Royal Caribbean International this week finally took possession of the world’s largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas, just a little more than a month ahead of its maiden passenger voyage and heralded first call on St. Thomas.
After six years in the making, shipbuilders STX Europe turned the 16-deck, 1,180-foot-long ship over to Royal Caribbean officials Wednesday in a ceremony in the Finnish port of Turku, according to a statement released by the cruise company.
The $1.3 billion Oasis of the Seas —- and its more than 6,000 passengers —- is scheduled to arrive in local waters on Dec. 8, docking at the Austin “Babe” Monsanto Marine Terminal at Crown Bay, V.I. Port Authority officials said Thursday.
First, however, the ship must cross the Atlantic in preparation for its first Caribbean cruise.
The massive vessel’s transatlantic crossing and inaugural voyage will be chronicled in so-called “webisodes” posted on the ship’s website, via Twitter, on Google Maps and in a captain’s blog before its official unveiling in Ft. Lauderdale on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday, Nov. 20. From there the Oasis sails for the Caribbean.
In preparation for its arrival in the territory, VIPA officials have just one month to complete renovations at the Crown Bay facility, including changes to the gangway and installation of sturdier bollards.
Until the V.I. government comes up with a plan to dredge Charlotte Amalie Harbor to accommodate the ship and others to follow in the Genesis-16 line, the Oasis will dock at the barren Crown Bay site, skipping the West Indian Company docks, where passengers would have many more opportunities to shop, dine and find entertainment.
After community protests over using Lindberg Bay as a placement site for the dredged materials, Gov. John deJongh Jr. took Lindberg off the table earlier this month, ensuring that the Oasis of the Seas would dock at Crown Bay until the harbor can be dredged and the ship can dock at the WICO facility.
“Crown Bay is an interim solution,” Gov. deJongh said at the time.
“Quite frankly, it is not the ideal with respect to passenger experience — there will be issues of security screening, transportation, economic impact on passenger spending," he said. "However, it ensures that the destination is able to keep the ship as a port of call.”
The V.I. government has negotiated detours with Royal Caribbean and with cruise lines that already had contracts with the Port Authority, allowing some of the ships that normally berth at Crown Bay to be shifted to Havensight on days when Oasis is in port. The ultimate goal, however, is to bring Oasis over to the WICO dock during the 2010-2011 cruise season, officials have said.
One of the first ships to be rerouted is Carnival Cruise Line’s new flagship Carnival Dream, which is expected to be shifted over to Havensight.
The Oasis of the Seas’ progress to the Virgin Islands can be charted on the ship’s website, www.oasisoftheseas.com.
