Largest cruise ship lowers smokestacks, squeezes under Denmark bridge
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comOasis of the Seas clears crucial obstacle
Seeded on Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:33 AM EDT (msnbc.com)
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Don't know why they call this cruising. What ports in the Caribbean can they get into? If they lighter their passengers in, the last lighter won't leave for shore before it's time to depart. In St. Thomas you already have to stand in line at a restaurant or duty free shop and wait 30 or 45 minutes to get service. In some islands, the number of passengers on the ship will exceed the population of the island. I guess if they just sail around and past the various islands, and that satisfies their customers, it may be a vacation but it is not cruising. I have just completed my 47th cruise during the past 30 years and for me, this certainly will not be a "cruise" I would want to take.
Good point, Chac.
I love a cruise mainly because you get to "check in" to one "hotel room" but you get to vist lots of places/ports and you don't have to pack and unpack.
But, the bigger the ship, the longer the lines to get off the ship at a port, and then back on. Let's say half the passengers, or 3,000 plus, want to get off at a small port. That's going to be a very long line getting off and on!
But the ship does look incredible, so I might give it a try for a week or so one day.
"World's Biggest Cruise Ship Sets Sail." Wasn't that the headline in April, 1912 when the Titanic set sail? Please tell me they aren't claiming this one is "unsinkable" and that they have enough life boats. I don't do cruising generally, but not because I think they will sink. I think our technology is pretty good these days. I don't cruise because I don't like being confined at sea for a long time between ports. But that's just me. Bon voyage to all who love that sort of thing.
My thoughts exactly as I read that
It is funny to hear people complaining about the size, cost etc... Remember Jesus said the poor will always be among you. No matter how liberal you are, certain people are going to be rich and many more will be poor. Why should I feel bad because some people are starving and some countries are very poor. LIFE IS NOT FAIR! If you were lucky enough to be born in America you have already got a leg up on the rest of the world.
Stop trying to take what I have worked hard to get and give it to some morons that are too stupid, lazy, or apathetic to become successfull on thier own. The government has no right to take my money to give to these lowlifes. Let them starve or kill each other. I, for one, don't care about them and I never will.
If the rich liberals (oprah and the like) are worried about the poor then they have every right to give the poor all of their money. However the government does not have a right to steal my money and give it to the poor. Impeach every politician now and clean out all of the dirtbags in DC starting with the head one on down.
It's a shame when so many people are losing their homes and cannot afford the basic necessities in life, things like this has to be put in their face. Allright we get it, some people are fortunate enough to waste money on such things, but I think we already had enough cruise ships out there, it's amazing how some people live an excessive lifestyle while others don't have the bare minimals. And so many of the "have-nots" work very hard to the maximum possible level, while so many of the wealthy do little to better the world...
VIDEO of the Ship Oasis of the seas - during sea trials - click on the Link -----} http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILDUVN4SPE4
WOW- Watch this Video of the ship too - intersting link ---} http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usINHoCMMyk
Logan Won...why not save your rant for one of the Obama hater wingnut blogs? This is an article about a massive cruise ship, not a political issue. No one on here wants to listen to you rant and rave.
Why does every discussion have to turn into politics? If this were an article abour banana popsicles somehow it would turn into politics.
Fazool: I know it is silly, but I agree, Titanic was the first thing that came to mind when I read the headline. I know that our technology and progress in rescue efforts is much better, but just the thought of going into the water on a sinking ship that huge is just terrifying.
And the Somali pirates are praying, Please Allah, guide the Yankee bastards into our water. It will be a coup for Allah!
The verse in the Bible where it says "the poor will always be among you" is one of the most misused verses in the Bible. To interpret it as "who cares about the poor" is to ignore thousands of other verses in the Bible that talk about the poor.
In this passage, the issue is the use of expensive oil to anoint Jesus with. A uber-luxury cruise isn't quite in the same league as annointing the feet of the Messiah. And if you don't care about the poor, what are you doing quoting Jesus to make your point?
I don't care if people go on this cruise. It's the common blatant misuse of this verse to invert the Bible's message about poverty that irritates me.
I agree with those who snicker at the larger cruise ships. Royal Carribean has done this for years, and every time I see their newest and biggest I wonder why anybody would want to be on one.
Certainly part of being on a cruise ship is being with people. But part of it is also being able to find a place to enjoy yourself and family without being overtly surrounded by others. And no, there isn't any design of any ship that will give you that experience when 6000+ passengers are on board. Maybe it is meant for those who just can't enjoy themselves unless they are surrounded by people. But then I wonder why they don't just visit New York, Tokyo, or Hong Kong.
And what is the point of storming some beach with 6000 passengers, not to mention the other cruise ships in port? You now have brought the experience of overcrowded beaches to foreign shores. So, again, what was the point of going on vacation?
The huge ship will most probably accomodate quick passenger on/off through various exits at different parts of the ship. Sounds cool to me!
I thought size didn't matter, that it was the motion of the ocean that counted?
The grand prize of terrorism - it'll be on the bottom in five years.
Quit hogging the joint logan.
No, because the TITANIC wasn't a "cruise" ship. She was a trans Atlantic liner! She was in the business of line voyages, transporting passengers, not "guests" from point A to point B, as well as transporting cargo and mail. Unfortunately she only completed half of a one-way voyage. Other ships like the QUEEN MARY, QUEEN ELIZABETH, NORMANDIE, etc., were also liners, not cruise ships!
Somehow, the word boondoggle, if some are familiar with the term, does not even begin to describe this boat!
Why would you want to leave the ship?
Sometimes, you don't. True, that's no different than just checking into a hotel somewhere, but at least on a cruise you can check out a new port or new town, if you want to!
Why would you want to get ON this ship????? Why on Earth would anyone want to "vacation" with over 6,000 other people AT THE SAME TIME??? Can you imagine the nightmare of dis/embarking not to mention booking tours......
OMG, noooooooooo thx.
I feel the same way as Lame Story. I don't care how "incredible" the ship is - this is my idea of a vacation only in my worst nightmare.
But I WOULD love to be able to just board the ship and check it out for a day and get off again. It does sound like it would be fun to see.
Agreed with why would you want to even get 'on' the ship.
But even if you got on it, and wanted to get off, how long would that take?
Everybody is assuming that their calculations of 1ft clearance under the bridge is even accurate. Maybe nobody will get on the ship...... ever.
I think the point here is not that the ship goes to tourist attractions, the ship is THE tourist attraction.
Sure JD101585 when you can enjoy the company of all those union garbage collectors and deadbeat drunks like my cousin who was contantly putting the arm on me to lend him money.
He is broke now and I have thirty years average (after taxes) income stashed offshore.
I'll make a bid of four cents a pound for this ship for fools DELIVERED to New Hampshire.
Bid subject to change with economic climate.
Gee, looks like a great ship and a lot of fun being on board with 6500 other lemmings.
Okay, I'll bite. Why are they lemmings? I don't think I'd enjoy it just because their are so many people, but I'm not sure how those who do enjoy that type of thing are lemmings.
From Merriam Webster...
Main Entry: lem·ming Pronunciation: \ˈle-miŋ\ Function: noun Etymology: Norwegian
Date: 1713 : any of various small short-tailed furry-footed rodents (as genera Lemmus and Dicrostonyx) of circumpolar distribution that are notable for population fluctuations and recurrent mass migrations
Look at the last eight words in that description and you should understand.
I did a comparison. Compared to the Carnival Valor that I was on about a year ago, this thing is at least 50' longer(think city bus length), roughly twice the max width, has 3 more decks, and manages to carry 3 times the amount of passengers. Sounds delightfully scary.
JD101585..The bigger question is not why would you want to leave the ship but why would you want to get on this ship in the first place.?
well at least it wasn't built in korea or china like the rest
So glad to hear it doesn't "dump sewage into the sea". Too bad most other ships do.
I agree Bill CT, 6300 "lemmings" is a bit much for me, even if I had the nice large suite with a balcony to escape to.
I don't think you'll find too many modern ships pumping raw sewage into the oceans these days. The purification systems are pretty sophisticated.
What a ridiculous concept! 6300 passengers!!! That's bigger than some of the small towns I have lived in!
NEVER would I book a cruise on a ship that big. I cruise for cruising, enjoying relaxing on my balcony while viewing the ocean, and seeing the world, not for all the stupid extras they put on these megaships - -rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, "moving bars", etc, ad nauseum!
Piece of crap journalism.
The ship's home port will be Port Everglades NOT Miami !! The ship will sail to Port Everglades not to Port of Miami.
Just imagine how accurate must be AP's other news !
Thanks for pointing that out! I live in FTL and am always frustrated when people write or say Miami, thinking it's the same thing. We have a bigger and better port anyway. Just bad journalism. Really awful if they did it just to fit the headline.
How are you going to keep the pirates away from this ship?
Yeah, it's funny how 15 pirates could hold 6,500 passengers hostage. It's the same with 250 on a plane and three hijackers. Human nature sucks.
You would think that you could get enough people together and tear the assailants apart, but it doesn't work that way. If afterward someone said it did then Hollywood would turn it into a hero movie.
The huge wake will capsize all pirates!
The only way to cruise is on a SMALL ship. 100 passengers. You can get into port and have fun.
We did a 3 week Clipper/National Geographic cruise to Japan/South Korea in '07. TINY ship....a total of 64 cabins. We went all over those islands and saw the most amazing sites and people. No way you can do that on one of these monsters.
It's bound to go down sooner or later. Let's hope that Leo and Kate are on the ship to lip-sing the melodic ditties of Celine Deon, to include "heart must go on"...only fair to keep every one occupied and amused while the ship plays see saw on open ocean floor.
Too much luxury, too much "vacation", is also something that the "big guy" upstairs have a thing against. Takes only one decent size tidal wave or an ice berg to end that Margarita and sun weekend.
It used to be that luxury cruieliners would awe the eye witness, this is simply arrogance.
They're all on it to stuff up at the Buffet
That should make her pretty top heavy.
Looks like an incredible ship, too bad I could never afford a ticket. Should be more like the world's largest tuna can!
We hope it never comes to Dominica. We're the nature Island of the Caribbean and welcome eco-tourists.
This ship can carry 1/10 of our population & would totally overwhelm us!
Big Dan, is it true that the Dominican Republic waters have Sea Mermaids, you know the ones that only wear coconut shells, hot and sensual, and tickle you crazy if you get close to them.
Always wanted to bag me one of those Mermaids. I am sure I will find some thing to do with one.
LiberalFuture, You need to read up on your geography. Dominica is an islandin the Caribbean, not the Dominican Republic which is on the Island of Hispaniola together with the country of Haiti.
I think it's tacky and an environmental disaster for our oceans. Why would anyone go on a "cruise" if you can't feel the ocean under your feet? Everything offered on the traveling island one can do on land without the environmental impact.
lol, great time to christen a new cruise ship, with mother of all recession and swin flu going on. :P
If you waited for the right economy and all the pestilence to be over you'd be waiting a long time. Besides...what better time to stimulate the world economy?
Children dying from starvation
Children dying from lack of medical
Depression around the world (financial)
This is a a big SO WHAT! Its tacky, its degrading when so many other situations could have been benefitted from the millions of dollars spent on this monstrosity that will host worlds rich and famous environmentalists, politicians and CEOs .
You are a moron....
Private money built this ship, and in the process employed tens of thousands of people for years. Its not just the actual builders, but all those you supplied materials, and services to support the workers.
Because all those workers were employed, their respective governments did not have to support them, and were able to use the taxes they generated for the betterment of their communities.
Perhaps you missed the part of the article that says this ship employes over 2k people, or that it will be sailing to some of the poorest countries on earth. Think about the positive economic impact this ship will bring to those areas...the jobs created and yes, the children who won't starve and will get medical treatment because their parents are employed.
If you don't like it...don't sail on it. In fact you should never take a vacation again and donate all your money to poor children around the world.
I second that reply Rodney. Good post
Get real!! First this ship was ordered before the depression. Remember when you threw money arround like it was just paper?
Second, Just like the luxury Hotels arround the world. You can only make money (remember, you used to have a little to spend.) if you have a lot of rooms.
Third, Why knock it just because you can't afford it. I use to have enough to take cruses but those days are gone. More power to those who can afford it. I do imagine that there will be a lot of cheaper tickets available.
You have your priorites and others have theirs. Mine right now are putting food on the table, clothes on my kids backs, and a roof overhead. I don't expect anyone else to help me with my problems and I sure have nothing left to help others.
This ship, being based here in Ft Lauderdale has already started producing jobs. For example, The plants on board, some 12,000 of them are all being supplied by local nurserys, the ships provisions will be supplied by local ships chandlers and various other suppliers. Just think of how much food and liquor that ship will need. And don't forget about fuel, cleaning supplies etc. I for one am happy that the boat will be here in my back yard. And I agree with Rodney, SuzieQ you are a moron.
Lighten up Suzy Q., cruises aren't that expensive I went on a short one a 4 day in 2003 and it was actually cheaper than going somewhere eating out all of the time and staying in hotels it cost about $700. We were part of a group and enjoyed some good old Rock 'N' Roll and you can rest assured none of us were millionaires other than the musicians who entertained us. The ship is funded with private funds not a government. This one is a bit big for my tastes though. You just keep thinking about a perfect world because it "ain't" gonna happen.
Give me a 40 sailing yacht with 2 or 3 other couples.
Why sail on a ship like this. Just check into a hotel in Florida. Want to visit an island. Go, and live among the people and learn something.
Eat their food, drink their drinks, and have fun, and travel the island.
I think I can freely speak for every one here when I say this, this over indulgent colossal luxury boat is all Obama's fault.
Now, I can see a gigantic boat loaded with over-fed middle class people ruining fun for all the rich deserving folks. Just re-visit Caddy Shack, it's all laid out nicely.
The man has not even been in office long enough to hang a picture and all of the worlds problems are Obama's fault. That's logical. I guess grass can be made a political discussion if you really want to reach, the article is about a ship, stay on topic.
ten months and haven't been able to hang a picture?must be in the obama union
They should have a black box that records video throughout the ship. Then when it goes down, the subsequent filmmakers will have ample background material for an interesting and realistic mini-series.
Yep, you got to love how they profit from tragedy.
Looks like another Titanic without the smoke stacks.........History does repeat itself you know!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because 10 exclamation points just wasn't enough.
Built just acrooss the straits from where the original Ttanic was built as well as her sister ships (which all sunk)........Hmmmmm.......scary!!!
What a Beauty. With the ice caps melting we will have a place to go. A ship that is blocks long with the same city look.
As a hospital ship we could get health care in the safety of international waters.
Just add a few extra beds here and all the states legislatures could be bunked.
Reserve the state rooms for Congress, executives and judicial branches, then make sure that do not leave till they do their jobs.
You know the Titanic looked a lot better when it was launched … and even now...
OMG, that's a boat? The picture looks like a hotel they stole from Las Vegas and threw it on a hull.
It's almost 1/4 mile long and holds 30 times the population of my home town. Like floating with New York City. Long lines, a pool that is absolutely packed like vegetables in Dinty Moore stew. You are literally rubbing elbows with the rich and flabby.
MMM....I see a juicy TERRORIST or pirate target, because the Mall Cops on board just aren't qualified to defend it and it's too big to react to a torpedo or USS Cole style attack. Even if it didn't sink, those 6,500 passengers make for a uncontrollable, scared mob. Publicity would be worldwide. If Muslim, the terrorist pulling it off would be entitled to 468,000 virgins for all those infidels!
I'm not going.