So here I am, writing this from off the coast of Florida as part of the first two-day preview cruise of the magnificent Oasis of the Seas. Royal Caribbean has launched the largest cruise ship in the world, a towering dagwood of action-packed decks and over-the top superlatives: longest cruise ship, widest cruise ship, tallest cruise ship, heaviest cruise ship.

And as of today, the coolest cruise ship. Rihanna was on here yesterday, and I'm told Richard Branson has come and gone, too. By now, most of America has seen the particulars of this gargantuan, billion-dollar chunk of devil-be-damned engineering. Here on board, one of the stateroom TV channels plays, on a loop, the segments of yesterday's Good Morning America in which Sam Champion and his crew romped around the Aqua Theatre, the Solarium, the cocktail bar that rises and falls between three decks, the huge Central Park and Boardwalk atriums (atria?) that carve an airy middle into the ship.

The ship is, simply put, astounding. I have never seen anything like it in my years of cruising. It took me about six hours to explore fully from Deck 3 (the Studio B ice rink) to Deck 17 (the stunning, and ridiculously expensive, duplex loft suites with two-story sea views). There's nearly no way to take in the enormity of the endeavor. If you could pack a small shopping mall together with a 2,400-room resort and send it off to sea, you might start coming close (one cynic described it as "a hotel on a barge," which omits the considerable frills and dazzle), but you'd still have trouble wrapping your head around it all.

It is so big as to be humbling, and sometimes, that makes it a little frightening. As we left Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, a police boat rushed a smaller craft that was approaching us and warned its captain to back off, as it was entering "restricted waters." Something this big and this audacious would be an obvious target, and local police are clearly taking no chances.

Royal Caribbean, ever adept at cleverly harnessing social media (remember that unfortunate recent case in which it was nabbed giving freebies to people likely to populate user-review boards with praise?), has invited large numbers of journalists, travel agents, and VIPs to take part on two, back-to-back, two-night cruises. Attending for WalletPop, I'm on the first one. For this run only, alcohol is free.

There were some early reports this week that the line would be, in effect, bribing the press for good stories by plying them with booze and by giving them stuff that will actually cost passengers on "real" sailings. Although alcohol is free, I can't say I've seen this accusation to be the case, and the crowd is a lot less drunk than it was for a paid sailing on the Carnival Dream a week ago. Not everything is handed out: I've had to pay for things such as a $2.50 coffee on the Royal Promenade or $2.50 for a hyper-sweet cupcake from its on-board cupcake shop. Whenever anything is offered to us, I ask what the price will be for paying customers.

Again and again, the answer I get tells me that many of the things we're getting are included in the fare anyway. That includes midnight pizza at Sorrento's, afternoon burgers at Johnny Rocket's, and twilight doughnuts on the Boardwalk (where there's a working carousel). So although Royal Caribbean is leading the charge among cruise lines in charging obnoxious fees such as surcharges for late-night room service and hefty upcharges for the privilege of eating better food than its main dining regularly serves, I can't say it's using the launch of the Oasis to foist a lot of new ones on us.

There are some issues, of course. The first is lines. Royal Caribbean was wise enough to only pack this ship about half-full, which means we're all likely to get into the shows we want to see and we won't write reviews complaining about crowds. When it's full of paying guests, though, you'll have to make many of your reservations online or in a queue, adding another layer of hassle to what's supposed to be your break from it all. I also suspect the main pool area, on Deck 15, will not be able accommodate everyone who wants to swim. On balance, though, this is a pretty dazzling achievement, and diversion is around every corner.

When I see a ship as marvelous as this one, I have to separate my sense of travel snobbery from my admiration for what Royal Caribbean has done here. I can't deny that passengers who immerse themselves in this floating circus might as well not be at sea at all. It's less a ship than a floating resort, and most of the passengers seem to be hanging out below decks than enjoying the sun and the sea.

Today, while I was having lunch in the Windjammer Marketplace buffet on Deck 16, I looked down at the smooth blue water to see dolphins playing alongside the ship. While I was admiring that sight, the couple behind me was engaged in a lively debate about the quality of this buffet compared to those on other ships. They were oblivious to their surroundings. It's typical of the attitude on board the Oasis, which is so loathe to share any glory with the oceans than most of its vantage points over the seas are sheathed in glass.

That's all right. Whether you're a theatre reviewer or a travel writer, you have to remember the audience for whom you're reviewing the product. This audience is agog. I myself can't help but be impressed. For the next year or so, until its sister ship the Allure of the Seas matches her feats, this will be the ship to book, and rates are likely to be at around $150 a night or more (I wrote about upcoming deals to be had that were even better). I can't say that if I paid that price, high for the industry right now, that I would ever find that I was feeling ripped off. Now that I've seen this ship, though, I might consider any other vessel that dared to charge me so much would be a rip.

And more importantly, remember that traveling is not always the same thing as vacationing. Not everyone wants to engage with other cultures; for many people, the floating fishtank of a cruise ship is all the exploration they need. The Oasis is a fabulous vacation machine, but it's about the universe it has created for itself, not about its place in the outside world. In that, it's a home run.

Across the nation, Citibank credit card holders are receiving what pretty much amounts to a ransom note: We're going to raise your rates, says the letter, in so many words, but if you spend more money, we won't.

In more specific terms, customers are being asked to spend a minimum of $750 on their cards, and if they do, they can get a rebate for 50% to 100% of their interest rate for that given month.

I can't blame anyone for wanting to implode on the spot. After all, credit cards as a group used to encourage everyone to spend, until the recession came around, when the message seemed to be -- please don't spend, and if you spend, don't spend much. But now the credit cards are encouraging spending.

And if you don't, they'll raise your rates.

Madness.

But there's a reason behind it. Ben Woolsey, director of consumer research for CreditCards.com, told the Huffington Post that Citigroup, which is Citibank's parent company, by convincing people to spend more, will cause there to be more interchange fees -- those are the fees merchants have to pay every time a customer uses a credit or debit card. And so Citigroup will make more money through interchange fees, or through the higher interest rates.

Around my house, we don't make the decision to pile into the car and head over to our local Cineplex as easily as we once did. It costs a lot of money these days to see talking animals, wild things and giant meatballs falling from the sky -- and don't get me started on the popcorn.

Going to see the latest kid's film use to be a no-brainer and if the adults slept through it, well, it didn't really matter, but no more. When a family of four has to pay a total of $40.50 to see a "regular" movie, or $56.50 to see that movie in digital 3D, or splurges to see that same movie in digital 3D playing on the "giant" IMAX screen for a whopping $60.50, it suddenly becomes very important that everyone is at least mildly amused or entertained.

To buy tickets to all of the new movies coming out would cost literally hundreds of dollars, and if you throw in drinks and snacks -- there goes college. How to find one that's family-friendly and worth the expense?

Movie reviews for kids are not new, but they are getting increasingly relevant as families demand more of a sure-bet for their entertainment budget. It's impossible to promise that everyone will like a movie, but if you know who to listen to there will be more hits than misses.

Most of the websites are free, such as Kids-in-Mind., Commonsensemedia, Parentpreviews, and Moviemom.

Along with sandwiches and soda, you may one day be able to buy tickets to Lion King and Animal Kingdom while cruising 35,000 feet above ground. A New York Times story reported that the airline industry is tinkering with the idea of expanding retail offerings to boost revenue.

Leading the brigade is American Airlines, which sells Heathrow Express train tickets on its flights to London and allows passengers in-flight Internet access and a chance at splurging on products from the SkyMall -- the glossy brochure that sells everything from cabin bags to fancy pens and perfumes.

Many airlines around the world already sell a limited collection of products on board from SkyMall. The only glitch has been in the technology that would allow a purchase in real time. In the past, passengers had to wait until they reached their destination to place an order, but Canadian company GuestLogix solved that problem by coming up with a technology that allows on air sales with the help of a credit card reader and sales software.

Personally, I do like having that option of buying an extreme last minute gift for a forgotten relative while en route to that big family gathering in India. Apart from saving face, it also would help me kill some time on that 15-hour flight. But, would passengers who like catching up on precious sleep cringe at the option? Trying to fall asleep with flight attendants sashaying the aisles carrying products and swiping credit cards definitely won't be easy.

There have been a lot of reports about which group of people have been hit hardest by the recession. Men have definitely been hit disproportionately hard by job losses. In fact, men held 71.9% of the jobs lost since the recession began, hurt by mass layoffs in construction and manufacturing, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I've even written about how more households are relying on female breadwinners after husbands were laid off.

But single women -- many of whom are mothers or caregivers -- who get laid off don't have a second income to rely on while they hunt for a new job.

In a fairly idiotic bit of tabloid-style hysteria, CNNMoney asks the question "Are you committing career suicide?" by taking a low-paying job because you can't find anything better.

According to staff writer Jessica Dickler, many laid-off workers are taking steep paycuts to make ends meet, often working at entry-level or menial jobs to put food on the table: "But a smaller paycheck could push you back a rung in the in salary ladder, and make it that much harder to get back to where you were."

What a difference a year makes. Or 34 years. Take your pick. Either way, it's a loss for Detroit and the surrounding area.

The Pontiac Silverdome was sold this week at auction for $583,000, or about 1% of the $55.7 million it took to build it in 1975, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

The sale was halted Wednesday when a judge ordered an injunction to stop it after a complaint was filed by developer H. Wallace Parker, who claims he had an agreement with the city to buy it, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

Who doesn't have an unmarried friend who lost the house, or at least their investment in the condo, when the relationship went sour?

The key question when buying property together, according to a new book -- "Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples" -- seems pretty simple: Does your legal relationship match your private agreement?

But who wants to have that conversation when you are newly in love, or at least new to nesting?

No one, the book's author admitted to WalletPop.

Time for Friday Freebies - my top five free things I've come across this week!

Snag a free issue of Get Married magazine, a new monthly for savvy brides. Expect tips on wedding trends, planning tools, and giveaways.

Get 50 free photos when you join CVS Photo, which is separate from its normal retail site. Signing up requires you to share your name, email and create a password for the site.

Black Friday freebie! Pick up a free reusable tote bag at Target starting a 4 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. Each store will only have 500 bags so they will run out quickly. You can also get a $10 gift card if you spend $100 or more on Black Friday, the mega shopping day that follows Thanksgiving and marks the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

Download a free 24-page road trip activity booklet from RadRoadTrips.com to keep the kids entertained while you drive to Thanksgiving. Especially useful if your minivan does not have a DVD player the kids can zone out in front of.

Lastly, head over to Nordstrom and get a free sample of Lancome's Absolue Precious Cells SPF 15, courtesy of Vogue. Yes, please!

In this "Your Job Will Come" podcast, WalletPop's Aaron Crowe talks with Francis Larkin, a senior product manager at SimplyHIred.com, a job board Web site that helps people search for jobs, about how to spot fake job postings.

I wrote about the site in October, and was impressed by its various filters to help narrow job searches.

Among the tips that Larkin suggests for spotting fake postings on job boards are to not apply for jobs that require you to move money from one bank account to another, which is essentially money laundering, and looking for misspellings in a job post.