Does Size Matter?
I’m talking about cruise ship size, get your mind out of the gutter. With Royal Caribbean set to debut its newest megaship the “Oasis of the Seas” in just a couple of months the question comes to mind, is there a such thing as being too big? This December the 5,400 passenger Oasis of the Seas will be making it’s four day maiden voyage out of Fort Lauderdale. After the conclusion of that voyage the Oasis will spend the foreseeable future making seven day trips sailing an itinerary consisting of St. Thomas, St. Maarten with an alternate itinerary of Bahamas or Labadee, Costa Maya and Cozumel being added in the future. Not the most exciting ports but then again where the hell do you park a 220,000 ton cruise ship.
Personally, I like big cruise ships and I know many others share my point of view. I like having limitless entertainment options, numerous places to eat and the hermit portion of my personality enjoys being a nameless face in the crowd. While I do enjoy some ports more than others in my opinion even the worst Caribbean port is better than being in Delaware, in other words a lame itinerary doesn’t bother me in the least.
However, there are an equal amount of people who enjoy small ships for the personalized service you receive as well as an undoubtedly higher standard of service. There are also a huge percentage of cruisers who view the ship as a means of travel. These cruisers look for certain ports of call and don’t really care which ship is taking them to those ports. My best friend is one of these cruisers. Due to the size restrictions of most ports, she has no interest at all in the Oasis of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean has spent several months telling us about how great their newest ship is. The seven neighborhoods, 20 dining options, two-deck loft suites and numerous sizzle features (moving bars, foliage filled central park and zip lines). What seems to get glossed over are all of the drawbacks that come with traveling on a ship this size. The limited itinerary options are the most obvious drawback but there are numerous others.
How much will service suffer on a ship this large? Will crew members be able to adequately service nearly 6,000 passengers at the level we have become accustomed to expect.
What kind of physical limitations are there to traveling on this type of ship? How will people with various physical limitations navigate a ship as large as some small towns?
Is Royal Caribbean exiting the cruise business and entering into the resort business? At what point does cruising stop being about cruising to ports and start to become about vacationing on a floating resort?
How do you feel about the “Oasis of the Seas” and the arms race cruise lines are engaging in to build the shiniest new ship.
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