8.11.2008
Oasis of the seas gets a face.
New images of Oasis of the Seas reveal that the Facade and the bow have been intalled and welded together. The facade section was so large that it had to be installed in two sections rather than one as we have seen in the Voyager and Freedom classes. The ship is very wide and it is now more visible thanks to these new images released by Aker Yards. The aft section still has a lot to be done, but time flies. What seems to be machinery for the pod drives appear to be in place and covered, the pods themselved should be installed later on. Soon we should see the Aqua Theater along with more sections of the superstructure including the bridge. It is very interesting seeing the process of how it all comes together, prefabricated staterooms being lifted and section by section being installed, Aker workers are doing a great job. Also, deck plans will be revealed the 20th of this month, followed by Crown & Anchor reservations for the inaugural season, hopefully I will be able to see the floor plans as I will be onboard the Liberty of the Seas that week.
Image Property of Aker Yards
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8.2.2008
Oasis of the Seas Lifeboat Prototype.
Up to now we did not know much about the lifeboats of Oasis of the Seas, we just knew they would be larger than current cruise ship lifeboats and tenders. Schat-Harding, manufacturer of lifeboats, tenders and davits for cruise ships recently took their CRW55 for sea trials. This lifeboat tender designed in a catamaran style can accommodate 370 people in a more or less life saving way. Judging by the renderings, Oasis will have 18 of these large boats which in total will be able to accommodate about 6660 people. The computer renderings also show the way the lifeboats will be deployed in case of an emergency. Schat-Harding is calling this davit and launch system "pull-and-go".
Images Property of Schat-Harding
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7.3.2008
The amazing Oasis of the Seas.
A few weeks ago Royal Caribbean announced two more neighborhoods and a couple more innovation to be found onboard Oasis of the Seas. My main interest were the three exterior renderings of the ship, and being able to see how ship design has evolved to become what it is today and what it will become with the introduction of project Genesis. The ship is very streamlined with elegant lines, everything has been carefully designed and not just thrown in because it's needed, it's like designing an Apple computer or a Ferrari, I'm sure that's the way her designers feel and congratulations to them for accomplishing such a task. The loft accomodations have really caught my eye, these are spacious and above all, literally and physically. By now everybody knows about the greatest ship in the world, Oasis of the Seas. About construction the ship has it's bulbous bow in place and rear quarter deck, she's quickly coming together and before we know it she'll be on her first sea trials. Here's an amazing picture from Aker Yards: a shipyard worker inspecting the bow thruster tunnels.
Image property of Aker Yards
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6.11.2008
More conceptual renderings revealed.
The following image is very interesting, while being new to the public eye, it is without a doubt an early conceptual rendering of Central Park, another view of the rendering which looks about the same. What we now see here is a better view of the "sky" bridge above CP. We already knew this bridge existed, but not what it conects, the pool decks. This sky bridge goes between what appears to be two large raised decks, also found on Voyager and Freedom-class above the Sky Bar. The tower here is divided into two sections on both sides of CP; these can also be seen on the elevation rendering of the ship.
Image property of Royal Caribbean
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6.10.2008
New image of Oasis of the Seas.
In anticipation to the June 18th anouncement, Aker Yards has published a current image of the progress on Oasis. This new frontal view image shows a newly added section to the loower part of the bow of the ship which contains the tunnel for one of the possibly four bow thrusters. The event on June 18th will be held in New York but it is still not known what will be revealed this time, maybe they will reveal the remainding six neighborhoods as well as other innovations.
Image property of Aker Yards
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5.29.2008
Pioneer Design Concept.
The Pioneer design concept is a project I have been working on since high school. It is my basic interpretation of what the next Royal Caribbean ship could be. It is based on hundreds of sketches and ideas I have gathered over the past few years, combined with the best of Royal Caribbean's modern design and innovation. Since I was a kid living in Miami, the design of modern cruise ships has always fascinated me; Royal Caribbean and sister line Celebrity have always captured my attention by introducing a different way of thinking and creating a strategy which focuses on innovation and the experience of their guests upon boarding their ships. Pioneer had actually started as project Marlin, a 120,000 gross ton design that has evolved as a post Radiance-class design. Remember, everything you will see is part of my imagination and does not mean Royal Caribbean is building or planning this ship. For the next few months I will be slowly releasing more information about this concept and I hope you enjoy it. For more information visit: http://rcipioneer.googlepages.com.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5.23.2008
Genesis names have been chosen.
The names for Genesis I and II have been officially announced. As we know they will be named Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. I like Allure more than Oasis, but to me the names don't sound very inspiring, specially for ships like Genesis. The name Oasis issomething serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant change from what is usual, while Allure's dictionary term is to attract or tempt by something flattering or desirable or to fascinate. Also today Royal Caribbean released some construction photographs, these shown the outside overall, with a very interesting picture showing the impressive eight decks of balcony staterooms; in two other pictures we can see the progress on Central Park which should be closed soon by what I imagine will be the forward and aft centrums. In the CP images we can see that the structure for the crystal canopies has already been fitted into place. Some of the following pieces to be fitted onto the massive puzzle should be the section containing the bow thrusters followed by the bulbous bow; we should also see the rear lower part of the hull for which we see the tall yellow pyramids which will support the weight of this new section and the blocks above it. She's coming along pretty fast, according to the progress dates the first sea trials should take place about a year from now.
Images property of Royal Caribbean
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5.7.2008
The Royal Promenade.
What seems to be the Royal Promenade onboard Genesis is now clearly visible and there is no denying it will be there. Aker Yards recently published high resolution pictures of the construction progress and here we can see even more of the large space below Central Park. We can see very large structural supports much needed on large spaces onboard ships. The RP seems to be about three stories high, one for public spaces with two stories with cabins right above, and above this is CP. What is not clear is if both storis of staterooms on RP will have rooms with windows overlooking RP or will it be only one one deck with windows in this space. Also from looking at the video of CP released by Royal Caribbean in the official Genesis website you we could see that Boleros will be there as well as the Get Out There store. Royal Promenade, if indeed is this space will be located on deck 5 of Genesis and will have natural light coming in through the crystal canopy.
Image property of Aker Yards
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.21.2008
I name this ship???
Marvel of the Seas: [mahr-vuhl] _Something that causes wonder, admiration, or astonishment; a wonderful thing; a wonder or prodigy: The new ship is an engineering marvel.
Pioneer of the Seas: [pahy-uh-neer] _The first to do something or that leads in developing something new; first to develop something new. Royal Caribbean is the pioneer in innovation.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.19.2007
Look out above!
Today Independence of the Seas sailed under the Great Belt Bridge or Storebaeltsbroen on her way from Turku, Finland to Oslo, Norway after being delivered to Royal Caribbean last Thursday. Independence of the Seas would be the third ship in the Freedom-class and last if a fourth ship is not ordered. The passage though this bridge is key to the design and construction of very large ships built in Finland. The clearance for ships sailing through the bridge is 213ft (65m) and Independence’ height above the water line is 209ft (63.7m); air-draft for Genesis should max out that clearance.
Image by Steve Read
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.17.2008
Architectural influences found on Central Park.
As I looked at the renderings released on Tuesday the first things that came to mind were Calatrava and Giumard from the Art Noveau movement in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Santiago Calatrava is a modern architect who has designed some famous structures around the world such as the Milwaukee Art Museum and the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain; I can see his influences mainly on the Crystal Canopy and the upper housing of the Rising Tide Bar. Very noticeable are also the canopies over the entrances to 150 Central Park and Chops Grille, these seem to be very much influenced by the entrances to the Paris Metro designed by Hector Giumard over 100 years ago with an Art Noveau style. Art Noveau gives the setting of Central Park a more organic feeling to complement the environment. Those two styles of architecture are a century apart but seem to go together very well. I also noticed that Atkins is the lead design group in charge of Central Park; these guys have a very long resume having designed the Burj-Al-Arab, the only 7-star hotel in the world as well as part of the new addition to the Enchantment of the Seas and many more structures around the world.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.15.2008
WOW!
Royal Caribbean does it again, and we are astonished. Except for the naming and homeport I am very pleased with what I saw today. I am a perfectionist, and I like to see everything perfectly done, so I would like to congratulate Mr. Harri Kulovaara, Mr. Richard Fain and Mr. Adam Goldstein, and specially all the over 500 designers, architects, and all those involved that are making Genesis simply the best. From looking at Central Park I can tell the rest will be as high quality as this, adding Aker yards craftsmanship we will get a ship like no other, better two. I still see a smaller space about two and a half stories high below CP, perhaps a smaller kind of Royal Promenade connecting the forward and mid-ship Centrums if there will be any, or connection to the lifeboat stations, remember CP is deck eight, what about decks two through seven? One thing I didn’t like is that apparently Genesis will have two funnels, or split funnels; I imagined this somehow a while ago since there needed to be a connection through the casings with what I thought would be RP and what might be “Boardwalk”. We shall see this puppy unwrap in the next few months; mark your calendars, next release should be June 18th.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.14.2008
Royal Promenade, Central Park and Boardwalk.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding The Royal Promenade, "Central Park", and "Boardwalk" onboard Genesis. We now know there will be a large space above the RP which presumably will be "Central Park" which might feature real grass and growing trees. For this, the newest Celebrity ship - Solstice should become proving ground for this space and mainly an irrigation system which will keep the grass green and the trees flourishing. Below it should be the Royal Promenade as we have seen on the Voyager an Freedom-class vessels. As a note, the first open space we know as Royal Promenade was first introduced in two Scandinavian ferries in the early 90's, the Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony, also Sovereign of the Seaswas the first ship ever to feature the Centrum. The ship should include two Centrums at each end of the RP but I wouldn't be surprised if a third one is introduced aft, with a spectacular glass end about 8 stories height. This third one might become the solution to the lack of a third elevator shaft much needed in the last four generations of Royal Caribbean newbuilds. This third Centrum might merge with what I think will be "Boardwalk", another RP type space this one with a covered ceiling but natural light entering from the glass wall behind. Aker yards has been experimenting with different concepts for the past few years and most have included this type of space, opened and closed as it might be the case with Genesis. The programatic image below shows my interpretation of how these spaces might interact with each other.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.13.2008
Meet Aker Yards, Turku - birthplace of Genesis.
The Aker shipyard at Turku, Finland has been the birthplace of some of the most impressive, record-breaking ships ever seen. Starting with the Carnival Elation, which was the world's first cruise ship to be propelled by ABB azipods in 1998, and in 1999 the great Voyager of the Seas was launched here, after that, her sister ships. In 2006, the current largest cruise ships belonging to Royal Caribbean - Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and in the next few days Independence of the Seas. In the fall of 2009 Genesis will set sail from Turku to South Florida to begin service but Turku, without a doubt, will continue to build great masterpieces. The following aerial images show parts of the shipyard at Turku with Liberty of the Seas at the fitting-out dock and Color Line's Color Magic being put together at the dry-dock; you can also see some blocks scattered around belonging to the Color ship and Independence of the Seas. The dry-dock is where Genesis is currently being assembled.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.12.2008
Building a ship is a difficult task.
The construction of the first Genesis might seem like building a very large Lego puzzle, and yes, it is that way, just 1000 times more difficult. According to Aker yards, project Genesis consists of 180 large pieces, the largest one measures 72 ft. (22 m.) x 98 ft. (30 m.) and weighing approximately 600 tons. Design and planning also take a big chunk of time with over 500 designers working along with other supply companies which are also involved with the project. While design and planning begins years before signing a contract with the shipyard and starting production, design will still be carried out until the last few months before the ship is delivered to Royal Caribbean in fall 2009. Production for the ship itself begins with the first steel cut, which took place March 2007; this is when the first big blocks are created. The first block to be placed at the Turku drydock is the keel, and then all the other steel blocks are welded together to create this giant masterpiece. Most cabins except for the larger suites are pre-fabricated and mass produced outside the ship and later put into place by cranes. The ship will meet the water at it's floatout, which I guess should be in the first months of 2009 if not earlier, and be transferred to the fitting dock were all the interior work will be carried out. Once Genesis is almost complete she will undergo sea trials to test that everything is working properly. Thanks to Aker Builder we know sea trials are scheduled for May 11, 2009 and August 10, 2009. After this, finishing touches are made and the ship will be handed to Royal Caribbean.
Image Courtesy of AkerBuilder
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.11.2008
Name that Ship Contest!
Today the fifth finalist was announced for the naming of the two Genesis ships, the finalists first name was Mystique of the Seas and the second was llure of the Seas, this is the third time the same name is chosen which is okay but not the best out of all the finalist, so yes, there is a big chance one of the two Genesis will be named Allure of the Seas. So we might see this:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.10.2008
Welcome to RCIGenesis!
Google pages has given me a hard time, this was supposed to be easy. We are only five days away from learning major details about Genesis after the original announcement back in 2006, I'm thinking they can't hold Central Park hidden anymore so it's time to make it public. There has been a lot of speculation going on, Central Park, Boardwalk, the petting zoo found on Wikipedia a while ago and even a rollercoaster mentioned by Aker. What is true about this is that Aker has been coming up with concepts and prototypes that have an open central promenade which Genesis might have and that one rendering shows a glass end aft. People also want a Royal Promenade with natural light and a possible way to fix this is to have the "Central Park" above the traditional RP and this one can have skylights. Then there is the "Central Park" with growing trees and grass, and Solstice seems to be proving ground for this. The pools are also important, if there is an open section between two towers and this is filled with trees then where will the pools go? a good idea would be to have then cantielevated above "CP" but this is probably not feasible for now, altough, you never know, they came up with a floating ice skating rink right!? The many lego pieces are coming together very well, and fast, althought I have only seen pictures. The naming is not going so well, so far there are four out of six finalists with two names each and the names are not very bright, Mosaic (bad), Coronation (horrible), Oasis (no), Allure (maybe), Utopia (horrible), Allure (not again!), and last week was Epic which is not so bad but Amazement doesn't really fit for a ship name. The naming scheme used in the previous classes were very good, hopefully tommorrow the two new names are much better. Well, thanks for visiting the site, if you have any feedback or questions please write to me at: shiparch@gmail.com.
