By
Rebecca Gibson |
Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) Oasis of the Seas will offer its first European cruises in autumn 2014, making its inaugural call at Southampton on 15 October where it will join two other RCI ships.
Oasis will leave its current homeport at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 1 September 2014 on a 12-night cruise to Barcelona, before offering two five-night roundtrip Western Mediterranean sailings and a seven-night sailing to Rotterdam from the port The vessel will then enter drydock in the Képpel Verolme shipyard in the Netherlands for routine maintenance, before returning to Port Everglades on a 13-night westbound transatlantic voyage, which includes a call at Southampton on 15 October, so UK guests can join the cruise.
“Bringing the world’s largest and most innovative cruise ship to Europe, and specifically the UK and Southampton, is testament to how much the cruise industry has grown,” said Jo Rzymowska, associate vice president and general manager, Royal Caribbean International, UK and Ireland. “Royal Caribbean International is proud to have a long heritage of ships calling in and based from Southampton and we’re very excited to add Oasis of the Seas to this.”
The ship’s presence in Southampton is also expected to have a positive impact on the city’s economy. Results from a recent economic impact analysis indicate that a ship turnaround in the port generates around £2.5 million of revenue for the city of Southampton and the surrounding area.
The 225,282 gt, 6,400-passenger vessel, is 40 per cent larger than any other cruise ship to dock in the UK and features Central Park, an outdoor neighbourhood, as well as an 82 ft zip wire, a hand-crafted carousel, an open air theatre, rock climbing walls and surf simulators.