Our first butterfly was sighted in Central Park this morning.

The real key to the success of such a project isn’t what has happened the last few days, but the months of preparation and planning.  We’ve talked about that before, but now I got to observe the results and the immediate effort to complete the work.  The first thing I saw was the staging of the planting on the quayside.  Very impressive.  Rack after rack (just under 400 racks) of plants of all types and sizes.  And an incredible indexing system that identifies each box and where it goes.

Onboard, Central Park was a beehive of activity.  This beautiful area was now completely covered with protective wrappings which was a little sad since even without plants, Central Park had looked so nice.  And people were everywhere.  Ambius – the environmental specialist responsible for organizing and implementing all the landscaping – had brought in people from their offices all over the country.  They had an army of people all wearing a light green Ambius shirt pushing, pulling, guiding and directing.  There were also a large number of ship’s crew wearing grey work suits wheeling in rack after rack filled with plants.  Although we have talked about the massive job of loading the plants on the ship, I quickly realized that an even bigger task was putting all those plants in the right spaces.

Leading the Ambius team were Denise Eichmann and Mark Hawry who had spent months preparing for this day.  When I arrived, Mark was explaining the detailed indexing system to a large team of workers and Denise was coordinating the additional materiel that was needed to finish off the beds.  Both were juggling a walkie-talkie and two phones but they seemed very calm as the storm of people swarmed around them.

And the swarm was impressive.  Clearly, this was a group of people who knew what they were doing.  I noticed one worker who was wearing obviously new, steel-toed shoes and my first thought was that Mark and Denise had done a good job of laying down the law concerning safety.  Later on we were introduced and I realized that the rookie laborer was her boss’ boss.  But I was even more impressed the next night when the park looked clean and the workers dirty.  The sheer volume of plants that had to be organized, transported and planted was amazing.  And so was the transformation of the park.  It was striking how hard they all worked and how nicely the entire garden came to life.  The Ambius team certainly demonstrated why they are such leaders in their field.

Scott Wilson of Wilson Butler (aka our “guru”) was very focused on the process of fitting the prefabricated planters.  Scott was the person we went to about two years ago when we decided we needed to change the design of the area from a garden to a park.  He, his partner Scott Butler and Dennis Dale of Waterfield Design Group in cooperation with our own team conceived of Central Park as it is today.  They took an excellent concept and transformed it into something extraordinary.  Scott has been the person we often go to for our most intractable problems and that is how he earned the sobriquet “guru”.

But, early Sunday morning Scott was a little worried.  He had always expected that some of the planters wouldn’t fit and had a team of metalworkers standing by.  However, the rate of mis-fits was running at 10% and that was higher than planned.  It was slowing down an installation process which had already lost 2 days of cushion to an Atlantic storm.  Fortunately, the later boxes fit better and by Monday, the average had fallen to less than 5%, just below their pain tolerance.

By Monday afternoon, most of the planting had been completed and the crane was now being used to offload the trash rather than onload the plants.  Over 5,000 lbs of trash, mostly the protective coverings.  Central Park was being cleaned up and the plants trimmed and primped.  It was still a mess, but at least one could see what was intended and it is wonderful.  How they made such a beauty out of all that stuff is beyond me, but I loved it.

Dennis Dale looked like a proud Papa.  He has been working on this baby for 3 years and was determined that every tree, every plant, every leaf was just right.  He was very detailed in his choices of plants, each for its own special reason, and now I saw why. Somehow, his weird combinations of disparate colors, shapes and textures came together in a wonderfully pleasing manner.  He was even prepared for contingencies.  When the US Agriculture Department objected to 3 species of plants, because of their potential vulnerability to disease, he had a contingency plan ready.  That is the sort of thing that really separates the men (and women) from the boys (and girls).

As we looked on the nearly finished planting and were discussing how the plants would grow and spread, I was reminded of my own experiences with landscaping.  When I first moved to London, I asked our landscaper how long it would take for the garden to grow in.  He assured me that within five years, it would become reasonably established and within 10 years it would be a mature and “proper” garden.  When I moved to Miami, I asked our landscaper the same question.  He thought for a moment and said “Thursday”.

Well, “third time’s the charm” and I asked the same question today.  Now the answer was “only a month or so”.  ¿Quien Sabe?

My biggest surprise?  It was how beautiful the Park is at night.  I knew the daytime would be great, but nighttime is often more of a challenge.  Wow, was I wrong.  The evening in Central Park is a dream.  No matter the hour or how tired I am, I have ended every night strolling through Central Park.

Against this background, I was humbled and gratified to receive the attached letter from Secretary General Mitropoulos.  Harri and his team worked closely over a number of years with the IMO as well as the various other regulatory agencies to ensure they supported our efforts and to incorporate best practices and ideas.  Mr. Mitropoulos’ most gracious letter demonstrates just how successful this effort was.

But now I am sitting in Café Promenade drinking tea, enjoying the grandeur of the place and putting down some impressions.  I’ll start with the arrival.  THE ARRIVAL.  I got to the park at 6:15 am and was confronted with a long line of cars ahead of me.  I confess that my first reaction was irritation: don’t these people know I’m anxious to greet our ship?  And then I realized how happy I should be that so many people cared so much about the event that they got up so early to be present.  Then I was happy to sit in my car and just enjoy being part of the spectacle.

The arrival was wonderful.  The ship really is beautiful and the reaction of the crowd was itself beautiful.  So I just reveled in the experience.  One thing I was curious about was the hull color.  We had chosen a light blue color, but it is impossible to get a sense of it in the Turku “sun.”  Personally, I loved it when it came through the cut, but everyone else was too busy taking in the rest of the ship to pay the hull color any mind.

I was asked over and over how I felt and I never knew how to answer.  I still don’t.  It is of course thrilling and I do feel proud to have been a part of such an undertaking.  I also felt comforted.  Doing a project of such a magnitude and such a new direction is a bit scary (actually more than a bit).  I have always believed strongly that this was the right concept and the right format, but “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” and dinner has not yet been served.  But the reaction of the people who came to the harbour Friday and those who have spent time on the ship since then clearly validates our leap.

Then, the harbour pilots were kind enough to give me a lift from the harbour entrance to the terminal on one of their launches.  After the ship had docked, it still took about 15 minutes for Captain Bill to satisfy himself that the vessel was properly tied up and secured. During that period, I wondered around the quayside looking at things.  There was a lot to look at. 

First, there was Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). When I stepped off the launch at the terminal, I was greeted by a sea of blue uniforms of the CBP.  They have been working with us for a very long time to ensure that everything was done right.  This project has been all about innovation and CBP demonstrated throughout that they welcomed innovation and were as determined as we were to come up with new and better ways to operate.  It wasn’t always easy (their priorities are different than ours) but it was always constructive and the result is a dramatic improvement that benefits everyone, especially our guests.

The next thing I saw was the plants.  There is an enormous staging area on the pier where they had staged some 400 trolleys holding all the plantings that had to be installed.  The numbers were always impressive, but nothing prepares you for row after row of plants, all lined up and ready for installation.  More about that later.

When Bill did give the all-clear, I boarded and went up to the bridge.  There, he was debriefing his team on the arrival and preparing for the next challenge – the US Coast Guard Inspection.  The USCG have been involved in inspections from an early stage, first with the plans and then with inspections during the building process.  They have been very complimentary of our approach and our transparency and we appreciate that.  They have also required various changes during the process and we consider these to have been constructive too.  Now was one of the most difficult challenges – the testing of the crew.  They had already essentially approved the construction, but they only approve the operations once the ship arrives in the US.

Bill had a feeling that the USCG would go all out to test our mettle and they didn’t disappoint. They are always careful with these inspections, but in the case of OASIS, everyone thought it would be best to take it to the next level with an extremely ambitious drill scenario that would test the new and innovative safety features of this ship along with the training level of our crew – well beyond the typical demanding USCG drill.  

Bill was prepared for that and, although he didn’t say so, I am convinced he welcomed it as an opportunity to show off.  Afterwards, he congratulated his team with the following comments:

To have passed this morning’s complicated fire and evacuation drills with flying colors and ZERO comments (other than a string of compliments) is a truly remarkable accomplishment! The afternoon CHARLIE went just as well and they left without a single corrective comment!!!!  I have never been more proud to say “well done” than right now!!

We still have Monday to go through certificates, an MOB and a table top damage exercise, however, we have no concerns about this.

To a mariner like Bill, receiving good grades from the US Coast Guard – a symbol of safety and excellence all Americans should be proud of – is the ultimate accolade.  He was beaming.

My walk through of the ship was heartwarming.  A surprising amount of detail work had been accomplished during the crossing, but the ship did not look that fundamentally different except that it was designed for warm weather and really shines in the sun.  What was different is that the crew is now all here and acclimated. Since most of them come from other ships, I really felt at home amongst friends.  And their pride was palpable.  There is simply no doubt that that pride makes them walk with a bigger bounce and do their jobs with an enthusiasm that I am in awe of.

Harri is everywhere and he is in his element.  The original 6,000 items of the punch list are down to 1,000.  Many of them are just waiting for the new part to be boarded after the ship arrives in Ft. Lauderdale and some will simply be fixed over time as the ship settles down.  Overall, Harri was very satisfied with the progress.  The two exceptions both impacted our entertainment areas.  The heavy weather meant no work on the outer decks and especially the AquaTheatre during most of the crossing.  And it took longer to do all the requisite work in the Opus Theatre than expected.  Peter Compton was bummed about that but confident they will make up the time and be in full swing in time for our first regular cruises.

We wanted to see the zip line in action.  Adam volunteered to try it but I get nervous on a step stool and couldn’t work up the courage.  Adam seemed very comfortable and said he enjoyed it.  Can anyone spell meshugana?

My biggest thrill came last night.  Finally, I got a chance to show my wife around the ship and let her see what we had been talking about for so long.  I’ve been fortunate to hear compliments from many directions for a long time, but to hear it from her was my penultimate measure.  My ultimate measure will come when I can show it to my children.

My second biggest thrill so far came this morning when we opened the ship to tours by shoreside employees.  I quickly lost count of the people who came up to me and said how proud they were to work at Royal Caribbean.

I can’t wait to the chance to show her off to our travel partners starting in only a few days.

Meanwhile, preparations continue onboard and onshore.  Anticipation is unbelievably high and I am surprised (and delighted) by the level of interest.   

One conundrum we face is that we want everything to go smoothly from the moment our first guest steps aboard but we need the shakedown cruises to prepare the ship.  Shakedown cruises are important both technically and operationally.  Technically, for example, this will be the first time the ship operates in a warm climate and the air conditioning needs balancing which can only be done with the heat load of real people present.  Even the theatre sound system needs to be balanced with the acoustical absorption of real bodies in place.  Operationally, will people gravitate to Boleros or Dazzles?  We can simulate these things fairly well in advance, but there is no substitute for real experience. 

All of that is what we normally do during our shakedown cruises and our travel agent partners normally understand that.  But here, the vessel will be under unusual scrutiny and we want to present her as complete as possible even during the shakedown.  While there is no perfect solution, we do have a group of people – the crew – who are more than willing to sacrifice themselves and pretend they are guests. 

So Lisa Bauer opened the Cupcake Cupboard, the Donut Shop and the Ice Cream Parlor and with everyone on a sugar high, proceeded to try out the various venues onboard.  There were the normal glitches, but overall, it went amazingly well.  The dining venues were a big hit and seemed to manage the flow very well.  There were some surprises related to the concentration of guests in different bars and these will require adjusting deployment of personnel.  The Casino had a very good night (all profits to the Crew Welfare fund). Regarding the shops, Lisa said: “I am thrilled with what Starboard has done onboard with the stores.  The quality of the merchandise, as well as the merchandising, is truly transformational.”  Lisa herself participated and bought the first item sold by the Coach store.  (This was probably the world’s most expensive purse.  She paid hundreds of dollars for the bag, but we had to build a store for her to buy it in and that cost hundreds of thousands.)  The IT systems are some of the most sophisticated systems ever installed on a cruise ship and our IT team has been working non-stop to get them up and running. To minimize issues, we actually built the entire system on land in Chicago earlier in the year, tested it and then dismantled it for shipment to Turku.  That has really helped make sure it works properly, but is an enormous job and no such IT project goes without a hitch.

BTW, the OED says the first use of the term “knot” dates back to 1633 and derives from the knots in a rope that was originally used to determine a ship’s speed without GPS.  One way of measuring a ship’s speed was to throw a line overboard and count how many knots slipped through your hands within a fixed time.  Sailors used the rope trick to measure speed and distance.  Interestingly, the actually term “nautical” doesn’t come from the term “knot” but rather from the Greek word for sailor (ergo “astronaut” or “cosmonaut”).   A nautical mile is 1.15 “normal” miles or 1.85 kilometers.

The best evidence is that every politician that is in Broward, from Broward or related to Broward County was in attendance or represented.  If this had been a “normal” government construction project (i.e. one that was uninspiring and/or over budget), we would have played to an empty hall.  But here, everyone knew that this facility was a winner and everyone wanted to see and be seen participating at the event.  Standing room only; we even ran out of scissors for all the dignitaries to cut the ribbon.  And they deserved the kudos.  They had the foresight to undertake the project and to allow it to be built in an efficient and businesslike way.  Hats off to Phil Allen and his team, as well as all the Hollywood and Broward officials.  And I’d take a point of personal privilege and congratulate Craig Milan, Juan Trescastro and Juan’s whole team for working so cooperatively with the authorities to make this facility such a success. 

In full disclosure, I should mention that our confidence does not rest solely on how things appear.  We have already had three ship turns in this terminal and they were terrific.

But we also got some frustrating news. The heavy Atlantic weather has delayed the ship by two days. It doesn’t affect our schedule because we build in a cushion for such things but I’m still disappointed.  I accept that there is no logical reason for this, but I am still eager for her to arrive and the delay frustrates me.  Captain Bill reassured me that they were making good use of the time onboard for training etc.  I know he was trying to make me feel better, but it didn’t.

Captain Bill chose to take the southerly route to Ft. Lauderdale.  However, it turns out that when you start in Finland, even the “Southerly Route” requires you to spend time in the North Atlantic.  He is constantly adjusting his course and speed to accommodate what will probably be the only time in OASIS’s life that it will face such a storm.

Notwithstanding the weather, the entertainment department continues to prepare. 

• The ice skaters are rehearsing in Studio B and that appears to be going very well.
• In the main theatre, they are putting up all the staging and scenery, etc. Unfortunately, this prevents the performers from rehearsing on the stage and it looks like the cast won’t even get access until early next week. In the meantime, they are rehearsing in other areas onboard.
• For some reason or another, the divers are reluctant to rehearse in the AquaTheatre with 70 mph relative winds. Apparently, massive waves, heavy rain and 70 mph winds have put a damper on their activities.

Here in Miami, it feels a little bit like the calm before the storm.  All the plans have been finalized, the ship has been completed, and the implementation/training/rehearsals are under way.  After so long, it’s a little hard to sit back and just watch while everything comes together. 

But it is inspiring to see how smoothly it is coming together.  Over this long preparation time, it was agreed that a whole series of preparatory actions would be undertaken and they are now in place and under way.  There are so many different people and functions responsible for so many different activities and each seems to be doing their thing just as it was planned.  I feel like I should be doing something more, but there is nothing for me to do now but watch and applaud.

Bill Wright, Lisa Bauer and others are sending out information from the ship.  Mostly it is going as planned including some 1,200 separate training sessions above and beyond the general familiarization that needs to be done.

 Crossing under the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark was an unexpected highlight.  The bridge is one of three bridges all of which are about 65 meters above mean high tide.  (The other two are the Golden Gate and the Verrazano Narrows.)  The ship was designed with those three bridges in mind and Oasis has a telescoping funnel to accommodate.  There was, therefore, no doubt in our mind about it.  Nevertheless, the novelty of being so close apparently created an enormous interest which even infected those onboard.  The ship navigated under the bridge without difficulty, but there was still a great cheer as she did so.

The one thing you can never count on, though, is the weather.  It seems that we have managed to time our crossing perfectly to coincide with the worst of a north Atlantic winter storm.  That storm has resulted in relative wind speeds of 60-70 mph (a hurricane starts at 74 mph).  It has also resulted in significant wave heights of up to 30 feet (significant wave heights essentially means consistently over a period of time).  Some individual waves reach even higher. 

Capt. Bill is considering now what is the best course and speed for the ship to minimize the impact of the storm.  I’m told that the ship is so stable that the crew can barely feel the storm.  But on deck it is a different story and the storm is preventing us from doing the work on the outdoor decks that we had hoped including rehearsing in the AquaTheatre. 

We’re told the storm could last another 24 or 36 hours but we’re hoping that these forecasts are as unreliable as the ones I look at to plan my vacation.

• In the past, the flag changing ceremony has always taken place in the main theatre, but our entertainment group didn’t want to give up any of their rehearsal and prep time.  They therefore asked that we find someplace else for the ceremony.  So, off to the Royal Promenade where the Rising Tide Bar was used as a stage.

Everyone involved in the ceremony came on to the bar at the Central Park level and, at the appointed hour, the bar was lowered and the ceremony took place with the bar in the halfway position.  It couldn’t have been better.  Peter Compton commented to me afterwards that, although we hadn’t intended the bar to be a platform for entertainment, it served that purpose brilliantly.  The view onto the Royal Promenade was simply breathtaking.  Seeing the Promenade in action with 1,500 guests (who only took up about half the space) sent chills up my spine.  Somehow the ceremony really made more tangible the completion of this milestone.

• I was very gratified at the response from our guests.  Probably the most frequent comment I heard was “I came here tonight with high expectations, but even so, I was surprised/impressed/delighted by what I saw.”

• I also had a chance to talk to many of the contractors and suppliers for the ship.  Once again, I was impressed with their passion and pride in the project.  I have joked a number of times that the ship could appropriately be called Passion of the Seas because it is the passion of so many people that has made it so exceptional.  This night reinforces that perception.

• The ice skaters gave an early performance for our guests.  The shows aren’t ready and so it was more of a rehearsal than a show, but nevertheless they earned a standing ovation from the normally reserved Fins.  The energy and skill of these skaters is a wonder to behold.  I remain convinced that if we could harness their energy to drive the ship we could reduce our fuel consumption by thousands of tons.

• At delivery, the punch list consisted of just over 6,000 items.  That may seem like a lot, but it is actually encouragingly small for such a new ship and not atypical of such lists.  That list has already been pared to a “mere” 5,000 and the current schedule calls for it to be reduced to under 1,000 by the time the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale on November 11.

• During the flag ceremony, we started the preparations for the naming and publically provided more color on what we plan.  An extraordinary and innovative ship deserves an extraordinary and innovative naming.  For Oasis of the Seas we have decided to use seven godmothers because we have seven neighborhoods.  Each godmother will start in her own area and then they will all convene at the AquaTheatre for the formal naming.  All seven godmothers will cut a ribbon which will require seven complete cuts to release the bottle.  Seven special scissors have been prepared and a special case holding the seven scissors was displayed during the flag ceremony.  The case will be brought to Fort Lauderdale for the naming ceremony itself.

• As many of you know, Adam is obsessed with the term we use to refer to those rooms in which our guests sleep.  He insists they should be called “staterooms” and not “cabins.“ Unfortunately, old habits die hard (see Adam’s Blog at www.nationofwhynot.com/blog/).

• I don’t understand his obsession, but I am prepared to respect it and I offered him a deal:  I will forever avoid using the c-word if he will come up with a better term for the inaptly name “Cruise Enhancements.“ This misnomer is used to describe the system which enables our guests and trade partners to book in advance things like shore excursions, specialty dining, show tickets, spa treatments, etc.  It is a great system created at great expenses (of course all new computer systems seem to involve expense) but the current name is insipid and unsuitable.

The gauntlet has been thrown and accepted.  The challenge is on.  Do any of you have suggestions?  I think it should be a name that reflects the brand (WOW-something or Royal-something, etc.) as well as help connote the functionality of the system

I have waited six years to say that so I’ll say it again.  This morning we took delivery of Oasis of the Seas.

Few people ever get a chance to be involved in such a groundbreaking project.  Few people ever get a chance to work with such remarkable, passionate and dedicated professionals.  Few people ever get to see such an amazing undertaking overcome all hurdles and reach fruition.  I have been blessed with the opportunity to be involved in many such building projects including SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS, FREEDOM OF THE SEAS, and more recently CELEBRITY SOLSTICE.  And I have had the chance to work with so many wonderful people to bring these amazing physical creations to life with a level of service, activities and amenities that distinguishes our company.

We are still not complete.  That won’t happen until all the systems become operational and we start to wow our first guests.  I consider the operating systems and processes to be just as important as the physical plant and I am looking forward to seeing them in operation.  But we have passed a crucial milestone and I couldn’t be more pleased.

I am especially appreciative of all the people who have taken this project from a few unformatted ideas and simple sketches on paper and turned them into something bigger than any of us dared hope for.  The architects, designers, engineers, artists, workers, crew, specialized experts, weird thinkers, directors and just plain enthusiasts all made this a successful collaboration and we owe them our grateful thanks.  Of course, they are not done yet and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next – whether the subject is new physical ideas or greater operating efficiencies.

In addition, I owe my family my thanks as always for their support, patience and understanding.  They’ve put up with a lot, but they know that isn’t going to change and I appreciate that they accept it anyway.

Now I am looking forward to Oasis’ arrival in Ft. Lauderdale.

p.s. Allure is picking up steam too