The giant Oasis of the Seas sets sail

Spend a few days cruising aboard Royal Caribbean's massive new Oasis of the Seas and you'll wonder why the ship even bothers making stops in ports like St. Thomas and the Bahamas. Everything a person could want on a cruise can be found on the biggest ship in the world - along with a few things no one would expect.

Passengers - all 6,000 or so of them - can take a carousel ride or play nine holes of miniature golf. They can go ice skating, sip cocktails on an elevator-like bar or see a Broadway-esque production of

"Hairspray." The more adventurous can take a pulse-quickening zip-line ride or reserve an ultra-gourmet, eight-course dinner at 150 Central Park, perched - believe it or not - in an outdoor space with real trees.

"I wanted to see the vastness of the newest, latest and greatest," said Sharon Stevens, 62, a retiree from Seattle aboard the ship's inaugural public sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Labadee, Haiti, Dec. 1-5.

And vast it is, with 16 decks and seven "neighborhoods" designed to make passengers feel as though they've wandered into an action-packed sports park or a bustling street fair. But is a cruise liner this massive overwhelming? Or gloriously over the top? Here's a look at highs (and lows) experienced aboard that inaugural sailing.

The hits

1. Neighborhoods

The novelty of the Oasis' neighborhood design is unparalleled. On the Boardwalk, passengers were dazzled by the hand-carved carousel, mere steps from a doughnut shop with Key-lime and passion-fruit iced treats and shops peddling candy and ice cream.

Central Park quickly became the go-to spot for people-watching. Ladies posed for photos in front of the Coach leather boutique, while others lazed on park benches under the sun.

And good news for sensitive stomachs: Many passengers reported they could barely feel the ship moving over the water.

TIP Choose your stateroom carefully. Cabins with balconies that look down into the middle of the ship offer lively views of the Boardwalk or Central Park, but remember: The people-watching goes in both directions.

2. Crowd control

What line? What mob scene? Boarding and disembarking seemed to be a breeze for the 4,718 passengers aboard the inaugural sailing. Onboard, passengers seemed to disappear into the ship's cavernous decks and oversize staterooms.

Royal Caribbean introduced a new system that lets passengers reserve seats for headliner shows and specialty restaurants online well in advance. Dinners in the ship's main dining room can be arranged traditionally at a set time every evening, or changed nightly.

For spontaneous rovers, the ship's onboard television system projects red, yellow or green indicators (updated in real time) that steer passengers to or away from popular lunch and dinner spots.

On the Dec. 1 sailing, these elements worked together to prevent backlogs of passengers hovering around.

TIP If mapping out a full schedule several months in advance spoils the romance of vacation, at least book your top show and restaurant picks way ahead of time. Royal Caribbean says it holds a fair percentage of reservation slots back for passengers who prefer to make their plans after boarding.

3. 'Hairspray'

A 90-minute version of the Tony Award-winning production was perfectly pleasant with an impressive set design, memorable cast and a small accompanying orchestra. "I was so impressed," said Marilyn Onorati, 79, of Seattle, who was on her 59th cruise vacation. The ship's theater seats more than 2,100, which means passengers on seven-night sailings should have no problem snagging a seat for a performance. Also worthwhile: "Frozen in Time," a sparkly figure-skating show that translates Hans Christian Andersen's tales to ice.

TIP Ushers queue a standby line for passengers - sans reservations - who are hoping to see "sold-out" performances. Unoccupied seats are released 10 minutes before showtime.

4. Zip line

The mere concept of dangling from a taut wire strung nine decks above the Boardwalk is unappealing to enough passengers that demand only barely outpaces supply here. Still, reservations are a must - and passengers must sign a weighty liability waiver to participate. But the five-second ride is pure adrenaline - and it makes for great bragging rights back on land.

TIP For more grounded exercise, walkers and runners alike are welcome to hit the nearly half-mile track that circles the ship's Deck 5. Sure, it's the longest track at sea - but the bigger story is that passengers are spared the harsh winds and annoyance of zigzagging around chaise longues and wayward kids that comes with top-deck jogging paths on other ships.

5. Solarium Bistro

Healthy food on a cruise ship? By day, passengers lounging in the adults-only Solarium can nosh on a surprisingly sophisticated buffet of grilled Mediterranean vegetables and salmon-stuffed crepes. After dark, the glutton-free attitude continues at the Solarium Bistro, serving an oh-so-satisfying five-course menu (think wheat germ-crusted fish and grilled bison steaks) for a well-earned $20 surcharge. Entrees clock in at less than 600 calories and the meal is capped with an array of no-sugar-added, low(er)-calorie desserts.

TIP Foodies who don't mind paying an extra $4.95-$35 a meal will find plenty of epicurean adventures in the ship's 10 other specialty restaurants. Try a lunch ($10) reservation for Italian fare at Giovanni's Table in Central Park. Or skip dinner in favor of wine and tapas (about $2-$5 a plate) at Vintages, a cozy, overlooked wine bar with outdoor seating.

6. Technology

An interactive television channel lets passengers make show reservations, view restaurant menus or tour the ship's highlights right from their stateroom. Passenger identification cards - already doing triple duty as room keys and onboard credit cards - can be swiped at kiosks in the photo gallery to display trip shots taken by cruise line photographers.

Printed copies of photos are stored in individual binders neatly filed by stateroom, effectively ending the scavenger hunt to find your shots tacked up bulletin-board style.

TIP Lost?

Touch-screen televisions around the ship will actually map a route to help passengers navigate back to their staterooms.

The misses

Growing pains are to be expected on an inaugural public sailing. Among those experienced on The Oasis of the Seas:

1. 'Oasis of Dreams'

Technical problems canceled opening night of the ship's hotly anticipated water show, set in an outdoor amphitheater with a diving pool. Portions of the show staged the following night featured flamboyantly costumed divers inexplicably frolicking around the water as other performers bounced on an oversize trampoline. "It was a disappointment," said Chris Harms, 15, of Milwaukee, who recently launched his own cruise ship review site, CruiseNotes.com.

2. Main dining room

The three-level space seats an unheard of 3,000 people - and it shows. Dinner service was frenzied and the food was mostly bland. Lobster bisque looked more like vegetable stock. Come dessert, the bittersweet chocolate soufflé arrived as a tasteless hot sponge, further humiliated by its server poking a hole in its top and pouring in a mysterious white goop.

3. Surcharges

Cruise ship passengers are becoming conditioned to paying extra to dine at niche restaurants or attend special events. On the Oasis, passengers incur a $3.95 fee for ordering room service between midnight and 5 a.m. Gourmet cupcakes, baked in a dozen flavors including root beer, peanut butter and strawberry shortcake, cost $2.50. Want to stroll the Boardwalk after dinner with an ice cream cone or sundae? That'll cost $2.25-$6.95 (toppings extra). While Royal Caribbean doesn't charge extra for many of the ship's top attractions, the nickel-and-diming could get old on seven-day itineraries.

TIP Fifteen percent gratuity is automatically included at surcharge and a la carte menu bars and restaurants. Also, if a server offers the table bottled water at a sit-down meal, don't mistakenly think you won't be paying extra for it.

4. FlowRiders

The ship boasts a pair of simulated surfboarding stations that mimic the ocean's waves for those who want to try riding against a real current. Bleacher-style seating gives spectators a shaded view. It looks like a grand time, until someone falls and hurts an ankle . . . a kid takes a nasty spill . . . the medical crew is summoned to carry someone off in a neck brace on a stretcher.

5. Hand sanitizers

Cruise lines know illnesses, such as noroviruses, can sweep through a ship quickly. In light of this year's swine flu-fueled season, dispensers of liquid hand sanitizer should have been perched in more - if not all - of the ship's two dozen eateries and public decks.

If you go . . .

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas

ITINERARY Seven-night eastern Caribbean sailings depart from Fort Lauderdale Saturdays through May 8, then alternate with seven-night western Caribbean sailings through next December.

INFO 866-562-7625, royalcaribbean.com

COST Interior staterooms from $729 (double occupancy), plus taxes and fees.

COMING SOON The Oasis' sister ship, Allure of the Seas, launches next December.

Other bruiser cruisers

Norwegian Epic

LAUNCHING July 2010

CAPACITY 4,200 (double-occupancy)

AMENITIES An ice bar, 20 dining venues; onboard performances of Blue Man Group

SAILS Seven- and 14-night eastern and western Caribbean itineraries.

COST Interior staterooms from $879 (double occupancy) for seven-night itineraries.

Carnival Dream

LAUNCHED September 2009

CAPACITY 3,646

AMENITIES Water park with the largest waterslide at sea; outdoor laser show

SAILS Seven-night eastern and western Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral, Fla.

COST Currently, interior staterooms from $479 (double occupancy).

MSC Splendida

LAUNCHED July 2009

CAPACITY 3,900

AMENITIES French and Tex-Mex restaurants; a Turkish bath

SAILS Seven- to 11-night Mediterranean cruises from Genoa

COST Staterooms from $849 (double occupancy) for early booking on seven-night itineraries.