Oasis of the Seas

I personally do not know the consideration behind the naming of the current largest and most luxurious cruise ship in the world Oasis of the Seas. By definition, Oasis is an area with water and trees, etc. in a desert or a pleasant place or period of time in the middle of something unpleasant, dull, etc. That's the meaning of the terminology that I read in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Cruise ship Oasis of the Seas

So, because the cruise ship was constructed to be an oasis in the middle of the sea or say the ocean, it would become a meeting point for people from around the world. Similar to an oasis in a dessert in the Middle East where people and animals gather to drink and trade before continuing their trips, the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas can be temporary places where people refresh their mind and body from the stressful and hectic lifestyle that they have experienced in the city so that they can go back to their real world "psychologically with new spirit".

One week vacation tour on board the ship should not be seen as a spiritual pilgrimage because if tourists want to experience such journey, the holy land should be the recommended destination to go.

The journey around the tropical islands with this cruise ship is created as an affordable recreational choice for everybody who wants to see the marine environment not from a confined city aquarium but directly at an open sea. That's why the cruise ship itself has been made as one of the destinations for tourists who buy tickets for a cruising tour in the tropical islands of the Caribbean or Alaska. It seems that Oasis of the Seas rooms are still not enough to accommodate the growing number of tourists who want to experience the tropical beauty of the Caribbean islands, that's why the Royal Caribbean International ordered the construction of another new sister ship called the Allure of the Seas. 

source of all the above photos: http://oasisoftheseas.com 

According to the official website of STX Europe, the builder of the ship, 3,000 drawings were needed for the basic design of the ship. Five hundred naval architects, marine engineers and other engineers worked together to realize the design of the largest and the most luxurious man-made floating structure in the world. For the construction of the cruise ship, 30,000 workshop drawings were produced. As an experienced shipbuilding company, STX Europe has presented various on board elements that have never been in other conventional cruise ships. One of them is the board walk platform where passengers can experience walking around a park.

Environmental Concerns

I fully realize that marine environmentalists often express their concerns over the environmental impact of the operation of large cruise ships. As someone who used to study naval architecture, I am aware that ships, in general, produce wastes that pollute the sea. BUT cruise ships are not the only sea polluters. People living in coastal cities and towns are the largest polluters of the seas. So, the responsibility of fighting sea pollution is the responsibility of the whole earth's population and not the people who work in shipping, shipbuilding or cruising industries alone.

Naval architects and marine engineers who have been working in the shipbuilding industry need to find solution to this problem. On board sewage processing plants have to be improved so that harmful and toxic materials can be prevented from entering the sea. In addition, ship crews have to be trained to handle plastic wastes properly so that they will not be thrown into the sea. Rubbish collection trucks should be provided at every port to make sure that these wastes will not end up at sea.



Oasis of Life

I personally am a nature lover, I like being in an open nature watching all the things that God has created for us. If we love God, we must respect the nature. I has become our concern that our nature is now suffering from destruction, pollution. We need to stop them in order to make our natural environment as oasis of life again. Our love can be reflected through our lifestyle when we go to the beach, travel by ship or just standing on a river bank gazing swimming around on the surface of the water.

When we are in an outdoor environment, we must not throw plastic, metal or chemical wastes. If necessary, we can take sometime picking up some rubbish other people had thrown. By doing that we have helped restore nature to become the real oasis of our life. When nature is clean again, it will reward us with pure air, clean water and beautiful sounds of birds in the trees or colorful flowers.

How to restore nature as Oasis of Life

Our natural environment has been an oasis of life for all of us from generation to generation. Yet, the quality of our nature is getting worst. Industrial and domestic wastes continue to pollute our environment. Tropical rainforest are being cut at a rate of fifty football field per day and our air is filled with smokes and CO2 gases emitted by our car. Year 2011 should become a new moment from us to commit ourselves to the restoration of our natural environment. Simple things that we do everyday such as going to work by riding bicycle, picking up plastic and toxic wastes along the beach are our good contribution in restoring our nature to be a good living environment for all of us. Living in harmony with nature is not expensive. It is even good for our economy where millions of people are now trapped in debt. For example by consuming less energy through cycling, we can save daily fuel consumption where the money can go to finance our health care needs or pay off our debts. You don't need to request huge amount of consumer loan from a bank to buy a bicycle, don't you? So, if living in harmony with nature has not been part of your new year 2011 resolution, I suggest that you add it into your personal list. When you try to fulfill it, even a small thing that you do, nature will reward you with good things that you might not expect. by Charles Roring

Also read: Oasis of the Seas Interior