PHOTOS by Felipé Major/Tribune staff AN OASIS IN PARADISE: The giant cruise is docked in Nassau Harbour. The 18-storey mega Genesis-class vessel can accommodate 5,900 passengers and has been described as a city on the sea.

Published On:Saturday, December 12, 2009

By ALISON LOWE

Tribune Staff Reporter

alowe@tribunemedia.net

THE climax of a $44 million harbour dredging project was reached yesterday as Bahamians and visitors thronged Nassau's harbourside to welcome the much-anticipated arrival of the world's biggest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas.

And the excitement went a step further for hundreds of invited Bahamian officials and stakeholders who went onboard the ship to get a taste of the luxurious and fun-filled "city on the sea," an experience that the 18-storey mega Genesis-class vessel provides for the 5,900 passengers it can accommodate.

Speaking during an official reception onboard yesterday, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said it was his "singular honour" to welcome the Oasis of the Seas on its first trip to Nassau. He noted that the ship is "all the more welcome and appreciated" by The Bahamas given that it comes during "an especially challenging time for tourism amidst a global economic recession and international financial crisis."

"We offer our congratulations to RCCL on the achievement of this tremendous addition to the cruise industry. My Government will continue to demonstrate our commitment to this business as we seek to ensure that the relationship remains mutually beneficial and that your guests will continue to demand a Bahamas vacation," said Mr Ingraham.

Stepping inside the ship yesterday it was possible that aside from the Prime Minister's reference to the hard economic times, one could start to forget what the concept of "recession" ever meant.

For an average of between $1500 and $7000 for seven nights, the happy, well-fed visitors relaxed, dined and were entertained by brand-new facilities so vast, hi-tech and dazzling that it would take days to see, let alone take it all in.

Among a number of mind-boggling amenities dotted throughout the ship's expansive decks are more than 25 restaurants, cafes and bars, 21 swimming pools, shops galore, an aquatic amphitheatre that overlooks the ocean and an indoor theatre that hosts a broadway musical, an ice-rink, casino, open-air park, ziplining, rock-climbing and the longest jogging track to be found at sea.

In fact, if there was one problem with the facilities to be found inside the enormous 1,187 foot long, 213 foot high ship, it may be that one would be hard-pressed as one of its passengers to find a reason to step ashore and spend money in the local port.

In this regard, Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool Wallace drew to the attention of the hundreds of high-level government, business and diplomatic representatives attending the onboard reception -- including RCCL's President and Vice President, Adam Goldstein and Brian Rice -- that beyond its legislative endeavours to attract cruise business to the country, The Bahamas has been working hard to ensure that more tours than ever before are available on shore to grab the attention of passengers -- a scarcity of such activities being a common complaint of visitors and cruise lines over the years.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ingraham assured those present that "great attention is being placed on the enhancement of the environment of Nassau...with a view to improving its aesthetics as well as increasing our offerings to residents and visitors alike."

"This plan is intended to provide for beautification and rebuilding as well as the introduction of entertainment. In short we hope to make the downtown Nassau experience such that visitors would be able to return home and tell their friends and relatives that "It's better in The Bahamas," he said.

With each of the potential 5,900 visitors per week expected to spend an average of $85 - $100 in Nassau the Oasis of the Seas may bring tens of millions of dollars in revenue for local businesses and tour providers over the next year and a half -- and that is without consideration of the money that will be spent by the cruise ship's more than 2,000 crew members.

Adam Goldstein, CEO of RCCL, heralded the ship's call in Nassau as the "crowning achievement" of a 40-year relationship between RCL and The Bahamas, and thanked the government for its efforts to accommodate the mega cruise liner, including the dredging of the harbour and the provision of additional security screening facilities on the pier.

Appreciative

"We are extremely appreciative and I am personally very happy to have this opportunity to express that appreciation and to have a full room of people who care about this ship and the economic good it will do for this country and the others it will visit to witness this event. Thank you again to the government, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Works and all the other ministries that I know have work tirelessly to prepare for this day."

The ship's captain William Wright also personally commended the government for providing him the opportunity to sail into what he now could term a "world class" port facility, rather than the "rather challenging" one that presented itself to cruise captains prior to the latest upgrades.

Beginning with this week's maiden voyage -- that brought with it a lesser "test-run" figure of 3,500 passengers -- the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) Oasis of the Seas is scheduled to make 21 consecutive visits to St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Nassau once a week until May 2010.

It will then come to The Bahamas once every two weeks as the ship alternates between those destinations and another western Caribbean itinerary.

A year from now it will be joined by its sister ship, the 5,600 capacity Allure of the Seas, at which time one or other of the vessels will call at Nassau once weekly. Cruise passengers make up 2.8 million of the country's average annual 4.1 million visitors. RCCL provides around 700,000 of those visitors annually.