Another giant hits the waves

1,364th ship has been delivered to its owners by STX Europe, from its birthplace in Turku, Finland. 1,364 is better known to the rest of the world as the Allure of the Seas. The new cruise ship for Royal Caribbean International is now in her first full day of transit across the Atlantic to her home port of Port Everglade, in Fort Lauderdale.

Allure of the Seas is the sister ship of the Oasis of the Seas, launched last year. Allure will share the title of world's largest passenger ships, by far, with a gross tonnage of 225,000 tons. Significant cruise ship design features makes these ships a powerful draw draw for the cruising public. I think its fair to saw that RCI's vision has once again delivered a superior product and will rightly draw considerable attention for its passenger amenities.

Allure of the Seas, like the majority of her fleet mates, fly the Bahamian flag and is classed by Det Norsk Veritas (DNV). It is the 30th ship for the top tier management company, Royal Caribbean Cruises, although the Royal Caribbean International brand has 22 ships under its banner, including the Allure of the Seas.

The new ULPax (Ultra Large Passenger Ship) is due to arrive on November 11th in Port Everglades, and her official naming will occur on November 20th, before she begins her regular western Caribbean cruise schedule on December 5th, 2010.

Allure of the Seas

Owner : Royal Caribbean International
Ordered : 2007
Construction start : December 2008
Delivered : October 28, 2010
Built: STX Europe, Turku, Finland
Cost : 1.2 billion USD
Flag: Bahamas
Class : DNV
GRT : 225,282
GT : 122,000
Lenght : 360 meters
Breath : 64 meters
Air Draft 65 meters
Draft : 9.1 meters
Cruising Speed : 22.6 knots
Main Machinery : Diesel Electric power plant
Main Engines : Wartsila, 12V46 x 3, 16V46 x 3, common rail Diesels
Total power : 97 mega watts (130,000 hp)
Propulsion : Asea Brown Boveri, 20MW azimuthing pods x 3 (propellers are 6.1 meter in diameter)
Bow thruster : 5.5 MW x 4
Maiden Voyage: December 5, 2010
Accommodations :
- 16 passenger decks
- 24 passenger elevators
- 5,400 guests (double occupancy)
- 6,296 guests total
- 2,394 crew (From over 71 countries)
Interesting tidbits
- Deck area of 25 ha, or 250,000 m2
- 90 000 m2 of fitted carpeting
- 250 km of pipes with a diameter exceeding 25 mm
- 2,400km of welded seams
- 16,000 sprinkler nozzles and 100 km of pipes
- 5,310 km of electric cabling
- 600,000 l of paint
- 7,000 works of art
- 4,100 m3 of drinking water produced in 24 hrs
- 50 tons of ice cubes produced daily
- 21 pools and Jacuzzis with 2,300 m3 of water

For more specs, check out this page. Official website; follow her trans Atlantic progress by video.

STX Europe mentions this in their press release...

"The Allure of the Seas and the Oasis of the Seas can be termed the most powerful and sophisticated ships in the world for a reason. They also are the culmination of more than 40 years of product development cooperation between the cruise line, the shipyard and the maritime cluster. The Oasis class vessels are 361 metres in length, and their cross tonnage is 225,000. The Allure of the Seas can accommodate 6,360 passengers at maximum. In comparison, the Song of Norway delivered to the same customer in 1970 was 168 metres long with a gross tonnage of 18,400; in other words, the Allure of the Seas is some 12 times as large.

The building contract was signed on 2 April 2007, and production was launched on 4 February 2008. The keel laying of the Allure of the Seas started on 2 December 2008, and the vessel was launched for the first time on 20 November 2009. "

You can read STX Europe's Press Release for more interesting facts and figures.

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