Cathy Cruises Blog

Royal Caribbean Executives Get a Hardhat Sneak Preview of Port Everglades’ New Cruise Terminal for Oasis-class Ships

Royal Caribbean’s senior executives donned their personalized hardhats for a sneak preview of Cruise Terminal 18 at Port Everglades, which will be the home of the new 5,400-guest Oasis of the Seas this November and Allure of the Seas in November 2010. 

Port Everglades Director Phil Allen led the tour through the construction site along with Juan Trescastro, Vice President of Guest Port Services, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.  In attendance at Port Everglades for the hardhat tour were Royal Caribbean International’s Vicki Freed, senior vice president of Sales, Trade Support and Services; Betsy O’Rourke, senior vice president of Marketing; Ken Muskat, vice president of Sales; Joanne Schimelman, associate vice president of Sales, National Accounts; along with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s Diana Block, vice president of Deployment and Revenue Management; and Carlos Leyva, vice president of Trade Support and Services; and 22 Royal Caribbean International Sales directors from across the United States and Canada.

Cruise Terminal 18 is moving ahead on schedule and is expected to be fully operational by the end of October.  The terminal’s expansion and renovation is the centerpiece of preparations underway at Port Everglades for the arrival of Royal Caribbean International’s 5,400-passenger Oasis-class ships, which will be the largest cruise ships in the world.  When completed, Cruise Terminal 18 will be expanded from 67,500 square feet to a total of 240,000 square feet, which will make it the largest cruise terminal in the world built to serve a single ship.

Port Everglades is the cruise ship capital of the world with more than 3 million passengers annually and more homeported cruise ships than any cruise port worldwide.  The Port’s ever-expanding fleet of cruise ships provides guests with an array of cruise vacation choices from the sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, FL, area including everything from sampler-size day cruises to around-the-world cruises. Details on Cruise Terminal 18 and cruising from Port Everglades are available on the Internet at http://www.porteverglades.net/ and www.broward.org/port.

I was last at Port Everglades in April for Cruise 360 (conference and ship inspections) for travel agents. At that time from the top deck of the Celebrity Solstice, I was able to have a birds eye view of the construction of the new terminal. It will be immence! My worry is the parking. As of this moment there is only 2 parking garages, north and south. If your ship departs midport, you have to park in the south garage and wait for the shuttle (some times it is a long wait, I have done it). With the building of the new terminal are they building a garage to handle the additional number of passengers?

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Photo : Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. executives in front of Cruise Terminal 18 at Port Everglades.  From left to right: Juan Trescastro, Vice President of Port Operations, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.; Ken Muskat, Vice President of Sales, Royal Caribbean International; Joanne Schimelman, Associate Vice President of Sales, National Accounts, Royal Caribbean International; Vicki Freed, Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support and Services, Royal Caribbean International; Betsy O’Rourke, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Royal Caribbean International; Diana Block, Vice President of Deployment and Revenue Management, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.; Carlos Leyva, Vice President of Trade Support and Services, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.; and Port Everglades Director Phil Allen.

Technorati Tags: Ft Lauderdale, Oasis, Oasis of the Seas, Port Everglades, Royal Caribbean

Keeping readers up to date with the building of the world’s largest cruise ship ever built. Go to the Oasis of the Seas website to learn more about this big ship.

http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/image-gallery.php

Technorati Tags: Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International

The OASIS of the SEAS coming out in late 2009. Reservations for this ship open up in less than a week.
Stay up to date with the ships website: http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/

This is what the Travel Trade staff had to say about it:

Royal Caribbean International in conjunction with AAA Travel at a virtual travel show recently, unveiled two additional neighborhoods for the 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas: the Pool and Sports Zone and the Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center.

The Pool and Sports Zone playground, stretching over the length of the ship, featuring four pools, including a pool that will have a sloped beach entrance, and poolside cabanas. There will be two FlowRider surf simulators - each larger than the single FlowRider found on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom-class ships.

The Pool and Sports Zone will also showcase new additions to traditional amenities, including an intimate adults-only Solarium and sports deck and the first ever zip-line at sea.

Adults looking for a retreat from the bustle of every day life will find solace in the grandest Solarium yet. Boasting a redefined layout, guests will have the sensation of floating on air from the two-deck high, glass-paneled enclave designed with seating on various “islands” surrounded by water.

The open-air Solarium will offer a tranquil swimming pool, two serene whirlpools and four cantilevered whirlpools suspended 136 feet above the ocean. The mezzanine level of the adult-dedicated area will overlook the pool deck below, offering additional chaise lounges and seating.

The new Solarium Bistro will offer casual fare from the Vitality spa menu during the day, and in the evenings, transform into a romantic and intimate setting for specialty dining and dancing under the stars. It is also the perfect venue for a unique late night dance club experience - Club 20 - made popular on the line’s Freedom-class ships.

Building on the Royal Caribbean’s Vitality wellness program, the Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center will introduce new spa services and fitness-line-up that will include studios for fitness classes, a spa for children and spa café.

The Vitality at Sea Spa will also have a new Thermal Suite, featuring heated tile loungers, saunas and steam rooms, three couples massage suites and seven individual treatment rooms.

Technorati Tags: Cruising, Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean