We know that many of you are excited about the upcoming launch of Allure of the Seas and still have questions regarding Oasis of the Seas. While our Chairman is taking a small break from his blog writings you can still stay updated by visiting the blog of our President and CEO, Adam Goldstein at www.nationofwhynot.com/blog.

In the meantime, continue to watch this space for upcoming exciting developments. Be sure to sign up for our RSS feed for any updates.

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It is hard to believe, but we are underway.  All the construction is finished; all the plants are planted; all the preparations are complete.  Like all projects, even “normal” ones, Oasis still has kinks to work out and refinements to be made, but she is essentially complete and entertaining guests. Read more »

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Last night, I got a wonderful present. 

Joan Blackman gave me the very first copy of the “Wonderbook”, the book describing the art collection onboard Oasis of the Seas.  Joan leads International Corporate Art (ICArt) and is our art advisor and guide.  They have chosen, acquired and installed the wonderful art collection comprising over 9,000 items.  The book is a beautiful description of the collection and how it is organized. Read more »

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Our first butterfly was sighted in Central Park this morning.

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Central Park, that is.  The installation of the trees and foliage has been an enormous task and I have enjoyed watching it come to life.

The real key to the success of such a project isn’t what has happened the last few days, but the months of preparation and planning.  We’ve talked about that before, but now I got to observe the results and the immediate effort to complete the work.  The first thing I saw was the staging of the planting on the quayside.  Very impressive.  Rack after rack (just under 400 racks) of plants of all types and sizes.  And an incredible indexing system that identifies each box and where it goes. Read more »

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We are as proud of the safety and environmental innovations on this ship as we are the guest-facing innovations.  The international body responsible for setting standards in this area is the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”), which is an agency of the United Nations with 169 Member States.  The Secretary General of the IMO is Efthimios Mitropoulos and he has been a strong advocate of steps to improve safety and environmental protection throughout the maritime world.

Against this background, I was humbled and gratified to receive the attached letter from Secretary General Mitropoulos.  Harri and his team worked closely over a number of years with the IMO as well as the various other regulatory agencies to ensure they supported our efforts and to incorporate best practices and ideas.  Mr. Mitropoulos’ most gracious letter demonstrates just how successful this effort was.

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It feels so strange to say that, but it is still thrilling to be able to do so.  I had intended to write something just after the arrival.  I was told that even a short note would be welcomed and I could do it quickly.  Unfortunately, it hasn’t been so easy and we have been going non-stop since early Friday morning. Read more »

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Also, getting excited. Last night, the ship reached a peak speed of 24 knots.  She has now traveled 4,700 nautical miles since leaving Turku and has a “mere” 1,200 to go to reach the pilot station outside Port Everglades.  This requires less than 18 knots of speed.   Captain Bill says he intends to slow down to save energy soon, but he wants a bigger cushion first. Read more »

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On Friday, I was pleased to participate in the formal opening of Port Everglades’ new terminal.  I could tell you that the terminal was a great success but (a) I already said that when it was 90% complete and (b) I don’t need to since there is so much independent evidence of that success.  Read more »

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OASIS continues to make her way across the Atlantic but the weather has been anything but cooperative.  In fact, far from diminishing, the storm has gotten worse and they are now facing significant wave heights of up to 35 feet.  Some peak waves exceed 60 feet.  Nature is certainly impressive.  Read more »

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