> Cruiselines N-Z > Royal Caribbean Cruises > OASIS: CABINS GO UNSOLD for inaugural sailings

With just over a month to go, the early sailings aboard the largest cruise ship ever built, remain far from sold out.

Some travel agents think Royal Caribbean may have overestimated the amount that cruisers that are willing to pay for the groundbreaking ship...

"I think Royal Caribbean may have been a bit too aggressive with pricing," says Amber Blecker of Cruises Inc. "They are definitely reluctant to soften the pricing for their flagship, and combined with the economy it's resulting in the availability we see."

On the other hand, some agents see another factor at play: Uncertainty about the ship itself. "While people are interested in the whiz-bang features and different design, for those who don't follow cruising as closely as we do, they just know it as 'that huge ship they're building.' The size has gotten to be a factor on its own, (and) I think many are wondering if she's just too big."

Longtime cruise industry watcher Mike Driscoll, editor of Cruise Week, said "Royal Caribbean is banking on an avalanche of positive publicity about Oasis during pre-inaugural activities next month in Fort Lauderdale to fuel a surge of last-minute bookings for December and beyond. Thousands of travel agents and print, online and TV journalists will be touring the vessel over several days in late November after it arrives from the STX shipyard in Finland."

The projected booking surge "could well still happen," Driscoll told USA TODAY. "We'll have a much better idea at the end of next month."

Driscoll says there is plenty of space available on Oasis well into the first quarter of 2010. But he notes that there is space available on every large ship for the first quarter, so he doesn't see that as unusual.

"The most expensive cabins (on Oasis) are selling the fastest," he says. "The less expensive cabins are moving slower, but there's still time to fill those and, given the close-in booking window that has defined the cruise industry of late, that may well occur."

This information was sourced from USA today...

Why do you think there are quite a few cabins left?

Never you worry your pretty little head
that ship will be chock-a-block full for its inaugural sailing!

All the TV blitz for its arrival in the New World is yet to come.
The TV coverage of the two days just to put the live plants in
..is yet to come.

And if they have to lower the prices a tad, or give cabins away to Travel Agents
it's a near certainty that Oasis will sail full -or 99.876% full.

American interest in Oasis is HUGE!
.

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People are complaining that Ventura is too big what will they think of Oasis, I will be surprised if there is no complaints about this ship

For Brits maybe so..
But for Americans, ain't no such thing as Too Big, Too Shiny or Too New.

On the other hand... Some moaner is going to complain.
That's human nature.
We already know it's impossible to please everyone.
..

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The bigger the better that will create lots more over capacity around the cruise industry,hence the prices will tumble and hey presto we can all take more cruises for less dosh.

Cheapy,cheapy almost free full of kids and drunks

Kind of resent that actually - We're American and we hate those god-awful huge ships. MUCH prefer the smaller, more intimate ships that refuse to treat the patrons as cattle. You couldn't pay me to go on the Oasis - even though we love Royal Caribbean.

I seem to recall on Previous Maiden voyages that there was a lot of trouble, people were complaining about the ship was still being fitted out resulting in workers still doing jobs after sailing, with the result complaint of blocked corridors and services not working. But then perhaps I'm being cynical
harry

Plenty of time to complete jobs on voyage across to USA.

Huge ships don't appeal to me. On huge vessels everyone's a stranger & remains so - the likelihood of seeing a familiar face from day to day is very rare, - camaraderie? - forget it!