The Cruise Report With Cruise Specialists Cruise Reporter Ralph Grizzle

Though 40 percent larger than the current record-holders, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas will not be just a larger cruise ship, but a whole new breed of ship.

An architectural marvel, Oasis of the Seas will span 16 decks, carry 5,400 guests at double occupancy, and feature 2,700 staterooms, including several new categories. She will be the first ship to tout the cruise line’s new neighborhood concept of seven distinct themed areas.

As the company slowly divulges details about the new ship during the next several months, travel agents have already started taking reservations for 2009/2010 sailings.

When he was but a nine-year-old boy, my son Alex reached into the Windex-blue waters on a sandy Bahamian beach and quickly withdrew his hand to proclaim, “Dad, I touched a stingray.” He furrowed his tender brow and added thoughtfully, “They’re nice.”

In doing so, he had ascribed a sweet, if somewhat inaccurate, characteristic to the stingray. Yes, the stingray was nice indeed, particularly with its barb blunted for safety. None of tragedy that befell animal lover Steve Irwin here. Off the coast of Australia, a ray’s barb had pierced his heart and stunned the world.

Alex, my daughter and I were in a friendlier place, a paradise really, free of danger and removed from the real world, an idyllic island created for us by a cruise line.

Awesome Overview
Kids who love the whiz-bang of the latest technologies will absolutely adore the Freedom-class ships from Royal Caribbean.

Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas represent state of the cruising art, sure to impress the kid in all of us with a whole host of amenities and features that run from the now-expected-of-Royal Caribbean rock-climbing walls to an interactive water park and two adults-only hot tubs that are cantilevered 12 feet out from the side of the ship for a hot soak with a dramatic view.