16 years ago today, Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas had its maiden sailing, and the cruise industry has never been the same sine.
Royal Caribbean had already introduced a game changing ship with Voyager of the Seas about a decade earlier. The Voyager Class proved there was a market for big ships with "I can't believe they put that on a cruise ship" features.
Royal Caribbean was far from done pushing boundaries, as it wanted to build something even bigger, grander, and more of a spectacle.
Today, Oasis of the Seas is one of many cruise ships that fit into the megaship class. But in 2009, she was one-of-a-kind and instantly changed the cruise industry forever.
A cruise ship unlike any other before it
It's difficult to appreciate today just how different Oasis of the Seas was from other ships that came before it.
Oasis of the Seas had her maiden voyage on December 5, 2009 and was instantly the world's largest cruise ship by a factor previously unseen.
Before Oasis entered service, Liberty of the Seas was the biggest in the world. Oasis was more than 40 percent larger, coming in at 225,282-tons and accommodating 5,400 passengers.
The ship was big and so was its ambitions. Oasis had innovative and revolutionary features that are common place today. But at the time, they were ground breaking.
Just looking at Oasis, you'd instantly notice its split superstructure that created wide open interior spaces.
The ship started out with the name "Project Genesis," and the designers wanted to try things never before done at sea. The taller and wider you build a conventional ship, the more interior spaces need to be lighted and air-conditioned. So they devised a "split hull" design
This opened the back of the ship up to form room for the Boardwalk, as well as an open-air park featuring 12,000 plants in Central Park.
This was the first cruise ship to have "neighborhoods". Seven in total, they helped with crowd control and providing context for where passengers are on the ship.
There were four pools, which was once again a first for a cruise ship. Two of the pools were made to feel like a beach, with sloped entries you can walk into just as if you were walking into the ocean.
The Aquatheater on the back of the ship is an outdoor amphitheater, hosting a water ballet and diving shows that feature professional divers who will jump from as high as 72 feet up. Yet another feature that has become not only synonymous with the brand, but has been copied onto other ships.
Plus, Oasis introduced the concept of having a full Broadway show onboard. "Hairspray" was performed in the theater, and was another incredible feat to offer on a cruise ship.
At launch, Oasis of the Seas had 25 restaurants and 37 bars. There were 9 specialty restaurants, ranging from $4.95 at Johnny Rockets to the $75 for Chef’s Table.
150 Central Park was a brand new concept, where you could pay $35 to enjoy a ten-course tasting menu by Chef Keriann Von Raesfeld, a 23-year old “culinary phenom” that was hired by Royal Caribbean as its own kind of celebrity chef.
Even cruise ship staterooms were changed with Oasis. It had 37 different categories and unique offerings such as the new loft suites, which were a duplex idea that had 18-foot windows looking out to the ocean.
Also new was the idea of balcony cabins that faced inwards, instead of out to the ocean. Central Park and Boardwalk balcony cabins were avant garde.
Royal Caribbean also came up with innovative ways to conserve energy and reduce pollution.
Oasis was built with a state-of-the-art electric propulsion system powered by high-efficiency diesel generators. Each used 30% less fuel per passenger than any other ship before it.
There were also solar panels on top of the ship, and inside there were compact fluorescents and LED lighting. The cruise line boasted Oasis cost 40% less to operate than older ships.
How Oasis of the Seas changed cruise ships
Looking back, Oasis of the Seas created the "destination ship" concept. It was the first time the ship was what vacationers sought as much as the places it visited.
Oasis fundamentally changed expectations for what a cruise could offer, pushing other lines to innovate and compete.
For a while, the Oasis Class ships were essentially competing with themselves. It took the rest of the industry years to come up with their own megaships, and by then, Royal Caribbean had already evolved the original into many other forms.
Oasis cemented the idea that a cruise ship should have something for every age group, not just "family friendly" features sprinkled around. It can be argued Oasis shifted the perception of a cruise from "a relaxing week at sea" to "a full vacation akin to a floating resort."
Equally importantly, this ship validated the economy of scale of having such a big ship. Before 2009, the cruise industry wasn't certain a ship with over 5,000 passengers could be commercially viable.
By having larger ships that dispersed crowds effectively, you could deliver higher onboard revenue.
Once proven, Royal Caribbean continued to push forward with bigger ships, such as the Icon Class.
Other cruise lines also leaned into the trend.
Norwegian came up with the Breakaway and Breakaway-Plus Class ships that offered outdoor promenades. MSC created its World Class ships that look a lot like the Oasis Class. Carnival eventually expanded into Excel Class with more district-style planning.
Looking back, Oasis wasn't just another ship class. It altered the company's outlook that is still in use today of bold innovation, memory making experiences, and an unrivaled experience you'd struggle to find on land.
