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Greetings Ben.
quote:Originally posted by Frosty 4:I would NOT like to be there then. As I recall the pier can only handle 3 large cruise ships. That means 4 will anchor out of the harbor area. Can you imagine the tender traffic? With that many ships in port good deals for shopping will be tough IMHO. I would think Oasis will anchor out.F4
More than likely the OASIS and C.Atlantica will dock over in Crown Bay as they have been, and the 2 Carnival ships and EXPLORER OTS will dock at Havensight pier. This may mean that only Noordam and Norw.Pearl will anchor out? Still, a log jam of passengers at the beaches and tourist shops.
quote:Originally posted by Frosty 4: I would think Oasis will anchor out.F4
OASIS will not anchor out. She has a permanent berth at Crown Bay in St. Thomas. Some other ships will have to anchor.
Having just disembarked OASIS last week, I would take my chances on her as opposed to any other ship that day. They have line management and security procedures down to a science. We NEVER had to wait in any long lines to get on or off the ship in any port. It was amazing.
Royal Caribbean has installed air conditioned security buildings pierside at every port OASIS docks at. Once you go through the building (there are multiple security stations) you have a choice of a forward or aft gangway. As you enter the ship you take an escalator to the main foyer level where elevators are waiting (specially programmed to return to Deck 2) to take you to your deck.
It's the best system I've seen on any ship, and the fact you will wait far longer to board a ship carrying 1/2 the passengers of OASIS speaks volumes to the effectiveness of this system system. FYI these security buildings are exclusive to OASIS. On the other ships you see the passengers waiting in huge lines to board alongside the ship.
I'm still working on my review, but what amazed me most was wondering where the other 5900 passengers were? The ship almost seemed like it had too much space and too many lounges. There was never a crowd and I never had a problem finding a deck chair, even when I strolled out at noon. I'm not talking about finding a single deck chair in a bad spot, but my choice to sit almost anywhere except maybe right around the Beach Pool which was very popular.
Ernie
- Oasis and Noordam at Crown Point- Carnival Dream, ExplorerOTS, and Carnival Freedom at Havensight- Costa Atlantica at inner harbor anchorage- Norwegian Pearl (obscured from webcam) at outter anchorage
Maybe RCI have got it right in making their ships a stay onboard resort becuase this sort of over-crowding will quickly ruin these beautiful places.
If you want to be surrounded by 20,000 other tourists in check shorts and cheap t-shirts, you might as well stay in Florida! Brad
quote:Originally posted by reeves35:It would have been a great day for ship-spotters. For cruisers expecting to visit a tropical paradise, I think it would have been a nightmare. Maybe RCI have got it right in making their ships a stay onboard resort becuase this sort of over-crowding will quickly ruin these beautiful places. If you want to be surrounded by 20,000 other tourists in check shorts and cheap t-shirts, you might as well stay in Florida! Brad
I think St Thomas ceased being a tropical paradise about 30 years ago... When I first visited in 1977 it was already a tourist trap.
A parting sunset shot from this evening...
[ 03-02-2010: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]
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