World’s largest cruise ship arrives in Fla. port

World’s largest cruise ship arrives in Fla. port

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The world’s largest cruise ship has arrived in South Florida.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s 16-deck Oasis of the Seas docked Friday at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. It set sail from Finland to Florida in late October.

The massive $1.5 billion vessel is nearly 40 percent larger than the industry’s next-biggest ship and five times larger than the Titanic. It has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.

The ship also features various “neighborhoods” — parks, squares and arenas with special themes.

The Oasis of the Seas will embark on its first cruise on Dec. 5.

Exhibit on commercial holiday displays

WASHINGTON — Santa Claus is making an early appearance to open a new exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on the art and business of commercial holiday displays.

The exhibit is a first for the museum. It covers the elaborate department store windows and retail displays dating back to the 1920s, as well as the creation of floats for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

During its heyday in the 1950s, the Woodward and Lothrop department store in D.C. was known to have featured live penguins in a window display.

The exhibit follows the research of curator William Bird who examined the history of holiday displays from the early 20th century in a companion book.

It will be on display through the holiday season and much of next year.

Forbes issues first edition of former Mobil awards

NEW YORK — Forbes has issued its first set of four- and five-star awards for hotels, spas and restaurants as the new brand name for what was formerly known as the Mobil Travel Guide.

The awards were given out under the Mobil brand for more than 50 years.

This year’s honorees include The Broadmoor, located in Colorado Springs, Colo., winning five stars for the 50th consecutive year. Its restaurant, The Penrose Room, and spa, The Spa at The Broadmoor, also earned five-star reviews for the first time this year.

Other five-star properties include Altira Macau in Macau; Montage Beverly Hills in California; the Four Seasons Hualalai at Hawaii; the Tower Suites at Encore in Las Vegas; and The Peninsula in New York City.

The complete list of winners is available at www.forbestravelguide.com.

Sandhill-crane migration draws N. Indiana crowds

MEDARYVILLE, Ind. — Hundreds of people have been flocking to a northern Indiana wildlife refuge where thousands of sandhill cranes are making their annual fall migration stop.

Some visitors to the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area drove for hours so they would have a chance to see the birds that grow up to 5 feet tall, according to the Post-Tribune.

More than 10,000 cranes have already stopped this fall at the refuge about 40 miles southeast of Gary as they fly from Michigan and Wisconsin to winter nesting sites in Georgia and Florida.

Wildlife officials say the crane migration typically peaks in mid-November and lasts until mid-December.

Open for holiday tours

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Governor’s Mansion in Montgomery is going to be open for candlelight tours on three Monday nights in December.

First lady Patsy Riley said the mansion will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 7, 14 and 21.

She said the mansion belongs to the people of Alabama, and she and her husband want to share it with people during the holiday season.

Tickets for the tours are available free of charge at the mansion’s gift shop beginning at 4:30 p.m. on each night of the tours.

Associated Press