Oasis of the Seas arrives at Port Everglades

She’s made it at last! Oasis of the Seas sailed into Port Everglades, flanked by a covey of small boats and sprayed by celebratory water cannons. The £3 billion ship has taken six years from drawing board to arrival and so her two day delay as she crossed the North Atlantic was nothing. But now she has a number of complex operations to complete before she can set sail on her inaugural voyage. While Royal Caribbean officials say the giant ship performed well in the rough seas that delayed her arrival, there have been murmurings about her stability in heavy conditions at sea. The US Coast Guard will find out how she fared as they are now inspecting the ship to check safety and security while specialist staff plant out 12,000 plants and trees to give Central Park, an open air section of the ship, the right park-like atmosphere.

In addition to the green space, Oasis of the Seas offers two rock-climbing walls, and two surf simulators, an ice-skating rink, and 24 restaurants. The current Broadway and London West End hit, Hairspray, is the inaugural show and the cast are already on board, having begun their rehearsal process when the ship sailed from her shipyard in Finland to America.

Oasis of the Seas first homeport cruise will sail on 5th December and then she’ll settle into a series of seven night Caribbean cruises, alternating east and west Caribbean routes.