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Oasis Class #6 !!!!


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MIAMI, February 18, 2019 – Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique to order a sixth Oasis-class ship for delivery in the fall of 2023.

https://presscenter.rclcorporate.com/press-release/25/royal-caribbean-orders-sixth-oasis-class-vessel/

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/02/18/royal-caribbean-orders-sixth-oasis-class-cruise-ship

 

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

MIAMI, February 18, 2019 – Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique to order a sixth Oasis-class ship for delivery in the fall of 2023.

https://presscenter.rclcorporate.com/press-release/25/royal-caribbean-orders-sixth-oasis-class-vessel/

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/02/18/royal-caribbean-orders-sixth-oasis-class-cruise-ship

 

I think this is great news...now I do think they need to tweak the ship a bit; however, I don't want to present my wish list just yet until my wife & I come back from Symphony later this year...which incidentally would be our second voyage on an Oasis Class ship(Oasis OTS in Sep 2016). One right off the top of my head...that I even wish Symphony had, is the cascading pool in the Solarium, like on Anthem OTS(Quantum Class ships). Never understood why RCCL remove the pool from Harmony.... 

1 hour ago, Bob_KY said:

Now - let the flood gates of rumors flow on where it will drop anchor.

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Well, I think this essentially clarify now, that an Oasis Class ship will port out of Galveston...at some point in the near future. Who has ports large enough to support this class of ship? Mia(Symphony OTS), MCO[Port Canaveral(Harmony OTS)], Bayonne(2020-2021 Oasis OTS), Barcelona(Allure OTS 2020 Western Mediterranean), FLL, Galveston(future).

1 hour ago, Rose City Cruiser said:

Mediterranean in the summer and Caribbean in the winter.

Agree....Allure OTS will sail the Western Med when it emerge from Dry Dock.

52 minutes ago, JasonL said:

Southern California or.... anywhere closer to Seattle than Florida

OH, I Wish(from Southern Cal)….just a 4hr drive from Sin City Baby. Glad to see Ovation OTS porting seasonally out of Seattle. However, Pacific Coast is not a huge cruising market like the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and the emerging Middle East. The Pacific Coast is more on par with the Asian(Hong Kong/Singapore) market; but, much more reliant. It would be great to get some of the bigger ships on the Pacific Coast, Hawaii, & the South Pac. The problem with the Pacific Coast cruises...on the majority of occasions, you port from one location & disembark at another...because of the distance of the itinerary in the most popular of time frames...the 7-Day Cruise....as well as changes in season north of San Francisco...like Astoria, Seattle, Vancouver, WA. & BC, Victoria, and the numerous Alaskans ports. The ideal Pacific Coast itinerary imo would be...1) Sea/Van,BC(rotate), 2)SF, 3)LA/SD(rotate), 4)Ensenada/Cabo San Lucas(rotate)[rotate for variety & one over-night stay in LA or SF(depending on rotation)] for 9-day cruises back & forth, mixed with 5-day cruises, like Anthem OTS out of Bayonne. In other words….do itinerary 1 thru 4 for 9-day, than return with a 5-day, featuring itinerary 4(both ports) thru 3, followed by another 5-day itinerary 3 thru 1, than start over with another 9-day cruise, 5 & 5.

 

Just an Idea.....  

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So, I must confess, I'm a bit torn on this one.  On the one hand, I'm glad for a new ship.  On the other hand, the Oasis class is now ten years old and when Oasis 6 launches, the class will be 14 years old.  At least from the bit of digging that I've done on RCCL ship classes, that would be the longest time span that a ship class had been in production.  At six ships, it would also tie for the largest class.

I guess I'm a bit concerned that the design isn't as fresh as it was when it launched ten years ago - considering that other fleets have stepped up their design game over the last decade, including RCCL itself with the Quantum class.  Does Oasis 6 make the most sense compared to Icon 3?

I mean, I understand these ships are built to be in service for many years and do get upgraded - we're certainly looking forward to what Oasis herself will be getting.  But still, the basic aesthetic of the ship is itself pretty well fixed by the class, and that aesthetic will be older than any off RCCL's large quantity classes at this stage (It looks like the Vision class six ships came out over about 5 years and the Voyager class five ships came out over 4 years).

Of course, I'm one to talk - I haven't had a chance to sail on any Oasis class ships yet, so any of them will be a new experience for me.

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44 minutes ago, ultimate_ed said:

So, I must confess, I'm a bit torn on this one.  On the one hand, I'm glad for a new ship.  On the other hand, the Oasis class is now ten years old and when Oasis 6 launches, the class will be 14 years old.  At least from the bit of digging that I've done on RCCL ship classes, that would be the longest time span that a ship class had been in production.  At six ships, it would also tie for the largest class.

I guess I'm a bit concerned that the design isn't as fresh as it was when it launched ten years ago - considering that other fleets have stepped up their design game over the last decade, including RCCL itself with the Quantum class.  Does Oasis 6 make the most sense compared to Icon 3?

I mean, I understand these ships are built to be in service for many years and do get upgraded - we're certainly looking forward to what Oasis herself will be getting.  But still, the basic aesthetic of the ship is itself pretty well fixed by the class, and that aesthetic will be older than any off RCCL's large quantity classes at this stage (It looks like the Vision class six ships came out over about 5 years and the Voyager class five ships came out over 4 years).

Of course, I'm one to talk - I haven't had a chance to sail on any Oasis class ships yet, so any of them will be a new experience for me.

Oasis class make money.  Central Park continues to be the most popular feature of any ship, consistently getting favorable reviews year after year. 

Don't assume OA5 or OA6 will be clones of her sisters.  Quantum Ultra for example, is an evolution of Quantum.  Oasis Ultra may be in the works and innovate.  By maintaining the basic bones of the ship they save hundreds of millions by avoiding the cost a new ship design from scratch.   

Icon hasn't launched and is unproven both in terms of power plant and acceptance by consumers.  While both Carnival and Royal have massive investments in LNG it remains to be seen how that is going to work out in the long run.  Symphony is a huge success, record bookings for her inaugural year.   Gamble on investing into Icon 3 versus going with a proven design?

What if Central Park was covered so that it could function better in cooler climates year round?  Turn Central Park into a family friendly indoor space with all sorts of new activities.  Place them into regions that have never seen an Oasis class before.  So many possibilities.  

Vision class wasn't even a class in it's day.  Three pairs of sister ships that got lumped together into a class after the fact.   Vague copies of each other for the same reason - economies of re-using a proven design.  Smart decisions in the ship building business.

Quantum will soon be up to five ships.  Who knows, maybe QU6 is lingering just off the radar screen tying for greatest number of ships in a single class. 

Carnival does the same thing.  Horizon and Vista are built on the Dream class hull design, just reimagined use of the space.  Dream Ultra.

Voyager class was a huge success and they innovated by stretching it into Freedom class,  basically Voyager Ultra.  Maybe the rumors of a stretched OA class will come to fruition.  

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

Carnival does the same thing.  Horizon and Vista are built on the Dream class hull design, just reimagined use of the space.  Dream Ultra.

Heck, even the Dream class is an extension of the Conquest class. Extending it further Conquest is an extension of the Destiny class.

All I remember after sailing on Carnival Victory, Freedom, and Dream they all had that familiar feel to them.

 

Other words Carnival has three classes of ships that are essentially same design. Just been built out somewhat between classes.

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Just now, CGTLH said:

Heck, even the Dream class is an extension of the Conquest class. Extending it further Conquest is an extension of the Destiny class.

All I remember after sailing on Carnival Victory, Freedom, and Dream they all had that familiar feel to them.

 

Other words Carnival has three classes of ships that are essentially same design. Just been built out somewhat between classes.

That's certainly useful to know.  I have no experience with Carnival to compare with.  Thanks.

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

Oasis class make money.  Central Park continues to be the most popular feature of any ship, consistently getting favorable reviews year after year. 

Money's the bottom line.  Royal's primary focus, and their biggest draw for a lot of people, is in maximizing the onboard experience, and the Oasis class' size gives them the greatest capabilities in that respect.  It also gives them the greatest flexibility for testing new innovations, as well as for future refurbs and modifications.

As for production spans and whatnot, this is a reflection of the sheer increase in scale.  As things get bigger and more expensive, you're going to see the time scale grow, too, and, yes, they're going to see them use some designs (especially such a successful one) longer than they used to.  You'll probably see the service lives of the ships themselves get longer, too.

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6 hours ago, twangster said:

Get rid of the bridge.  Tampa traffic isn't that bad.  

Hey, I kinda like that bridge.  Besides, it's not the only barrier to having an Oasis in Tampa.

A few years ago I heard some rumors about them developing a new cruise terminal somewhere beyond it (supposedly down around de Soto).  Maybe they should revisit that idea.

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37 minutes ago, CGTLH said:

Other words Carnival has three classes of ships that are essentially same design. Just been built out somewhat between classes.

One more that I tried of on Carnival.  It seemed I could close my eyes and in some places would have no idea what ship I was on when I opened them.  Many things repeat over and over.  Dream class had some differences but the cabins were verbatim copies spanning 20 years of ships.  

Royal 'suffers' from that on Voyager and Freedom class to some degree, but one class to another usually has some big differences.  I like variety.  

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Good news , love Oasis class ships and all the options they offer. I wish side by side to more and more big ships they will also invest to had more ports Oasis class ship can use in the Caribbean but also in Europe (French riviera for example , UK ports , etc) or even to design a better tendering system that  will allow Oasis new ships to use this option ...

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16 hours ago, PocketsRN said:

Royal's primary focus, and their biggest draw for a lot of people, is in maximizing the onboard experience, and the Oasis class' size gives them the greatest capabilities in that respect.  It also gives them the greatest flexibility for testing new innovations, as well as for future refurbs and modifications.

At some point and time I see in the future where the cruise ship cruises to no where, you get on in Miami, it cruises around the Caribbean for 7 day and then you get off in Miami.

As many people do this already the ship is the destination.

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5 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

At some point and time I see in the future where the cruise ship cruises to no where, you get on in Miami, it cruises around the Caribbean for 7 day and then you get off in Miami.

As many people do this already the ship is the destination.

That may go against the Jones Act.

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15 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

At some point and time I see in the future where the cruise ship cruises to no where, you get on in Miami, it cruises around the Caribbean for 7 day and then you get off in Miami.

As many people do this already the ship is the destination.

 

5 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

That may go against the Jones Act.

It's the PVSA actually.  Passenger Vessel Services Act.  

No way that is going to be updated any decade soon to allow cruises to no where.  

Just now, Jaymac Radio said:

What If They Just Stop At Coco Cay For Five Hour  And Just Cruise Around For The Rest Of The Time?

NCL does that to GSC right next door to CocoCay.  Granted it's only a 3 night cruise.

For longer cruises the problem is that ships burn fuel when not tied up in a port (or at Anchor when they burn less but still some to maintain some level of positional control).  Plus I think a cruise to no where would be a hard sell.  

"Where did you go on vacation?"  ...  No where.  

That is why transatlantic are so cheap.  Six sea days in a row on Symphony was starting to get pretty monotonous.   

  

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5 hours ago, Joe01 said:

There was a rumour that O5 is destined for a "particular market". That probably means Asia, although the developments in Australia might mean it takes on OV's old role of spending one half of the year in Asia then the other half in Australia.

Asian market has taking a bit of downturn; as well as, the big Asian Casino towns/resorts....I think that's the reason why Ovation & Radiance was moved to the NW, from what I read a while back.

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3 minutes ago, Zambia-Zaire said:

Asian market has taking a bit of downturn; as well as, the big Asian Casino towns/resorts....I think that's the reason why Ovation & Radiance was moved to the NW, from what I read a while back.

Ovation is being routed to Alaska as Spectrum heads to Asia.  Net difference:  Zero.

If there was no Spectrum being built, Ovation would probably not leave the region.

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3 hours ago, tiny260 said:

At some point and time I see in the future where the cruise ship cruises to no where, you get on in Miami, it cruises around the Caribbean for 7 day and then you get off in Miami.

As many people do this already the ship is the destination.

 

3 hours ago, twangster said:

For longer cruises the problem is that ships burn fuel when not tied up in a port (or at Anchor when they burn less but still some to maintain some level of positional control).  Plus I think a cruise to no where would be a hard sell.  

"Where did you go on vacation?"  ...  No where.  

That is why transatlantic are so cheap.  Six sea days in a row on Symphony was starting to get pretty monotonous.   

  

Kinda agree with both of you on this one.  While I don't think a 'nowhere' cruise is likely to happy, between the port limitations of the big ships and the focus on the onboard experience, it does seem the port stops are more or less a formality.  That, I think, is the biggest downside to the Oasis class, as well as the overall direction RC is heading.  Pretty much you can do St. Maarten/St. Thomas in the east, or Haiti/Jamaica/Cozumel in the west, and as the bigger ships make up more and more of the fleet, the itinerary variety is gonna be more and more limited.

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8 minutes ago, PocketsRN said:

 

Kinda agree with both of you on this one.  While I don't think a 'nowhere' cruise is likely to happy, between the port limitations of the big ships and the focus on the onboard experience, it does seem the port stops are more or less a formality.  That, I think, is the biggest downside to the Oasis class, as well as the overall direction RC is heading.  Pretty much you can do St. Maarten/St. Thomas in the east, or Haiti/Jamaica/Cozumel in the west, and as the bigger ships make up more and more of the fleet, the itinerary variety is gonna be more and more limited.

Current Oasis class ports:

CocoCay, Nassau, St Thomas, St Maarten, St Kitts, San Juan.  (St Croix is mulling over expanding it's pier).

Labadee, Jamaica, Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel (other than Grand Cayman, what Western port is missing?)

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That was a bit of an over-simplification, for argument's sake.  Nassau's pretty much a given, though.  Aside from Grand Caymen and Belize, the western is pretty well covered.

To the east and south, though, there's still Antigua, Tortola, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Dominica (meh), St. Lucia, Barbados, and Grenada, that are still only available on the smaller ships.

And Panama, of course.

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20 minutes ago, PocketsRN said:

That was a bit of an over-simplification, for argument's sake.  Nassau's pretty much a given, though.  Aside from Grand Caymen and Belize, the western is pretty well covered.

To the east and south, though, there's still Antigua, Tortola, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Dominica (meh), St. Lucia, Barbados, and Grenada, that are still only available on the smaller ships.

And Panama, of course.

Oasis doesn't do Southern Caribbean due to distance from FL.  Takes 9 nights from FL to reach the ABCs and Oasis is strictly 7 night (despite some infrequent 3/4 sprinkled in this year for the first time).  Oasis class is designed for the mass cruise market.  That market segment revolves around the American classic 1 week vacation.  

Royal doesn't Tortola on any ship and once in a blue moon Dominica or Grenada.  Panama?  Put Voyager, Freedom and Quantum class on that list of ships that don't do them too.   

That leaves Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados which again is a stretch for any ship based in FL due to distance.  Not Oasis target market.

In reality the days that Oasis has limited ports is history.  With a Freeport mega port in the works and more private islands on the radar you know those will be 'any ship' capable.  

17 minutes ago, PocketsRN said:

Oh, and Tampa.  Let's not forget about Tampa already

Three out of four ain't bad.  Tampa isn't a port of call on any itinerary - period.  With three Oasis home ports in Florida they can handle six Oasis ships on any given weekend.  With Galveston getting one they could add a 7th and 8th Oasis between the four (and a half) US based Oasis home ports (Bayonne being the 1/2 port).  Even without a bridge and a deep bay, why put millions into a 4th FL Oasis home port that isn't needed?  

Again, put Voyager, Freedom and Quantum on the no-Tampa list. Hardly an Oasis "issue".  

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