Visit our travel agent friends at MEI Travel

French shipyard preparing to begin construction on third Oasis class ship

In:
28 Aug 2013

STX France is making preperations to begin construction on Royal Caribbean's third Oasis-class cruise ship by first building a frame to help build the massive ship.  In order to accomodate the massive ship, STX France is constructing a new portico, which started arriving this week.  Formal construction on the portico will begin starting next month. 

Once the portico is complete, STX France expects the shipyard to begin construction of the new Oasis-class ship in the first quarter of 2014.

The new STX France portico, ordered specifically for the new Oasis class ship but will be used for other future builds, just arrived in Saint-Nazaire from China in the last few days.  It weighs 160 tonnes and measures 44 by 10 meters.

The old portico was built in 1968 and was one of the oldest in the world.

Royal Caribbean's Third Oasis-class ship steel supplier signed

In:
18 Jul 2013

Royal Caribbean's third Oasis-class ship will be built at STX France shipyard and today ArcelorMittal has been selected to provide 100% of the steel for the hull and 20 bridges in the new ship.

The agreement will supply more than 40,000 tonnes of plates and coils from ArcelorMittal's European sites.

The coils will be produced at Fos-sur-Mer, France and will then be processed into sheets by ArcelorMittal's St Nazaire Distribution Solutions unit.  Afterwards, the coils will then be delivered to STX France.

The plates are being produced by ArcelorMittal Gijon, Spain and shipped to STX France.

Deliveries will commence in September 2013, when construction of the hull will begin.

Hervé Bourrier, CEO, ArcelorMittal France said: "This contract demonstrates our ability to deliver high quality steels and tailored services from our European industrial and sales units, and confirms our long-term presence as a steel supplier to the cruise ship market, one that has seen consistent growth over the last five years."

The ship, which will have around 2,700 cabins, will be delivered in 2016 to Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean gets financing for third Oasis class cruise ship

In:
13 Jul 2013

Royal Caribbean has come to an agreement to get an unsecured loan for up to €892 million to finance its third Oasis-class cruise ship. COFACE, the export credit agency of France, will guarantee 100% of the financing, according to a filing.

As soon as the loan is funded, it will amortize semi-annually and will mature 12 years as soon as STX France shipyard delivers the new ship, which is currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2016.

Interest on the loan is expected to accrue at a fixed rate of 2.6%, including the applicable margin, or at a floating rate equal to EURIBOR plus 1.15%.

Société Générale is serving as facility agent and mandated lead arranger, BNP Paribas as documentation bank and mandated lead arranger, and HSBC France as mandated lead arranger.

Third Oasis class cruise ship will have new innovations

In:
06 Apr 2013

In an interview with Royal Caribbean Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific Gavin Smith, the topic of Royal Caribbean's new Oasis-class cruise ship that is on order for a few years from now.

While Smith was not able to go into any great detail about the third Oasis class cruise ship, he did give us an idea of what to expect.

"It could be expected that the DNA of the earlier Oasis Class ships will be protected, and a host of new and innovative amenities will be added to further enhance guest experience."

Construction of the new ship will begin in September 2013 at the STX France shipyards. The third Oasis class ship is expected to be delivered to Royal Caribbean sometime in 2016.

Royal Caribbean Vice President speaks to Brazil about new cruise ships

In:
30 Jan 2013

Royal Caribbean senior vice president Lisa Bauer spoke to a group of travel agents in São Paulo, Brazil on Tuesday and discussed some of Royal Caribbean's plans for the future, including launching three new cruise ships by 2016.

Bauer spoke about Brazil's importance as an increasingly larger market, "Brazil is an important market and also strategic. São Paulo customers love our products and it's where we have a high satisfaction rate. We know that agents work hard for our sales and we want to hear what they have to say."

Bauer mentioned the new third Oasis class ship Royal Caribbean is building along with the two Project Sunshine ships that will launch in 2014 and 2015.  According to Bauer, news about all three ships will be communicated throughout the construction period of the vessels.

"We do a global search with our passengers to define what will be news. We will bring some of the existing ammenities and others that are innovative and different from anything I've done," she said.

According to Ricardo Amaral, vice president of Royal Caribbean, Latin America, the focus of creation is seeking a new experience to guests. "Maybe that's why we're the playmaker that invests more in renovations and construction," he said.

For Amaral, the concept of brand and quality are the main characteristics that motivate Royal Caribbean to be preferred among Brazilians. "We believe we have the best product for the Brazilian public for both the domestic market and for Europe," he said. Regarding the numbers, he only mentioned that the season in Brazil is very good, since he can not speak of results that have not been announced for investors.  

Are one of these the name for Royal Caribbean's third Oasis class ship?

In:
29 Dec 2012

Royal Caribbean ordered a third (and possibly fourth) Oasis-class cruise ship earlier this week and already many of our readers are wondering about what the new ship's name will be.  Perhaps recent trademark filings by Royal Caribbean will give us a clue.

Back on Friday, November 2, 2012, Royal Caribbean applied for trademarks for the following ship names.  Could one of these be the next name for the new third Oasis-class ship?

  • Anthem of the Seas
  • Ovation of the Seas
  • Passion of the Seas
  • Pulse of the Seas
  • Quantum of the Seas
  • Vantage of the Seas

For Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean held contests to name the ship.  It is not known if Royal Caribbean will use one of these six names or hold another contest to name the ship.

New Oasis class ship will begin construction in September 2013

In:
28 Dec 2012

The new Oasis class ship that Royal Caribbean ordered from STX France will begin construction in September 2013.  Plans for the new ship will be drawn up in January 2013.

Officials from STX France have said the deal is worth in excess of one billion euros ($1.3 billion) and represents more than 10 million man hours in work over the next three years for the shipyard and its sub-contractors.

The third Oasis-class ship will be delivered to Royal Caribbean in mid-2016. If Royal Caribbean exercises the option for a fourth Oasis-class vessel, it would be delivered in mid-2018.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault commented the deal is "oxygen" and "a lot of hope" for the region and French industry as a whole.

Meanwhile in Finland, some are upset that STX Europe shipyard in Turku missed out on the order, given that the Finnish shipyard was Royal Caribbean's first choice for where to build the ships.  Given that once STX in Turku finishes its current order for Viking River Cruises, there is not much else on order with the shipyard.  

Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs, Jan Vapaavuori held a press conference in Helsinki today to discuss why Finland opted not to bankroll the new ship order.  In addition, Vapaavouri says Finland will inquire within the European Union to ensure STX France played in accordance with EU rules.  Vapaavuori emphasized that the Finnish government did everything in their power to obtain the cruise ship order for the Turku shipyard.

Royal Caribbean orders third Oasis class ship

In:
27 Dec 2012

Royal Caribbean announced today it has secured a deal with STX France to construct a third Oasis class ship that will be delivered by mid-2016.

The ship will be the same size as the Oasis and Allure of the Seas, and will accommodate 5,400 passengers.

Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain commented on the news, "The Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas have fundamentally transformed the cruise experience for our guests. These ships have consistently generated outstanding guest satisfaction ratings and continue to produce superior financial results. We are thrilled to be adding a sister to this extraordinary class of vessels at a compelling price. Being back building in France just adds to the pleasure."

Including today's contract and existing ship orders, projected capital expenditures for 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 are $1.3 billion, $700 million, $1.2 billion, $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. The company's annualized capacity growth rate from 2012 to 2016 remains at a historically low rate of 3.5%.

Royal Caribbean was negotiating with STX Europe in Finland to construct the third vessel, but a deal could not be worked out with the Finnish government.

Royal Caribbean has a one-year option to build a fourth Oasis-class ship from STX France, which would be delivered in mid-2018. 

Shipyard says loan for third Royal Caribbean Oasis class cruise ship not enough

In:
21 Dec 2012

Earlier today the government of Finland announced that it would loan STX shipyard in Turku $28 million euros to build Royal Caribbean's third Oasis-class cruise ship.  STX Finland says the loan is not enough and the shipyard is likely to lose the order to STX Europe in France.

Jari Aalto says the shipyard needs more money than the Finnish government has loaned, "We would have needed the 50 million euro loan."

Aalto says that STX Europe in France has a better loan to offer Royal Caribbean.

The Finnish Metalworkers' Union also expressed disappointment at the decision. It said a potential order loss now could harm the shipyard’s ability to attract customers in the future.

In addition, the report from this Finnish web site claims the government loan is 44 million euros, compared to the earlier report of 28 million.

Subscribe to New ship