Allure of the Seas - Mega Ship II - Royal Caribbean's Sister to Oasis of the Seas

When Oasis of the Seas was launched in Turku, Finland last year, its trans-Atlantic crossing and subsequent maiden cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida attracted world-wide attention. Now Royal Caribbean is breaking a new record with an even bigger cruise liner - Allure of the Seas. Experts indicate that a weld in the hull is likely to have accounted for the minimal 5mm (0.19865 inches) size difference between the two ships.

''That's enough for me,'' said the Argentinian captain of Allure, Hernan Zini, during a tour at shipbuilder STX Europe's shipyard in Turku, Finland, earlier this month. ''I'm happy to claim it. It gives us a point of difference.''

Allure of the Seas - statistics

The liner, worth US$1.48 billion, has an impressive catalogue of statistics:

Length - 360 metres (393.701 yards)

Weight - 225,000 metric tonnes

Passenger and crew capacity - 8,565

Number of decks and area - 16 decks totaling 25 hectares (61.7763 acres)

Swimming pools - 21

Restaurants - 24

Unique features - a floating park with 12,000 plants and a 1,300 seat theater.

Size - Allure of the Seas is officially the world's largest cruise ship by a margin of five millimeters (0.19865 inches).

Number of staterooms - 2,700

Activities areas -

2 wave-riding machines 65 metres above sea level in the water park

A carousel

A Coney Island-themed boardwalk

An adults-only deck

Most of the other features have been designed and made identical to those of Oasis of the Seas.

Cruising the Caribbean

Royal Caribbean needs to find 300,000 passengers a year needed to fill Allure's 2700 staterooms. Company executives are optimistic this target will be met. The ship's most expensive accommodation, the Royal Loft Suite, will cost $11,296 a person for a seven-night cruise. It is already fully booked until 2012. An inside room costs from $907 a person for the cruise.

The chief executive and president of Royal Caribbean International, Adam Goldstein, says cruising has been surprisingly successful during the economic downturn in the US. He stated Allure and Oasis will sail weekly between Florida and the Caribbean and attributes near-capacity bookings since Oasis's maiden voyage last December to its all-inclusive pricing.

''It has been a phenomenal performer for our brand,'' Goldstein says of Oasis. ''These two ships really are the complete package in terms of vacation entertainment. There isn't much you can't do on board.''

Unfortunate circumstances for ship builder

When Allure of the Seas is launched, there will be little to celebrate in Turku, Finland. The shipyard has no more work after Allure and with half of its 3300 employees already laid off, the future of the 300-year-old dock is bleak.

Here are the links to my two previous articles about Oasis of the Seas:

Oasis of the Seas Delivered to Royal Caribbean Cruiseline

Oasis of the Seas - Mega Ship Squeezes Under Bridge in Denmark

Sources:

http://www.watoday.com.au/travel/travel-news/biggest-ship-on-earth-20101001-160e1.html?autostart=1

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipCode=AL

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