The Big O

Rumors and secrecy have shrouded the opening of the largest cruise ship ever built, but as of this morning she is open for business (albeit only for the highest-level of past passengers with Royal Caribbean). Yes, I'm talking about Oasis Of The Seas, the newest and supposedly coolest of them all. It's only been in the last few days you could even see a deck plan for the 1st time, but after seeing it The Cap'n agrees it will be unlike anything that's come before. People who like active vacations and LOTS of companionship (the most other passengers in history), will no doubt think this is the place to be. For people looking for romance, quiet and a less-crowded atmosphere, it may not be the right type of vacation. Just getting on and off this ship will be a challenge, based on its enormity. I believe the cruise line is taking a huge gamble with their Central Park area. Just from the name alone you can tell what it is -- a huge, open-air park (with trees and everything) on one of the higher decks, where people can stroll or play all hours of the day and night. That's where the experiment comes in. With the demand for balconies on cruise ships still skyrocketing, this ship not only has the normal balconies overlooking the water, but also a large number of balconies overlooking the park. Theoretically, it'll be like coming out on your balcony in a Manhattan high-rise, and looking out over the spectacular view. Nice. Scenic. Relaxing. Eh, maybe. Having worked on ships for many years, I know people go out on the open decks all hours of the day and night, and this park should be a people-magnet of mythical stature. I'm wondering how it's going to play out, when people come out of the disco at 3am (likely with a cocktail or 9 in their systems), to go for a boisterous stroll through the park. "WOOOOOOOOO-Hoooooooooo!!!" "Where IS everybody??!!" "Wake Up!!" "Expletive Expletive!!" These are just a few of the multiple-nightly interruptions I'd expect, if I bought one of those over-look balconies. I'm fairly certain there won't be any mention of it in the brochure, but the Chief Purser and Hotel Manager are almost surely going to be kept busy fielding noise complaints. Only time will tell. Maybe they've developed soundproof glass with the CIA's help.

Fay remains persistent in soaking Florida from one end to the other. Jacksonville has only seen landfall of 1 hurricane since the 1860's, so this is a highly unusual event. I cracked up yesterday when I was reading some reports on CNN about 1 particular area. Apparently, the Sheriff of St. Lucie County Florida is a gentleman named Ken Mascara. This is the actual written quote from CCN.com, taken from their interview with him:

"Last night the eye actually skirted St. Lucie County. We were on the south side of the eye," Mascara said.

OK, so my mind operates sideways. But the thought of Mascara talking about his position on the eye brought back memories of the late 60's, Hendrix, Woodstock, experimentation with various chemicals, and Jefferson Airplane singing "White Rabbit". The Cap'n has a vivid imagination, don't you know....

After some tweaking of their itineraries, Carnival announced yesterday they are going to be operating a pair of 3 and 4 day cruises from Southern California starting this Winter. They've been running trips from LA to Enesenada and Catalina Island on "Paradise" for years, and they tried some longer cruises of 4 and 5 days on "Elation", but now they're going to keep the LA cruises as-is, and add 3 and 4 day sailings from San Diego starting in mid-February 2009. So people who live in California, or visitors, or folks from neighboring drive-markets will have multiple choices of sailing dates on Carnival. Of course, they still offer the 7-night LA cruises to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas year-round.

Well, this is the 1st day for Oasis of the Seas bookings, and I came up to the bridge an hour early to get through to Royal Caribbean for a top client, but it's now 1 hour and 40 minutes and counting, with no human contact. This is NOT good, Royal Caribbean - not good at all! Signs of things to come? "Bosun's Mate -- bring me another 4 cups of coffee!!"