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Gone are the days
when building cities is a
land-based affair. Royal
Caribbean International
launches Oasis of the
Seas, the world’s largest
floating hotel.
TEXT:
RANDEL WELLS
PHOTOS:
OASIS OF THE SEAS
AND KONE
in all directions,” says
Robert Seger-
crantz
, director for KONE Marine. “Life
never stops on a cruise ship; it goes on
24 hours a day.”
“The logistics on a ship are excep-
tionally important to the guest experi-
ence,” adds Kulovaara. “The elevators
are really the key to everything we
transport.” This is especially true on
Oasis of the Seas with its 16 decks
and attractions spread out all over
the ship. KONE delivered a total of 41
elevators which are hoisted by KONE
EcoDisc® technology, using both KONE
MiniSpace™ and KONE MonoSpace®
solutions. The company also supplied
two escalators and three special access
platforms for passengers with reduced
mobility.
“We wanted to make sure we have
a very smooth flow of guests and that
they don’t need to wait,” adds Kulo-
vaara. “A lot has been done to make
sure that the intelligence built into the
control systems really optimizes the
utilization; and integrates in the best
possible way the people and the eleva-
tor hardware.”
INNOVATION
THROUGH COOPERATION
“We have developed a very strong
relationship with KONE,” remarks Kulo-
vaara. “Building this kind of ship would
not have been possible without a very
long and productive partnership.”
A simple yet very effective innova-
tion that came out of the cooperation
with KONE was the elevator gangway
button. Depending on the port, push-
ing the gangway button brings passen-
gers to the correct level automatically.
This is a first for cruise ships.
Escalators were also added to Oasis
of the Seas, rare equipment for cruise
ships. These work to help speed up
the flow of passengers as they board
or disembark. “To further help passen-
gers, elevator modes are synchronized
with the guest communication system.
This allows, for example, disembark-
ing instructions to be displayed on
the LCD screens inside the elevators,”
says Kulovaara.
ALLURE AND BEYOND
“I think Oasis is a historic project as well
as a technical masterpiece. It is a result
of tremendous collaboration between
wonderful minds of the world, techni-
cal skills and the companies who have a
history of working together.”
Allure of the Seas, the twin sister of
Oasis, will be launched towards the
end of 2010.
•
OASIS OF THE SEAS
Crew members
Passengers at
double occupancy
Meters long
Meters wide
Meters above sea level
(highest point)
Gross tonnage
Man-years to construct
Passenger elevators
Service elevators
Escalators
Easy-access (impaired
mobility) platforms
2,165
5,400
361
66
72
225,282
8,000
24
17
2
3
W
ith well over 7,000 peo-
ple on board, the Oasis
of the Seas packs the
entertainment punch of
a bustling metropolis, such as a water
park, a full-blown Broadway theater
and the first ever ‘Central Park at Sea’
with 12,000 live plants.
PART EVOLUTION,
PART REVOLUTION
Harri Kulovaara
, executive vice presi-
dent at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.,
began dreaming of Oasis of the Seas in
the 1980s. The first real step was taken
while he was at Finland’s Silja Line.
“Silja Seranade was revolutionary in the
cruise ferry business. At the end of the
80s, it introduced a promenade con-
cept,” he explains.
The pioneering idea behind Oasis of
the Seas was to open up the center of
the vessel. Getting natural daylight into
the elevator banks, open-air neighbor-
hoods and state rooms with balconies
facing the center was critical to provid-
ing a better guest experience.
BEST ELEVATOR EXPERIENCE
“This is probably the most challenging
context for elevators, with heavy traffic
PEOPLE FLOW |
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