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Schat-Harding Lifeboats has recently announced delivery of the world’s largest lifeboats to the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas.

The Oasis of the Seas is equipped with eighteen of Schat-Harding’s unique, 370-person CRV55 lifeboats . What makes them unique is the fact they are the only pure lifeboat with a catamaran hull. The LS45 davit, which these boats use to launch from the massive ship, is a completely new integrated system for cruise vessels. The lifeboats are lowered directly from the stowed position, so no outswing is needed. The entire boat, in fact, is positioned outside the hull of the ship. The CRV55 is of reinforced construction and has a special ‘green sea’ lashing system, making it secure in high waves. Schat Harding tells us:
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This weeks ship photo is of the 20 story Oasis of the Seas lowering its smoke stacks to squeeze under Great Belt Fixed Link in the Baltic Sea on Saturday.  The Oasis of the Seas is currently on its maiden voyage bound for Florida.  Continue reading for video. [Continue Reading →]

Hot on the heals of the last video, Revolutionizing Life Boat Design, Royal Carribean and Oasis of the Seas release this latest installment title Simulator Training: As real as it gets.

Can virtual reality really prepare a crew to pilot the largest cruise ship in the world? Listen in as Captain William Wright explains what makes the STAR Center training so critical to the crew’s preparation before the delivery of Oasis of the Seas.

New to the Oasis of the Seas website is a countdown to its homeport arrival, now standing at 18 days, 15 hours, 26 minutes and 31 seconds. No wait, 30 seconds. No. Well you get the idea.

I don’t know about you but the suspense is kiling me!

While the cruise ship industry is really not our niche here on gCaptain, we can’t help but enjoy the videos that Royal Carribean is regularly producing on the construction of the world’s largest cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas.  This latest episode titled Rescue Vessels: Revolutionizing life boat design is no different.

The design of the rescue vessels onboard Oasis of the Seas ensures that safety remains the top priority. See how the unprecedented size and stability of each lifeboat, as well as its positioning on the embarkation deck and accommodations for special needs guests makes emergency response more effective than ever.

Here is the latest in a series of online videos that Royal Carribean is producing on the construction of the Oasis of the Seas, set to take her maiden voyage in December of 2009.  The video above is titled “Propelling Oasis: Maneuvering Made Simple”:

It takes a lot of power to move a ship like Oasis of the Seas, but Royal Caribbean’s engineers and designers have been up to the task. Learn about the innovative propulsion systems that make the largest cruise ship in the world one of the easiest to maneuver.

More videos on the Oasis of The Seas can be found HERE.

Thanks to Nauticart for pointing us to this on the forum.

Last month, the largest cruise ever built, Oasis of the Seas, underwent it’s first set of sea trials in the North Sea and Chairman and CEO of Royal Carribean, Richard Fain was there to blog about it.  He writes:

Hull Number 1363 (soon to be known as Oasis of the Seas) has just completed her sea trials and is now back at her berth in Turku. Most of the trials were a terrific success. The ship performed her various tests very well and everyone is very excited.

While the trials were a “terrific success”, they did suffer one hiccup; the failure of a ’tethered blimp’ ride.  Fain continues:

BUT, we had one nasty surprise early this morning. I previously mentioned that we were thinking of adding an aerostat to the ship and were doing a test to see if it was practical/desirable. It required a lot of temporary rigging but they managed to put a test balloon on the ship.

Then this morning, something happened and the balloon broke free. It ended up in the water and we are now taking steps to recover it and determine what happened.

It is interesting to read as Royal Carribean gets set to commission this massive cruise ship and I would suggest checking out Richard Fain’s blog HERE.  For now, Hull Number 1363 is back at STX Europe’s Turku shipyard awaiting completion.

Royal Caribbean has released the first of many “webisodes” on the highly anticipated Oasis of the Seas. The webisodes will be released weekly on the Oasis of the Seas website and will offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to bring a cruise ship as technically advanced as Oasis of the Seas – with its 16 decks and capacity of 5,400 passengers at double occupancy – to life.

This first webisode is entitled “Evolutionary Revolution” and uses architectural design sketches, ship renderings, and interviews with key figures behind the development of Oasis of the Seas to help illustrate just how the ship came to be.

Other webisodes will feature safety preparations, construction milestones, design and architecture, and the conception of innovative guest amenities.

(Image: Popular Mechanics)

Ever wonder what it takes to construct the world’s largest passenger ship?  Well, Popular Mechanicss takes a step by step look at the construction of Royal Carribean’s Oasis of the Seas, from massive chunks of metal to the 5,400 passenger luxury cruise liner that is set take the title of the world’s largest (and unique) passenger vessel.

Check out the great photo collection HERE

*Update:

According to asap Travel, Royal Caribbean has started taking reservations from members of Royal Caribbean’s Diamond and Diamond Plus Crown & Anchor programs for the Oasis of the Seas maiden voyage in December 2009.  Starting August 28th, any passenger that has sailed on a Royal Caribbean Cruise will have a chance to book a reservation followed by everyone else September 3rd.

The article reads:

The cruise line is doing its share to make sure everyone knows that Oasis of the Seas is ready to start taking reservations.  Rzymowska said “On 3 September we will be direct-mailing 200,000 households — people who have inquired about Oasis, past passengers and Crown & Anchor members. And on 6 September we start a nationwide press campaign, which will run until mid-October.

*Original Post

Illustration courtesy Royal Caribbean

Cruise editor Gene Sloan is the host of USA TODAY’s Cruise Log Blog. His blog brings the latest headlines and news stories from the Cruise Ship industry to people around the world. Today, Gene is bloging live from New York City where he is attending the unveiling of the latest plans for Royal Caribbean new ship, Oasis of the Seas — the largest, most innovative cruise ship ever built. Here is Mr. Sloan’s report

It’s a big day for Royal Caribbean fans — the day they finally find out what gee-whiz marvels the line has dreamed up for its next ship, Oasis of the Seas.

The company that pioneered rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks and surfing pools on the high seas will unveil its plans for the much-awaited vessel — the largest ever built — at an event in New York.

RELATED ITEMS: Royal Caribbean ships will feature “Central Park”; Royal Caribbean’s next ships will be Oasis, Allure

The 220,000-ton giant, which will launch in late 2009, will be more than 40% larger than the largest cruise ship afloat, and Royal Caribbean already has said it’ll include such innovative features as a massive “Central Park” with live trees and outdoor restaurant seating. The ship will hold 5,400 passengers at double occupancy — a number once thought unthinkable in the cruise business.

Want to be among the first to hear the news, which will include the official launch date and itinerary for the ship? Check back here starting at 12:30 PM EST as we blog live from the event in New York’s Nokia Theatre. Live Blog