Lifestyle

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― The world's largest cruise ship is on its maiden voyage to South Florida and its home port in Fort Lauderdale.

Port Everglades has spent $75 million to expand Terminal 18 from 67,500 square feet to 240,000 square feet, making it the largest terminal for a single cruise ship, in this case, it's The Oasis of the Seas.

The Oasis and its sister ship, Allure of the Seas, which is coming in 2010, are expected to have a major economic impact in South Florida, supporting 3,800 jobs, generating $172 million in personal income, and producing more than $463 million in total business revenue and local purchases, according to a study done for Port Everglades. When both ships are here, Port Everglades is expected to grab the title as "Busiest Cruise Ship Port" in the world. Right now, that title is held by the Port of Miami.

Aside from huge sky lights and sea-inspired tile work on the floor, one of the highly touted features of terminal 18 is the fact that there are 90 check in stands for passengers. "Our intent is to be able to process people from curbside to being onboard the ship within 15 minutes," explained Port Director Phil Allen. And something else he's proud of, "It's a $75 million project, we quadrupled the size of the terminal and we did it on time and below budget."

On Sunday, The Oasis cleared a crucial obstacle when it lowered its telescopic smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in Denmark. The ship, 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 maiden voyage to Ft. Lauderdale.

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

Officials of Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruise Line are banking that its novelty will help guarantee its success. Five times larger than the Titanic, the $1.5 billion ship has seven neighborhoods, an ice rink, a small golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. It has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.

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 is due to make its U.S. debut on Nov. 20 at its home port, Port Everglades.

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, Danish navy spokesman Joergen Brand said.

Aboard the Oasis of the Seas, project manager Toivo Ilvonen of STX Finland confirmed that the ship had passed under the bridge without any incidents.

"Nothing fell off," he said.

Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and 1,600-square-foot luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.

The liner also has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.

The enormous ship features various "neighborhoods" — parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale.

In the stern, the 750-seat outdoor theater — modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater — doubles as a swimming pool by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 33-foot (10-meter) high-dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.

One of the "neighborhoods," named Central Park, features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars, including a bar that moves up and down three decks, allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.

The ship is due to make its U.S. debut on Nov. 20 at Port Everglades. Pop star Rihanna will promote her new album in a concert aboard Oasis. The performance, during a three-day preview cruise starting Nov. 19th, will be in the AquaTheater at the stern of the ship, which will also be home to shows by Olympic divers and synchronized swimmers. The United Way will also have an overnight charity cruise aboard Oasis on Nov. 29. The ship will be officially named on Nov. 30.

It will embark on a special 4-night preview voyage to the port of Labadee in Haiti - on Dec. 1. That'll be followed by its inaugural voyage set for December 5th where it will sail to St. Thomas, St Maarten, and Nassau.

Engineers at shipbuilder STX Finland said environmental considerations played an important part when planning the vessel, which dumps no sewage into the sea, reuses its waste water and consumes 25 percent less power than similar, but smaller, cruise liners.

"I would say this is the most environmentally friendly cruise ship to date," said Mikko Ilus, project engineer at the Turku yard. "It is much more efficient than other similar ships."

Once home, the $1.5 billion floating extravaganza will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging U.S. 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 traveling.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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