Royal Caribbean Gets World’s Biggest Cruise Ship

The world’s biggest and most expensive cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas, was handed over to the Royal Caribbean cruise line in the Finnish port of Turku by shipbuilder STX on Wednesday.

“The handover took place at 9:20 am (0720 GMT) and the papers were signed then by both companies,” STX Europe’s spokeswoman Tanja Sabell told AFP.

The vessel, worth 900 million euros (1.3 billion dollars), can accommodate up to 6,360 passengers and 2,160 crew members and features a variety of traditional and new activities including swimming pools, a casino, pool surfing and a zip line above the boardwalk.

Oasis of the Seas is 16 decks high, or 65 meters (213 feet) above the waterline, and measures 360 meters (1,180 feet) long and 47 meters (154 feet) wide.

Richard Fain, the chief executive of Royal Caribbean, told reporters the new ship had attracted strong pre-bookings despite the global financial crisis and said the aim was to lure new customers who have not cruised before.

It’s also catering to younger, more active passengers with children, and therefore offering a wider selection of activities, including 21 swimming pools, an aqua park, a carousel and a science lab.

Hundreds of builders and cleaners were still putting the final touches on the ship on Wednesday, installing carpets and cleaning the surfaces of the ship, docked at the Turku shipyard some 165 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of Helsinki.

Although the shipyard employees are still busy working on Oasis of the Seas and its sister ship Allure of the Seas, which is to be ready in autumn 2010, Fain and Landtman admitted the global downturn had drained cruising companies’ willingness to order new vessels.