Air Gorilla - Oasis

[sail7seas]

Sorry.

I just realized you asked me about the impact of Oasis embarking in Port Everglades and I never answered you.

 

We saw Oasis both before and after our recent Westerdam cruise and it was a sight to see. We hate it from the tip of her bow to the end of her stern but that isn't the point.

 

We specifically asked some folks we know at Port Everglades how much other ships will be effected when she is loading/unloading and they say could be more than just a little.

 

Already taxis and delivery trucks have been redirected to other routes when proceeding to other ships in port. In some cases, the new routing may add as much as two miles to the trip.

 

Oasis is presently only doing freebie visits/overnight cruises to nowhere and won't do revenue cruise for at least several more weeks.

 

We watched her sail out Sunday, November 22 on a two night TA/media/invited guests cruise and she totally blocked all of Port Everglades as she approached the channel. We were in Hyatt Pier 66 in a room facing Port Everglades and I literally called my DH out of the shower to watch her sail it was such an unbelievable sight.

 

We could see absolutely nothing of the port except her as she blocked view of everything.

 

I would definitely go out of my way to not sail on the same day she is boarding. Her impact has to be very significant on all others trying to board any other ship.

 

We have friends who were invited to sail a two night cruise to nowhere which boarded today. We are eager to hear their comments when they return.

[HoneyGV]

Sorry.

I just realized you asked me about the impact of Oasis embarking in Port Everglades and I never answered you.

 

We saw Oasis both before and after our recent Westerdam cruise and it was a sight to see. We hate it from the tip of her bow to the end of her stern but that isn't the point.

 

We specifically asked some folks we know at Port Everglades how much other ships will be effected when she is loading/unloading and they say could be more than just a little.

 

Already taxis and delivery trucks have been redirected to other routes when proceeding to other ships in port. In some cases, the new routing may add as much as two miles to the trip.

 

Oasis is presently only doing freebie visits/overnight cruises to nowhere and won't do revenue cruise for at least several more weeks.

 

We watched her sail out Sunday, November 22 on a two night TA/media/invited guests cruise and she totally blocked all of Port Everglades as she approached the channel. We were in Hyatt Pier 66 in a room facing Port Everglades and I literally called my DH out of the shower to watch her sail it was such an unbelievable sight.

 

We could see absolutely nothing of the port except her as she blocked view of everything.

 

I would definitely go out of my way to not sail on the same day she is boarding. Her impact has to be very significant on all others trying to board any other ship.

 

We have friends who were invited to sail a two night cruise to nowhere which boarded today. We are eager to hear their comments when they return.

 

Sailing on the Oasis would be like sailing with my WHOLE town, and one thing I don't want to do is sail with my WHOLE town. She's scary.

She certainly churns up the bottom of the channel when she's moving in and out.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were on the Zuiderdam waiting for disembarkation when the Oasis arrived on Nov 13 -- 2 days late.

She is one massive ship!! She made the Zuiderdam and the Statendam look like row boats!!

The crane was already in place when she arrived the place the trees and plants in the "park".

There is no way that we would ever sail on her.

[sail7seas]

Those trees are a story unto themselves.

 

It is incredible the extent RCI went to having those trees specifically grown for particular pots to be placed in various locations and the fact a 'tree gardener' (whatever the proper term I have forgotten) is aboard to care for his trees. We heard, in great details, about the crane and the trees and the care etc Quite incredible.

 

[Cruisin'Lady]

I am just so glad that they are sailing the day AFTER we sail and we come in the day BEFORE she comes back in! I have also checked her schedule for the two weeks we are out...she doesn't seem to be in any of the ports we are visiting (whew!). I feel for any others who will be in port on those days. Seems like it will be a nightmare. The shuttle systems from Port Everglades is already stretched it seems. But I am curious to see her ....maybe a photo opportunity.

[GA girl]

We are departing Port Everglades on January 16 on the Eurodam and unfortunately Oasis is also departing that day. We have read, however, that there is a docking area dedicated to Oasis, including incoming roads. Hopefully this will not impact on us too much - we drive to Ft. Lauderdale and usually park in the parking garage close by. I have seen a video of that ship and would NEVER book a cruise on her - far too large for us.

[sail7seas]

They built a terminal to accomodate her guests. Rerouting has been established for vehicles going to other terminals/ships. The incoming roads/security checkpoint entering Port Everglades is shared by all.

 

[1cruiselvr]

It's going to be difficult to avoid this monster since she sails every Saturday ......:( I currently have an Apr 2010 cruise that I'm rethinking before final payment. I'll see what posters report on cc once Oasis starts sailing. Happy Sailing!

PS My nickname for this ship is "Pig of the Seas". Hope this tidbit doesn't get me a black mark on cc. :(

[luckysadie]

We are sailing on the Noordam on February 3, but will have to disembark on February 13 (Saturday) when Oasis is disembarking as well. I understand that there are 5 or 6 other ships in Fort Lauderdale that day -- should be a blast at the airport. In addition, we are in St. Maarten the same day as the Oasis. Maybe we'll just stay on the Noordam and laugh at how long it will take to tender passengers ashore.

[sail7seas]

I doubt Oasis will be tendering. They will tie up, won't they?

 

I lost my link for Port Everglades ship schedule and am trying to imagine five or six other large ships in with Oasis on the same day. Won't be fun. I'll go check cruisett.com.

 

 

[CowPrincess]

Sail -- arborist?

[PhoenixCruiser]

I doubt Oasis will be tendering. They will tie up, won't they?

 

 

Yes she will be tied up at every port, there will be no tendering on the Oasis.

 

###

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We are departing Port Everglades on January 16 on the Eurodam and unfortunately Oasis is also departing that day. We have read, however, that there is a docking area dedicated to Oasis, including incoming roads. Hopefully this will not impact on us too much - we drive to Ft. Lauderdale and usually park in the parking garage close by. I have seen a video of that ship and would NEVER book a cruise on her - far too large for us.

I too will be boarding a ship on the 16th of January except it will be the Crown Princess. It will certainly be interesting as to what extent we will be impacted. I will be comparing it to when we sailed on the Eurodam last December. My guess is that by the time we sail Port Everglades will have a good handle on what is going to be happening with the crowds. There actually have been days when there were far more ships docked in Port Everglades than what the upcoming Saturdays will be. If you take a look at the upcoming season you will see that Sundays for the most part have far more ships in port than Saturdays just the difference of 3 more ships will make up what the Oasis will bring in. So my honest opinion there will be little to no impact.

[lettienets]

I am concerned if Fort Lauderdale airport can accommodate all the passengers coming and going on the Oasis. It isn't that great now with all the other ships. Flying in a few thousand more passengers every weekend is going to be something else. Even if a lot of them drive there, thousands will still be flying.

[shandryl]

1cruiselvr U R Funny! , LMAO That is a great!! Next Year her twin sister will arrive will call her "Pig II of Seas" :D

[avalon1025]

having just come off one of Oasis' preview cruises, I can not think of how the ship will manage 6000 passengers, let alone the impact on a port, especially with other ships in (poor St Thomas!). She was an engineering marvel, but you would never know you were on a ship, everything faces inward and most of the public room have no windows. She is a good floating resort as an alternative to a vegas vacation, but for a cruise I'd pick a smaller ship with windows!

[buckirj1]

I followed my TA's tweets from her Oasis preview--all good things, but I can't wrap my mind around a ship that big. I don't want to say I'd never sail Oasis, but don't see it happening any time soon. Doesn't have a Canada/NE itinerary, for one thing.

 

Hey, that could become my standard excuse for any cruise I don't want to take! And it'd be true!!

 

...still working on a plan to get to or from Montreal that makes sense in terms of time and money.

[Modern_Viking]

LAFFNVEGAS:

You mentioned you are sailing on the Crown Princess in the near future. If she is at berthed at pier 2 or pier 4 (somewhat likely, but not guaranteed for a Princess ship) you might want to try entering Pt. Everglades via rt 84 (aka Spangler Blvd) or off of SE 17 St across from the Renaissance hotel and a bit inland from Pier 66). The largest security gate, just off of I-595, is much further south, and you would need to pass pier 18 (the new super pier) to get up to Piers 2 and 4. The gate by I-595 still would seem to be the best bet for getting to the typical HAL piers (26, 19, and 29). Here is a link to a map:

http://www.porteverglades.net/includes/media/docs/Port-Map-2009.pdf

 

 

Sail (and LAFFNVEGAS):

For anyone who needs a link to the Pt. Everglades ship schedule, try this:

http://www.porteverglades.net/about-us/ship-schedule/

 

 

I wish you all fair winds, following seas, and zero port area traffic jams!

[bob brown]

I really don't see the point of the Oasis. If she's meant to be a destination unto herself....why bother even going on a ship? As fantastic as the facilities are, they still can't begin to compare with a land resort such as Walt Disney World. And if the point is to explore various ports at the same time, just about any other cruise ship out there provide a better experience.

[Charles4515]

I really don't see the point of the Oasis. If she's meant to be a destination unto herself....why bother even going on a ship? As fantastic as the facilities are, they still can't begin to compare with a land resort such as Walt Disney World. And if the point is to explore various ports at the same time, just about any other cruise ship out there provide a better experience.

 

You don't know about the experience until you sail on her. I look forward to sailing on Oasis next year. I expect it will be different but great.

[Former Goalie]

I mentioned this in another forum - I personally am not too concerned about the Oasis impact in Port Everglades. I do not know any of the details of the new facility (I'm told) Oasis will use, and infrastructure added/built for Oasis, but I think the port will handle it, just as it has other new builds in the past. We will be sailing E-dam this Spring, and I'm actually looking forward to gawking at the behemoth from the hotel the morning of, or from the decks of the pipsqueek E-dam on embarkation day.

My real concern is the Oasis impact on ports it calls on. I have done a search of our E-dam itinerary and, fortunately, Oasis will not be in port when we are.

[Taxguy77]

It's going to be difficult to avoid this monster since she sails every Saturday ......:( I currently have an Apr 2010 cruise that I'm rethinking before final payment. I'll see what posters report on cc once Oasis starts sailing. Happy Sailing!

PS My nickname for this ship is "Pig of the Seas". Hope this tidbit doesn't get me a black mark on cc. :(

 

Could be, they're sure giving her a LOT of (free:confused:) advertising.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I haven't bothered to check to see what other ships will be with us in various ports in quite some time.

But you can bet that I will for our future cruises. If the Oasis is in port with us -- definitely will stay on the ship.

[mountainmare]

The ship is a fact of life--yes its huge--yes its ugly--but alot of people will love it.

Remember that a sister ship to Oasis is coming soon.

As time shakes out the ports will be even more crowded than they are now--but realize that the popular ports on the large cruise ship run are essentially faked up destinations for cruise passengers anyway, only small ships can go to out of the way islands so if that is what you want Oasis won't bother you.

As time goes on people will adjust--I really would like to see in two years how many people are really refusing to book a ship that departs with Oasis and refusing to get off the ship when Oasis is in the same port. The bottom line is--like the lack of trays--you don't know what things will be like until you personally experience them. Until you have a reason to fret--relax--you get a chance to cruise--you are lucky.

[AirGorilla]

Sorry.

I just realized you asked me about the impact of Oasis embarking in Port Everglades and I never answered you.

 

We saw Oasis both before and after our recent Westerdam cruise and it was a sight to see. We hate it from the tip of her bow to the end of her stern but that isn't the point.

 

We specifically asked some folks we know at Port Everglades how much other ships will be effected when she is loading/unloading and they say could be more than just a little.

 

Already taxis and delivery trucks have been redirected to other routes when proceeding to other ships in port. In some cases, the new routing may add as much as two miles to the trip.

 

Oasis is presently only doing freebie visits/overnight cruises to nowhere and won't do revenue cruise for at least several more weeks.

 

We watched her sail out Sunday, November 22 on a two night TA/media/invited guests cruise and she totally blocked all of Port Everglades as she approached the channel. We were in Hyatt Pier 66 in a room facing Port Everglades and I literally called my DH out of the shower to watch her sail it was such an unbelievable sight.

 

We could see absolutely nothing of the port except her as she blocked view of everything.

 

I would definitely go out of my way to not sail on the same day she is boarding. Her impact has to be very significant on all others trying to board any other ship.

 

We have friends who were invited to sail a two night cruise to nowhere which boarded today. We are eager to hear their comments when they return.

 

Most interesting insights!! Looking at the port schedule which is referenced towards the end of this thread, this ship is 200+ feet longer than any other cruise ship on the schedule. WOW!