New boat largest cruise ship....5X larger than Titanic

[JupiterSunsation]

Nov 1, 9:23 AM


Largest cruise ship squeezes under Danish bridge

By JAN M. OLSEN

KORSOER, Denmark (AP) -- The world's largest cruise ship cleared a crucial obstacle Sunday, lowering its smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in Denmark.

The Oasis of the Seas - which rises about 20 stories high - passed below the Great Belt Fixed Link with a slim margin as it left the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage to Florida.

Bridge operators said that even after lowering its telescopic smokestacks the giant ship had less than a 2-foot (half-meter) gap.

Hundreds of people gathered on beaches at both ends of the bridge, waiting for hours to watch the brightly lit behemoth sail by shortly after midnight (2300GMT; 7 p.m. EDT).

"It was fantastic to see it glide under the bridge. Boy, it was big," said Kurt Hal, 56.

Company officials are banking that its novelty will help guarantee its success. Five times larger than the Titanic, the $1.5 billion ship has seven neighborhoods, an ice rink, a small golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. It has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.

Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and 1,600-square-foot (487-meter) luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.

The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.

Oasis of the Sea, nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths.

It was built by STX Finland for Royal Caribbean International and left the shipyard in Finland on Friday. Officials hadn't expected any problems in passing the Great Belt bridge, but traffic was stopped for about 15 minutes as a precaution when the ship approached, Danish navy spokesman Joergen Brand said.

Aboard the Oasis of the Seas, project manager Toivo Ilvonen of STX Finland confirmed that the ship had passed under the bridge without any incidents.

"Nothing fell off," he said.

The enormous ship features various "neighborhoods" - parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale.

In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater - modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater - doubles as a swimming pool by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 33-foot (10-meter) high-dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.

One of the "neighborhoods," named Central Park, features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars, including a bar that moves up and down three decks, allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.

Once home, the $1.5 billion floating extravaganza will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging U.S. economy, questions about the consumer appetite for luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths are damaging to the environment and diminish the experience of traveling.

It is due to make its U.S. debut on Nov. 20 at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.

© 2009 The Associated Press.

[cuda]

It cost about the same as Dallas Stadium.

[MarylandMark]

They went at it full throttle so the ship was lower in the water- guess it doesn't have steps

[MikeyFIN]

It was built right here... and the sistership also.
The same town that built the Seewolf prototypes for Germany..

In our and my eyes it´s nothing but a bigger cruise ship to those that go around in the Baltic...nothing more fancier IMO.
Yes we are spoiled in that aspect like the beauty of women in my town others tell.

[cuda]

I imagine someone's going to lose their azz on building that ship.

[JupiterSunsation]

I imagine someone's going to lose their azz on building that ship.

unfortunately when they agreed to build that behemouth the economy was still in "grow and spend" mode.

[MacGyver]

I wonder how going full speed makes it sit lower in the water

[MikeyFIN]

heres a clip of it passing under the bridge...

http://www.katsomo.fi/?progId=24577

click the clip.

[MacGyver]

Inside:

[MacGyver]

The three drive pods:

[MikeyFIN]

and here´s the start of the journey on friday
http://www.katsomo.fi/?progId=24468

I´ve worked on that drydock/ shipyard...

[MikeyFIN]

I wonder how going full speed makes it sit lower in the water

It pushes so much water away from itself it creates a hole for itself ?

I Think Brad (Shoenwald) can fill in as he was overhere 2 weeks(?) ago...

[MacGyver]

Power: Output60MW
Performance: Service Speed20.2kt
Capacities: Passenger Capacity5,400
Main Dimensions:Length (overall)1,181ftBreadth (moulded)154ftHeight (above waterline)213ftDraught30ft
Tonnage: Displacement100,000tGross Tonnage220,000t
Engines: 8 Wartsila V12 diesel engines generating 17,500hp each, main propulsion system three 20 MW azimuthing Asea Brown Boveri Azipods

[MikeyFIN]

and here´s a tour inside

http://www.katsomo.fi/?progId=24290

[MacGyver]

and here´s a tour inside

http://www.katsomo.fi/?progId=24290

Any video of the good stuff.....like the engine room, electrical room or bridge?

[MikeyFIN]

Actually the engines are generators and the electric motors are in the drives.

[MikeyFIN]

on the last vid at 05:16 is a chandelier my friend made and I helped to move it...he hand made most of the lamps in the ship...

no wonder he just bought a 68 Roadrunner 4 speed...

[MattBMiller]

Awesome ship!

[TMS1155]

The three drive pods:

When do the speedmasters get installed?

[03darkshadow]

The three drive pods:

does anyone else see how the guy on the far right is standing? that is some serious leaning.