A Moment in History… and meet Ranznor and Garry!

Oasis Class is currently the biggest class of Cruise ship operating in the world. Weighing in at 220,000 Gross tons. So to put this in proportion Oriana would go in to Oasis 3.23 times and Queen Victoria just under 2 and a half times so it’s difficult to apprehend the size of this class of ship without actually seeing one.

Oasis Class is 40% bigger than any other cruise ship that has docked in Southampton, so 40% bigger than the Independence and for anyone who has travelled on Independence of the Seas they will know that she alone is a big ship. However a ship of this size has never docked in the UK since there release in November 2008.

Well on the 15^th October that all changed and I had the privilege of being invited on board to have a look around, there was only about 200 agents on board so this was certainly something special.

Normally for ship visits we embark at 10 and leave at 3 but for Oasis it was a much longer day with embarking from about 11 and leaving the ship at 9:30 in the evening, bit of a long day but there was so much to see!

I had pretty much decided that I was going to watch her sail in, this way I could see her from a distance in all her glory, now I was quite prepared to be in Southampton for 4am as generally 4 to 6am tends to be when the cruise lines all dock in the morning, but to my delight Royal Caribbean decided that Sail in would be at 9:45 which was great as you could really take advantage of this photo opportunity. I was not the only one with about 2,000 people from the Pier to the Dockside also making the trip out in the cold to see this monster of a cruise ship in. As expected the Press also played a huge part with speedboats on the water and Helicopters flying around.

There was heavy fog in Southampton so from May Flower park you did struggle to see past Hythe so we all eagerly waited and when she did make an appearance though the fog, sad as it sounds everyone cheered. Although it was a very cold morning and bearing in mind some of us had been there since 8 it probably was just so everyone could go home!

Saga Sapphire along with Azura and MSC Magnifica was also in Southampton, and to my surprise the only ship to greet Oasis was Saga Sapphire, her horn however was no match for Oasis so that’s most likely why the others didn’t participate to avoid the embarrassment.

From passing Hythe to being tied down at the City Terminal took about 45 minutes so she did play on her moment of fame.

Did you make the trip to Southampton to see her?

Royal Caribbean also did try and add to the excitement by having free Bacon Butties and tea and coffee from May Flower Park which I think was lovely and it meant you didn’t get to cold waiting.

Once on board we were places in to small groups where we had different missions to complete – Name of the day was ‘Mission Possible’, I’ll go in to more detail later but long story short we had to get around the ship completing Quiz’s and challenges to win points, sadly out of the 10 teams we lost to another team by 1 point and came second! But between us we all know that the Green Team (Us) where the real winners.

My favourite place on board is ‘Central Park’ a fantastic use of space and this sits directly above the Royal Promenade. Central Park is deck 8 and Royal Promenade is Deck 5/6/7 – triple height.

This is where you can board the rising tide bar, this is certainly a special experience. Get on at Central Park, have a leisurely drink and then leave on the Royal Promenade and if you like to people watch then this is certainly a great way to do it. We did this bar in the evening which is the most popular time as its all lit up.

In the pictures of Central Park you will see the triangle shape structures, these are open to the below Royal Promenade acting as Sky Lights, a great use and they look stunning as well.

Above

Below

Central Park is a fantastic place to come and relax, with flower gardens and tropical trees, winding pathways and the sound of bird song, with 12, 175 plants, this is the first and biggest garden at Sea and its simply breath-taking and believe it or not, the park has gained some long term residents with some birds that have made it home and live on the ship. Not something you expect to see sailing alone is it?

Central Park is also home to a lot of the Speciality Dining, although you also have a couple bars and café’s along here, this is where you will find Vintages which is the wine bar, 150 Central Park, Chops Grille, Giovani’s Table and Park Café. By night the park is beautifully lit up so just imagine making having a table looking on to Central Park.

And if you are sailing on Oasis, here is your mission. Central Park has some resident Gnomes. See if you can find Ranznor or Garry. Say Hi from me and send me your pictures.

Have you been on Oasis or Allure of the Seas? What was your favourite place?

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