The cruise ship we sailed to Alaska on was 4 years old. It was explained to us that Holland America only uses their ships for 10 years then they sell it off to a smaller non-American cruise line. After 10 years it is very difficult for a ship to pass the 100 point inspection required in the US. The Westerdam is 936 feet with a passenger capacity of a little over 1900. We were curious how it compared to other cruise ships. The Disney Wonder which we were on last year was a little larger at 950 feet in length and 2400 passengers.
When I was looking up the stats for the Disney cruise ship I came across the “Oasis of the Seas”. This cruise ship is currently being constructed for the Royal Caribbean cruise line. This giant of ships will carry 5400 guests with 16 decks. The ship’s design looks more like a Vegas hotel with amenities including an ice rink, a outdoor fountain amphitheater, cantilevered hot tubs, self-leveling pool tables, a Central Park area with grass, deluxe loft staterooms, and expansive shopping. Once a ship gets this large they are limited in where they can travel because they are just too large to fit through the Panama canal. I can’t imagine being on the “Oasis of the Seas” with our group. We would never be able to find each other.