 at 23:18 UTC. The bridge has a clearance of 65 m above the water; Oasis normally has an air draft of 72 m. The passage under the bridge was possible due to retraction of the telescoping funnels, and an additional 30 cm was gained by the squat effect whereby vessels traveling at speed in a shallow channel will be drawn deeper into the water. Approaching the bridge at 23 kn, the ship passed under it with less than 2 ft of clearance.

Proceeding through the English Channel, Oasis of the Seas stopped briefly in the Solent so that 300 shipyard workers who were on board doing finishing work could disembark, then left on the way to her intended home port of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship arrived there on 13 November 2009, where tropical plants were installed prior to some introductory trips and her maiden voyage on 5 December 2009.

Oasis of the Seas had a minor refit in winter 2011. She underwent a second drydock refit in October 2014. During drydock the ship was modified by dividing the main dining room into three separate restaurants.

Oasis of the Seas was scheduled to cruise the Mediterranean out of Barcelona in summer 2019 before undergoing a major drydock at the end of the season. After spending nearly three months in dry dock receiving upgrades and new amenities, Oasis of the Seas then repositioned to her new homeport of Miami for the fall and winter 2019 seasons. She was scheduled to move to Cape Liberty Cruise Port in May 2020, becoming the first Oasis class vessel to ever be homeported there.

COVID-19 pandemic

During a March 8 to 15, 2020 sailing, Royal Caribbean notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of a possible COVID-19 infection aboard Oasis of the Seas. All passengers disembarked at PortMiami on March 15 and Royal Caribbean stopped passenger sailings as the global pandemic took hold. Two weeks later, 14 Oasis of the Seas crew members tested positive for COVID-19 infections. By April 20, 2020, two crew members remaining aboard Oasis of the Seas had died of COVID-19 in hospital in Florida. In early May, a third crew member had died of COVID-19.

Return to Port Everglades

After spending the summer months in the Mediterranean, Oasis of the Seas returned to her new home port of Port Everglades in November 2024. This marked the first time the ship had been homeported in Port Everglades since November 2016.

Incidents

• In January 2015, a 20-year old passenger fell overboard while the ship was sailing off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico. Five hours later, the passenger was rescued from the water by the Disney Magic.
• On 5 November 2015, 35-year-old Brazilian Bernardo Elbaz fell overboard from the balcony near the Turks and Caicos islands. His death was ruled a suicide and not a domestic violence dispute, but Elbaz's attorney said he committed suicide in an act of protest for Royal Caribbean daring to discriminate against his gay husband.
• On 1 April 2019, Oasis of the Seas was undergoing work at a dry dock in the Bahamas when two cranes collapsed onto the ship. Eight people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and extensive damage to the ship required it to relocate to Cádiz for repairs. The ship returned to service on 5 May, but three sailings were cancelled during its downtime.
• On 20 December 2019, Oasis of the Seas was almost struck by while in port in Cozumel, Mexico. Carnival Legend was on the receiving end of a collision with earlier that day.
• In January 2020, a 46-year old passenger fell overboard and was fatally injured while the ship was docked in Puerto Rico.
• In January 2022, a passenger died unexpectedly aboard Oasis of the Seas while sailing during the "Oasis Caribbean Cruise", a chartered trip by Atlantis Events. In January 2024, another passenger died aboard the ship during a similarly chartered cruise.

References

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