Allure of the Seas

Allure of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. As of 2018, the Oasis class ships were the largest passenger vessels ever in service, and Allure is 50 millimetres (2.0 in) longer than her sister ship Oasis of the Seas, though both were built to the same specifications.[13] Designed under the name "Project Genesis", she was ordered from Aker Finnyards in February 2006 and her construction began at the Perno shipyard, Turku, Finland, in February 2008.[14] She was named in May 2008 after a contest was held to name her and her sister.[15] The keel of Allure of the Seas was laid on 2 December 2008, shortly after the shipyard had been acquired by STX Europe.[4]

Allure of the Seas
Allure of the Seas in Falmouth, Jamaica
History
Bahamas
NameAllure of the Seas
OwnerRoyal Caribbean Group
Operator Royal Caribbean International
Port of registryNassau,  Bahamas
Ordered31 March 2007[1][2]
BuilderSTX Europe Turku Shipyard, Finland[3]
CostUS$1.2 billion (2006)
Yard number1364[1]
Laid down2 December 2008[4][5]
Launched20 November 2009[1][5]
Christened28 November 2010[6]
Completed28 October 2010[7]
Maiden voyage1 December 2010[8]
In service2010
HomeportGalveston, Texas, US (departure port)
Identification
StatusService resumed October 2021
General characteristics
Class and typeOasis-class cruise ship
Tonnage
DisplacementApproximately 100,000 tons[9]
Length362 m (1,187 ft)[10][11]
Beam
  • 47 m (154 ft) waterline[2]
  • 60.5 m (198 ft) max beam[2]
Height72 m (236 ft) above water line[5]
Draught9.322 m (30.6 ft)[2]
Depth22.5 m (74 ft)[2]
Decks
  • 16 passenger decks[3]
  • 18 total decks[3]
Installed power
  • 3 × 13,860 kW (18,590 hp) Wärtsilä 12V46D
  • 3 × 18,480 kW (24,780 hp) Wärtsilä 16V46D
Propulsion
  • 3 × 20 MW (27,000 hp) ABB Azipod,
  •       all azimuthing
  • 4 × 5.5 MW (7,400 hp) Wärtsilä CT3500
  •       bow thrusters[2]
Speed22.6 knots (41.9 km/h; 26.0 mph)[12]
Capacity
  • 5,484 passengers at double occupancy[3]
  • 6,780 maximum[3]
Crew2,200 as of 2019[3]
Notes50 mm (2.0 in) longer than Oasis[13]

Upon her launch in November 2009, she became the world's largest passenger ship, taking the place of Oasis of the Seas. She was eclipsed by her sister ship Harmony of the Seas upon its launch in June 2015.[16] Harmony of the Seas has an overall length of 362.12 metres (1,188.1 ft).[17]

History

The keel of Allure of the Seas was laid on 2 December 2008 at the STX Europe Turku shipyard, Finland, during a ceremony involving Royal Caribbean and STX representatives.[4] She was launched on 20 November 2009,[1] with further outfitting taking place while afloat in the shipyard. Allure of the Seas was declared complete and formally delivered to Royal Caribbean on 28 October 2010.[7] She left the Turku shipyard on 29 October 2010 at 05:45 UTC, heading directly to her home port of Port Everglades, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.[18] The ship is equipped with telescoping funnels to pass under bridges such as the Storebælt Bridge, which she passed on 30 October 2010. While media has reported that there was only 30 centimetres (12 in) of clearance, the truth is that at the mean water level it was closer to 2–3 metres (6.6–9.8 ft) and the much-advertised squat effect, whereby vessels traveling at speed in a shallow channel will be drawn deeper into the water, did not have significant effect on the draft of the vessel.[13]

On 11 November 2010 at approximately 14:30 UTC, Allure of the Seas arrived at her home port of Port Everglades, Florida. She was greeted by thousands of spectators waiting on the shore.[19][20]

The ship was formally named by her godmother, the fictional character Princess Fiona, in a ceremony on 28 November 2010.[6]

In February 2014, Allure of the Seas entered dry dock at Grand Bahama island for seven days to replace a damaged gearbox in one of her Azipods. As the dry dock facility was not large enough to fully accommodate an Oasis-class ship, a unique solution had to be devised to allow the replacement, known as "Project Atlantis". During her time in dry dock, the crew used the downtime to make numerous repairs and refurbishments to the guest facilities, including the installation of new carpets.[21][22]

Allure of the Seas sailed year-round in the Caribbean region out of Port Everglades from its homeporting in 2010 through 2014. She changed port to Barcelona and sailed the Mediterranean between May and October 2015, becoming the largest cruise ship and the first Oasis-class ship to spend a full season in that region. Afterward, she returned to Port Everglades.[23]

Allure of the Seas changed its home port in November 2018 to the Port of Miami, where Royal Caribbean constructed a new cruise terminal. She was joined by the fourth Oasis-class vessel, Symphony of the Seas, and both sail year-round from the port offering seven-night Western and Eastern Caribbean cruises.[24]

In March 2019, Allure of the Seas was named second for "Best Cruises Overall" in the 2019 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards.[25]

In early May 2019, the itinerary for some of the ship's sailings had to be adjusted due to a technical issue with one of the ship's propulsion pods, causing it to have to sail at a reduced speed.[26]

Allure of the Seas was expected to be refitted in early 2020, which would have included the addition of approximately 50 more passenger cabins, a waterpark, laser tag, an update to the adults-only Solarium, and more.[27] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was delayed by Royal Caribbean to an unknown date.[28]

Starting in November 2022, Allure of the Seas will be based in Galveston, Texas, at the Port of Galveston's new cruise terminal.[29]

Technical details

The classified length of Allure of the Seas is the same as that of her sister, 360 metres (1,181 ft),[2] though she is reported to be 50 millimetres (2 in) longer than Oasis of the Seas.[13] According to the shipyard, this is not intentional and such small differences in length may occur simply due to the temperature of the steel in a ship as big as this.[13] The gross tonnage of Allure of the Seas is 225,282 and her displacement is equal to that of Oasis of the Seas, which is estimated to be around 100,000 metric tons, slightly less than that of an American Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.[9] Her steel hull alone weighs roughly 54,000 tons.[13]

The ship features a two-deck dance hall, a theatre with 1,380 seats, an ice skating rink, 7 distinct "neighborhoods", and 25 dining options,[30] including a Starbucks coffee shop at sea.[31] Many of the ship's interiors were extensively decorated by muralist Clarissa Parish.[32]

Before beginning service from Port Everglades, Allure of the Seas was fitted with an 80 kW solar array by BAM Energy Group which powers the shopping district. The system cost US$600,000 and covers an area of 2,000 m2 (21,530 sq ft). It uses Uni-Solar BIPV laminates designed to withstand foot traffic and marine conditions.[33][34]

  • Allure of the Seas leaving STX shipyard, Turku, Finland, with her two funnels retracted.
    Allure of the Seas leaving STX shipyard, Turku, Finland, with her two funnels retracted.
  • Allure of the Seas passing under the Great Belt Bridge with her funnels lowered.
    Allure of the Seas passing under the Great Belt Bridge with her funnels lowered.
  • Allure of the Seas leaving Port Everglades
    Allure of the Seas leaving Port Everglades
  • Royal Promenade
    Royal Promenade
  • Central Park
    Central Park
  • Central Park Top View
    Central Park Top View
  • Central dining room
    Central dining room
  • Aerial view of the stern of the Allure of the Seas docked at Port Everglades, Florida
    Aerial view of the stern of the Allure of the Seas docked at Port Everglades, Florida
  • Promenade on the Allure of the Seas
    Promenade on the Allure of the Seas

References
  1. Asklander, Micke. "M/S Allure of the Seas (2010)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 December 2008.
  2. "Allure of the Seas (28329)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  3. "Allure of the Seas: Fast Facts". Royal Caribbean Press Center. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  4. "STX Europe laid keel of Allure of the Seas". Cruise Business Review. 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  5. "Allure of the Seas Delivered". MarineLink.com. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  6. Sloan, Gene (29 November 2010). "Princess Fiona names world's largest cruise ship, Allure of the Seas". USA Today. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  7. Tong, Xiong (29 October 2010). "The world's largest cruise ship Allure of the Seas put into service". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 1 November 2010.
  8. Heslin, Rebecca (30 March 2010). "Royal Caribbean pushes up Allure's debut again". USA Today. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  9. "If Royal Caribbean builds it, 6,400 could come". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. 7 February 2006.
  10. Schlesinger, Toni (11 February 2011). "On the World's Largest Cruise Ship, the Sea Is an Afterthought". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  11. Smith, Oliver (26 February 2016). "New cruise ship will be world's largest". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  12. "Allure of the Seas". Royal Caribbean. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010.
  13. Sjöström, Pär-Henrik (10 December 2010). "Larger than her sister". Shipgaz (6): 22.
  14. "Production of the second Oasis class cruise vessel started". STX Europe. 4 February 2008. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
  15. Sloan, Gene (23 May 2008). "Royal Caribbean's next ships will be Oasis, Allure". USA Today. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  16. "Harmony of the Seas, world's largest cruise ship takes to the water in France". The Economic Times. Agence France-Presse. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  17. "Harmony of the Seas (33249)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV.
  18. "Allure of the Seas". MarineTraffic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  19. "World's Largest Cruise Ship Allure of the Seas Arrives in Florida". AOL News. 11 November 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  20. Butler, Phil; Zini, Hernan (12 November 2010). "Allure of the Seas, the Biggest Cruise Ship in the World, Sailing Your Way". Argophilia Travel News. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  21. Faust, Mike (27 February 2014). "Allure of the Seas Enters Drydock In Freeport, Propulsion Repairs Begin". Cruise Currents. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  22. Weir, Nick (2014). Project: Atlantis. YouTube.com. Royal Caribbean Television.
  23. Sloan, Gene (7 February 2014). "World's largest cruise ship heading to Europe". USA Today. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  24. "Royal Caribbean announces new cruise ship Symphony of the Seas and opens bookings". Royal Caribbean Blog. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  25. "Best Cruise Ships Overall: 2019 Cruisers' Choice Awards". Cruise Critic. 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  26. Kramer, Gina (2 May 2019). "Allure of the Seas Cruises Modified Due to Propulsion Issues". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  27. "Allure of the Seas To Be Amplified Before 2020 Med Season". Cruise Industry News. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  28. "Royal Caribbean Postpones Royal Amplification Refits for Two Cruise Ships". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  29. "3RD CRUISE TERMINAL A GAMECHANGER FOR GALVESTON ECONOMY". portofgalveston.com. Port of Galveston. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  30. Driscoll, Ron (31 January 2010). "Super-sized Oasis of the Seas". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  31. Skipper, Joe; Fletcher, Pascal; Brown, Tom (11 November 2010). Boadle, Anthony (ed.). "First Starbucks at sea steams into Florida port". Reuters.com. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  32. "Cruise ships". ClarissaParish.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  33. Hughes, Emma (7 January 2011). "United Solar completes second BIPV installation on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship". Design-Build Solar. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011.
  34. "Uni-Solar Brand Photovoltaics Set Sail on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas" (Press release). Energy Conversion Devices. GlobeNewswire. 6 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
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