Oasis of the Seas Sunk into Doubt Logo

Oasis of the Seas Sunk into Doubt

Oasis of the Seas is set to cost Royal Caribbean a cool $1.2 billion, however in Royal Caribbean’s annual 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission they stated “Although we believe that we will be able to, there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so (finance the ship) or that we will be able to do so on acceptable terms.”

Even though Royal Caribbean says Oasis is three quarters built, there are doubts if she will ever set sail, so does this mean that Oasis of the Seas is sunk? If so what effect will that have on Royal Caribbean?

Well recently Royal Caribbean’s credit rating was lowered as they struggle with cash flow due mainly to people spending less on board. Added to this the current financial markets will make it difficult for Royal Caribbean to gain monies from elsewhere. They do have however government financing guarantees from Finnvera, the export credit agency of Finland. This is for 80% of the financed amount for both Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas which is also currently being constructed. Though the guarantees are in place Royal Caribbean has yet to line up actual financing for the vessels.

So is Oasis of the Seas sunk before she even sets sail, probably not, this ship will create so much expectancy that she will fill her cruises for a couple of years at least and after all Royal Caribbean will need to get some of their money back.

That all said I think very few cruise lines will be announcing new builds in the next couple of years, after all the order books are already full, yet the ships are not!

Let’s hope Royal Caribbean get to bottom of this, let’s hope Oasis of the Seas is not sunk before she even sets sail.

Royal Caribbean Reveals Project Genesis Logo

Royal Caribbean Reveals Project Genesis

Royal Caribbean has today announced a new class of ships to be launched. Previously referred to as ‘Project Genesis’, the new class of cruise ship has now been announced as the Oasis-class.

Royal Caribbean held a ‘Name that Ship’ contest where entrants entered names for the two new cruise ships. The winning names were selected from more than 91,000 entries with the winning names being Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas which will both be a part of the Oasis-class of ships. 

“Our customers are remarkably passionate about Royal Caribbean,” said Adam Goldstein, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “This naming contest has been a fantastic expression of their interest and commitment. We are thrilled to announce these two names and grateful to USA Today for partnering with us.”

“Taking into account the remarkable sea-going destination Oasis of the Seas will be, the name selection evokes an appropriate feeling of verdant comfort and luxury,” said John Maxtone-Graham, maritime historian. “I was very pleased with the final selection and for being invited to take part in the contest.”

Oasis of the Seas will be launched in late 2009 and will be the largest cruise ship in the world weighing in at 220,000 gross tons over 16 decks. The cruise ship will feature 2,700 staterooms allowing a maximum passenger capacity of 5,400. Allure of the Seas her sister ship will join her in 2010.