The Miami-based cruise company said first-day bookings for the $1 billion, 5,400-passenger ship were strong, though officials were mum on the sales details. Travel agents Wednesday said consumer demand for the Dec. 12, 2009, maiden voyage from Port Everglades and sailings during the Christmas and New Year's holidays has been virtually unprecedented.
"The advance booking on this is like nothing I've seen before," said Don Walker, co-president of WMPH Vacations, of Delray Beach, which operates several online cruise travel companies including iCruise.com. By Wednesday afternoon, the agency completed seven Oasis bookings for 2010, he said, noting that cruise reservations are generally booked much closer to the actual sail date.
Historically, early sailings for the cruise industry's latest and greatest vessels generate anticipation and buzz. Walker and other cruise agents say the last ship to create such a flurry at Port Everglades was Cunard's Queen Mary 2. One day after bookings officially opened to the public, the line's early bird discounts were removed for the nearly sold-out Jan. 12, 2004, launch.
The neighborhood-themed Oasis will offer passengers a number of "firsts" at sea: loft suites, an amphitheater with elaborate poolside performances, zip-lining and an artisan carousel.
"I just had to go on it," said Tripp Dickinson, 36, of Kissimmee, who booked tickets through The Gordon Group, a Davie travel seller. "I wanted to experience for myself what all the hoopla was all about."
The latest area to be unveiled to the public is the Pool and Sports Zone. Stretching the length of the ship, it features private cabanas, four pools, and two FlowRider surf simulators — each larger than the single FlowRider found on the line's Freedom-class ships.