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<p>KORSOER, Denmark &ndash; The <span class="yshortcuts">world's largest cruise ship</span> has cleared a crucial obstacle on its way to <span class="yshortcuts">Florida</span>, lowering its smokestacks to squeeze under a bridge in <span class="yshortcuts">Denmark</span>.</p>
<p>The Oasis of the Seas &mdash; which rises about 20 stories high &mdash; passed below the <span class="yshortcuts" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; cursor: hand; border-bottom: medium none;">Great Belt Fixed Link</span> with a slim margin as it left the <span class="yshortcuts">Baltic Sea Sunday</span> on its <span class="yshortcuts">maiden voyage</span> to Florida.</p>
<p>Bridge operators said that even after lowering its telescopic smokestacks the giant ship had less than a 2-foot gap.</p>
<p>Hundreds of people gathered on beaches at both ends of the bridge, waiting for hours to watch the brightly lit behemoth sail by shortly after midnight.</p>
<p>"It was fantastic to see it glide under the bridge. Boy, it was big," said Kurt Hal, 56.</p>
<p>Company officials are banking that its novelty will help guarantee its success. Five times larger than the <span class="yshortcuts">Titanic</span>, the $1.5 billion ship has seven neighborhoods, an <span class="yshortcuts">ice rink</span>, a small golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. It has 2,700 cabins and can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew members.</p>
<p>Accommodations include loft cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, and 1,600-square-foot luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.</p>
<p>The liner also has four <span class="yshortcuts">swimming pools</span>, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children.</p>
<p>Oasis of the Sea, nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship, was conceived years before the economic downturn caused desperate cruise lines to slash prices to fill vacant berths.</p>
<p>It was built by STX <span class="yshortcuts">Finland</span> for <span class="yshortcuts" style="cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed;">Royal Caribbean International</span> and left the shipyard in Finland on Friday. Officials hadn't expected any problems in passing the Great Belt bridge, but traffic was stopped for about 15 minutes as a precaution when the ship approached, Danish navy spokesman Joergen Brand said.</p>
<p>Aboard the Oasis of the Seas, project manager Toivo Ilvonen of STX Finland confirmed that the ship had passed under the bridge without any incidents.</p>
<p>"Nothing fell off," he said.</p>
<p>The enormous ship features various "neighborhoods" &mdash; parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including <span class="yshortcuts">palm trees</span> and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in <span class="yshortcuts" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; cursor: hand; border-bottom: #0066cc 1px dashed;">Fort Lauderdale</span>.</p>
<p>In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater &mdash; modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater &mdash; doubles as a <span class="yshortcuts">swimming pool</span> by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 33-foot high-dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests.</p>
<p>One of the "neighborhoods," named <span class="yshortcuts">Central Park</span>, features a square with boutiques, restaurants and bars, including a bar that moves up and down three decks, allowing customers to get on and off at different levels.</p>
<p>Once home, the $1.5 billion floating extravaganza will have more, if less visible, obstacles to duck: a sagging U.S. economy, questions about the consumer appetite for luxury cruises and criticism that such sailing behemoths are damaging to the environment and diminish the experience of traveling.</p>
<p>It is due to make its U.S. debut on Nov. 20 at its home port, Port Everglades in <span class="yshortcuts" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; cursor: hand; border-bottom: medium none;">Florida</span>.</p>
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