# Gigantic new ship "Oasis of the Seas". Is this an attractive ship or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599 "2009-11-14T22:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/21 "2009-11-15T04:19:29Z")
I’m wondering how long it would take to get everybody off in the lifeboats if they had to. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/22 "2009-11-15T04:32:17Z")
a) wonder how it compares to titanic? (yeah, I’ll go google it) b) if it sinks, it’ll probably just settle on the oceanfloor with the lido deck still above water. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/23 "2009-11-15T04:39:25Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Last year I was on the [Freedom of the Seas](http://www.digital-photo-web.com/image-files/freedom-of-the-seas-1461.jpg), which was the largest cruise ship in the world at the time, but has now been superseded by the Oasis of the Seas. > > I didn’t think the ship was particularly attractive from the outside, but it was tremendous fun. I found the activities on board (everything from miniature golf to trivia contests) to be much more fun than the port visits, which were primarily shopping trips. It was a true 24-hour resort environment, with every possible amenity. [hijack for socializing] So, where did you go? We just got back from the Freedom about three weeks ago. We did shore excursions each day there was shore, but the only shopping we did was about 20 minutes to buy a couple bottles of rum. (Wow, that sounds really bad, doesn’t it?) Would it be better to say rum cream?[/hijack for socializing] ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/24 "2009-11-15T04:58:14Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > a) wonder how it compares to titanic? (yeah, I’ll go google it) It’s 100 meters longer and _Four and a Half Times Heavier_. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/25 "2009-11-15T05:06:15Z")
Another thought… These ships also have stabilizer fins which extend out from the hull under the water in rough seas, thereby counteracting roll moments caused by wind and waves. It’s amazing how little the Voyager class ships rolled and pitched in the rough weather we encountered on them. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/26 "2009-11-15T05:22:18Z")
Still not as big as the Queen Mary 2. ---
**Author:** ![tilde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/58956e/32.png) [@tilde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tilde)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/27 "2009-11-15T06:14:38Z")
> [@Boscibo](#): > > That’s my first thought. I’d hate to be out in large waves on that ship. I feel like it would roll easily. Apparently not: > [@USA Today](#): > > In a blog entry posted just moments ago at Royal Caribbean’s website, the company’s chairman, Richard Fain, says Oasis of the Seas has faced peak waves in excess of 60 feet high as it battles its way across the Atlantic. > > “The weather has been anything but cooperative,” he writes. “In fact, far from diminishing, the storm has gotten worse and they are now facing significant wave heights of up to 35 feet. Some peak waves exceed 60 feet. Nature is certainly impressive.” > > Fain says the captain of the ship “is constantly adjusting his course and speed to accommodate what will probably be the only time in Oasis’ life that it will face such a storm.” > > [linky](http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=620001068.blog) ---
**Author:** ![Iridescent\_Orb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@Iridescent\_Orb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iridescent_Orb)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/28 "2009-11-15T06:42:09Z")
One of the reasons for the odd aesthetics is to maximize the number of cabins with balconies. Those are the most desirable (and highest priced) cabins. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/29 "2009-11-15T07:14:19Z")
> [@Iridescent\_Orb](#): > > One of the reasons for the odd aesthetics is to maximize the number of cabins with balconies. Those are the most desirable (and highest priced) cabins. That’s what it comes down to. Looking at it from range it is a very ugly ship. When your on the ship you’ll never have a very good view of how ugly the ship is. If your staying in one of those cabins you’ll have a wonderful view of everything outside the ship which is why people want that. Unfortunately its kinda ironic as these ships are built more and more to provide these views you get more and more views of ugly ships. I’m not sure how they can counteract this, subsidies the manufacture and operation of better looking less profitable ships? I like the ships of old like the original Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, or the SS France but all those cabins with only porthole views just didn’t bring in the bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/30 "2009-11-15T07:44:26Z")
So this thing could carry a whole division of troops. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/31 "2009-11-15T07:51:41Z")
Looks North Korean to me. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/32 "2009-11-15T08:18:37Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > It looks like a floating housing project. I was thinking more of the steel girders in Boston underpasses, but it definitely has an urban decay feel about it. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/33 "2009-11-15T08:27:27Z")
Horrible, horrible, horrible. Reminds me of some of the ugliest office buildings I’ve ever seen, stuck on a barge. Are the ugly yellow boxes the lifeboats? If so, I suppose I can’t complain about them, but they certainly do nothing for the general aesthetic. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/34 "2009-11-15T08:29:27Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > That is one butt-ugly ship (actually, I’ve seen prettier butts). It looks like they mated a housing project with a tank on steroids. Now that is a good descrption ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/35 "2009-11-15T08:32:19Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > That’s the first thing I thought of, too. I can’t imagine how much fuel it takes to make something that heavy move through water… I don’t think I could go on a cruise with a clear conscience. Then you will not be able to go on any cruise with a clear conscience. They do not give a breakdown but I would bet per passenger carried it will use less fuel. But it is still one but ugly ship. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/36 "2009-11-15T08:39:45Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > I’m wondering how long it would take to get everybody off in the lifeboats if they had to. Probably just a little longer than a normal passenger ship. The boats would all be filled at the same time.. more boats move more people. but it would take longer to cast the boats off the sea painter. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/37 "2009-11-15T11:25:19Z")
To me, it’s just crying out for someone with Photoshop skills to make it taller. Sixteen passenger decks? Why not twenty? Twenty-five? Thirty? Ugly and top-heavy. Oh, and “Oasis” of the Seas is a dumb name, too. Oasis makes me think Sahara, not Carribean. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/38 "2009-11-15T11:35:22Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > That’s the first thing I thought of, too. I can’t imagine how much fuel it takes to make something that heavy move through water… I don’t think I could go on a cruise with a clear conscience. If everyone on this ship went on a vacation the same distance in their car they’d use more fuel is my guess. It may take a fair bit of fuel to drive such a thing, but ships are generally, on a fuel used per tonne carried basis, relatively efficient. > [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > It’s 100 meters longer and _Four and a Half Times Heavier_. No about double. I suspect you are confusing displacement with GT (the latter being a measurement of volume). ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/39 "2009-11-15T11:50:06Z")
> [@thirdwarning](#): > > [hijack for socializing] So, where did you go? We just got back from the Freedom about three weeks ago. We did shore excursions each day there was shore, but the only shopping we did was about 20 minutes to buy a couple bottles of rum. (Wow, that sounds really bad, doesn’t it?) Would it be better to say rum cream?[/hijack for socializing] which rum cream and how is it stacked up to the noncream version? I keep hearing about it but cant find it in the little shot bottles so I dont want to buy a whole bottle to find out mrAru doesnt like it … ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599/40 "2009-11-15T11:52:42Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > So this thing could carry a whole division of troops. > > Declan Actually more, people do not realize that there are about half the number of crew to passengers … and troop do not expect to get waited on hand and foot, so you could either turn most of the crew space into more barracks or stowage hold space for equipment. My dad made the crossing on the Queen Mary when she was a troop ship. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gigantic-new-ship-oasis-of-the-seas-is-this-an-attractive-ship-or-not/517599.md?page=3)