Oasis of the Seas is an amazing ship for many reasons.  
She is the world’s biggest passenger ship at 225,000 
gross tons - - although the crew of sister ship Allure of 
the Seas claim that their ship is the largest albeit by 
inches.  She can also carry some 6,300 passengers, 
which is thousands more than any previous ship. 

While Oasis’ size is impressive, focusing on that factor 
tends to obscure what is really interesting about this 
ship.  A cruise on Oasis is not a traditional cruise 
experience.   Rather, it combines elements of urban 
living, land-based resorts, shopping malls, theater, and 
ships to make something new.  Yes, parts of this 
experience are refinements on things Royal Caribbean 
has done in the past but others are new and innovative.

Oasis offers passengers numerous choices in 
entertainment, dining, shopping and activities.  
Moreover, they are designed to be good options.  Going 
to a show in the AquaTheater is not just something to 
do for those guests who could not get into the main 
theater or the ice show.  If a guest does not want to 
change for dinner there are options besides the main 
buffet and room service.  Indeed, even guests looking 
for a more health-conscious meal have a choice 
between the Solarium Bistro and the Vitality Café.

As above, this is not a traditional cruise experience.  
However, it does have some elements of a traditional 
cruise.  There are activities such as trivia quizzes where 
guests can make new friends.  The majority of the 
space in the main restaurant is devoted to the traditional 
cruise ship dining system.  And one can still get ones 
photo taken with the captain.

Oasis is not the Normandie but then she was not 
intended to be a grand express liner.  She does have 
some grand spaces, however (e.g. the main dining 
room).  She also has an extensive collection of serious 
contemporary art.  She also has some elegant specialty 
restaurants with gourmet cooking.         

From a marine design standpoint, Royal Caribbean has 
not just taken the design from earlier ships and made a 
bigger one.  Instead, it has developed a more efficient 
hull and propulsion system for Oasis.

It should also be noted that the ship’s design was not 
intended to create the maximum amount of revenue 
producing space.  The ship has a split superstructure - - 
i.e., there is an open space running down the middle of 
the ship with superstructure (mostly staterooms) 
towering on either side. The same happens at the aft 
end of the ship.  If one had wanted to maximize the 
revenue producing space, that open space could have 
been filled in with staterooms, restaurants or other 
revenue producers.  However, RCI made the decision 
that creating a pleasing space was better business than 
piling on cabins etc.

Still, more than 6.000 passengers does sound 
intimidating.  However, RCI has designed the interior so 
that there is good people flow throughout the ship.  
Furthermore, they have made extensive use of 
computers to manage the passenger flow.  For example, 
passengers are encouraged to make reservations as soon 
as possible  for the various shows that are performed 
during the cruise.  This can be done online before the 
cruise, on the interactive television in the passenger’s 
stateroom, or at a computerized box office.  On the 
night of the show, the crew have hand-held devices that 
record who has come to the show and that also tell 
them how many seats are left for walk-ins.  It works 
quite efficiently.

Thought has also been given to how to get so many 
people on and off the ship during embarkation, 
disembarkation and at the various ports of call.  For 
example, the doors in the ship’s hull through which 
passengers enter and exit in the various ports are much 
wider than on previous ships thus enabling more 
passengers to pass through at the same time.  Along the 
same lines, special security facilities have been built at 
each of the ports of call on the piers where Oasis docks 
so that more passengers can go through at the same 
time.   As a result, things tend to move faster than on 
smaller ships.

Oasis of the Seas spent her first five years homeported 
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  However, in 2014, she 
ventured across the Atlantic for her legally-required five 
year drydock.  Royal Caribbean used this time to make 
a number of changes to the ship.  In addition, she did a 
number of cruises in Europe demonstrating that an 
Oasis class ship can successfully operate outside of the 
Caribbean.