Ria Novosti: World's largest cruise ship sets sail to Florida

 
11:2202/11/2009

The world's largest cruise ship cleared a crucial obstacle on Sunday, lowering its smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in Denmark.

The "Oasis of the Seas" - which rises about 20 stories high - passed below the Great Belt Fixed Link with a slim margin as it left the Baltic Sea on its voyage to Florida.

Bridge operators said that even after lowering its telescopic smokestacks the giant ship had less than a 2-foot (half-metre) gap.

Hundreds of people gathered on beaches at both ends of the bridge, waiting for hours to watch the brightly lit behemoth sail by shortly after midnight (2300GMT).

Company officials are banking that its novelty will help guarantee its success. Five times larger than the Titanic, the $1.5 (b) billion US dollar ship has seven neighbourhoods, an ice rink, a small golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheatre.

It has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members. The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.

Oasis of the Sea, nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths.

It was built by STX Finland for Royal Caribbean International and left the shipyard in Finland on Friday. Officials hadn't expected any problems in passing the Great Belt bridge, but traffic was stopped for about 15 minutes as a precaution when the ship approached, a Danish navy spokesman said.

Once home, the floating extravaganza will have more than less visible obstacles to duck: a sagging US economy, questions about the consumer appetite for luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths are damaging to the environment and diminish the experience of travelling.

It is due to make its US debut on November 20 at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida.

source: http://en.rian.ru/video/20091102/156679806.html

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