Oasis: World's largest ship arrives

On a brisk October morning amid the clink of champagne glasses, Richard D. Fain took ownership of the $1.4-billion Oasis of the Seas on the southwest coast of this nation where shipbuilding is a proud tradition.

• Interactive: Click through the decks of the Oasis of the Seas
• Oasis of the Seas' big arrival

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

Devoted army creates Oasis' grandeur

When I visited the Oasis of the Seas the day before she was delivered to Royal Caribbean International at the STX Europe shipyard

in Turku, Finland, the first thing that surprised me -- aside from the jaw-dropping size -- was the bustling crowd of Royal crew members who already were working like a colony of ants on the ship.

CRUISING

Thinking of being aweigh for the holidays?

Normally expensive holidays at sea are on sale this year thanks to the recession.

ON THE HIGH SEAS

Wave of social media precedes world's largest cruise ship

With blogging CEOs and a daily video with the Oasis' captain at the helm, Royal Caribbean is sailing uncharted waters to tout the world's largest cruise ship.

• Oasis of the Seas' big arrival

FROMMER: Fall and winter Mediterranean cruises are great travel bargains

It used to be that cruise lines ended their Mediterranean programs in mid-October and fled to the warmer Caribbean. No longer. A number of lines keep cruising that ancient sea during the chilly (but not bitterly cold) late fall and winter. But in this recession-wracked year, a number of them apparently are finding it difficult to fill their vessels in those cold-weather months.