Oasis of the Seas Resumes Cruising For The First Time in 18 Months

(10:30 a.m. EDT) -- Following a successful test cruise last month, Royal Caribbean's iconic Oasis of the Seas set sail on its first commercial cruise in 18 months from Bayonne, New Jersey.

The 5,600+ passenger vessel, which completed the six-day test cruise on August 28, received permission to resume passenger sailings from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Friday.

Oasis is operating seven-night itineraries calling in at Nassau, The Bahamas; Port Canaveral and Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, until the end of October.

The ship will be based in Miami for the winter season sailing Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, calling in at Cozumel, Rotan, Honduras, St. Maarten and Puerto Rico.

Oasis of the Seas is the 14th Royal Caribbean ship to resume service since post-pandemic cruising restarted and the 10th to operate from the U.S.

Royal Caribbean aims to have 21 out of its 25 vessels in operation by the end of the year.

Launched in 2009, Oasis is the 4th biggest ship in the world -- after fleet mates Allure of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas.

A fifth Oasis-class vessel, Wonder of the Seas, is currently under construction at the Chantiers de L'Atlantique shipyard in France, and will launch next year.