The entire city of Chelsea could shut down, pack its bags and take a relaxing Caribbean cruise—all together on the same ship—with room left over to invite friends and family along for the voyage. With an impressive capacity of 5,400 passengers, Royal Caribbean’s much anticipated Oasis of the Seas cruise ship is a spectacular floating city at sea complete with seven themed neighborhoods—an emerging design concept that helps streamline passenger flow on large cruise ships.

One of my seasoned vacation specialists Betty Harmon, just returned from an industry orientation cruise aboard the Oasis and was simply awestruck by the architecture, technology and attention to detail. She gushed about the beautiful open-air Central Park with café seating, live foliage and even real crickets chirping at night under the stars. The festive Boardwalk has the first carousel at sea. The lively Royal Promenade features twice the usual variety of shops, restaurants and entertainment found on most ships. As for food, the most disappointing part was that she was not aboard long enough to try all 24 delectable dining venues.

As a grandmother, she found the wristband technology most intriguing. With built-in microchips in the wristbands, parents—or grandparents, aunts and uncles for that matter—can locate their charges any time, any where aboard ship. And with a 28,800-square-foot Youth Zone, there are plenty of places to go and things to do for kids of all ages, with or without the rest of the family. And for the whole family, there’s everything from golf to swimming to rock walls to a zip line across the ship’s towers, plus so much more. Royal Caribbean even secured an exclusive three-year contract for an abridged version of the Broadway hit musical Hairspray.

During their cruise, Betty and her husband stayed in an ocean view stateroom with a balcony that, at 182 square feet, provided ample space. In addition to ocean views, there are also balcony staterooms that overlook the Boardwalk and Central Park areas. In fact, while there are of course some inside staterooms, a majority of rooms have views of some sort, if not an actual balcony.

Despite its massive size and capacity, the ship did not feel crowded. And with touch-screen information kiosks throughout, passengers were hard pressed to lose their way. Even the mandatory emergency drill was a smooth and easy process thanks to the rethinking and reimagining that went into this revolutionary design.

Cruises aboard Oasis start in December 2009 with 7-day Eastern or Western Caribbean itineraries departing from its own new terminal in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

For travelers who think they’ve seen it all, the Oasis of the Seas offers a new experience you simply have to see to believe. And Betty would love to tell you all about.

Chris Conlin is the owner of Conlin Travel in Ann Arbor, Michigan. www.conlintravel.com