WHAT IS FAR AND AWAY THE LARGEST-EVER passenger cruise ship entered service last week as the Royal Caribbean Lines’ Oasis of the Seas steamed into its home port in southern Florida.

The monster has a 225,000 ton displacement and has 16 decks containing a complete resort city afloat.  The staterooms can house 6,300 passengers served by 2,000 regular crew members in seven different “neighborhoods.”  The ship, which is 40% larger than the next biggest cruise liner, is designed so that people can spend their time in the section that most fits their lifestyle, such as a separate neighborhood for families with smaller children.  There is a water-theme park, an ice-skating rink, more than 20 restaurants and in the center is an outdoor park complete with trees and shrubs and paths with benches. 

The ship was built in Turku, Finland, and took just over six years to complete.  On the first leg of its shake-down cruise, it carried several hundred shipyard workers to Southhampton, England, who finished up the trimwork and then debarked to return home while another squadron of workers traveled across the ocean testing all the systems under sailing conditions and getting everything tuned-up for operations.  The initial revenue cruise will depart on December 1.

The massive ship cost about $1.5 billion and was contracted when all looked well for the cruise industry.  But as the Oasis of the Seas begins service, the entire industry is suffering and none of the early scheduled cruises are sold out.  On top of that, Royal Caribbean has a sister ship, Allure of the Seas under construction that is identical to Oasis and will be completed in a year.