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. She was launched on 20 November 2009, 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.[1] 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. 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 cm of clearance, the truth is that at the mean water level it was closer to 2 - 3 m 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.
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.[8][9]
The ship was formally named by her godmother, the fictional character Princess Fiona, in a ceremony on 28 November 2010.
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.[10][11]
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.[12]
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.[13]
In March 2019, Allure of the Seas was named second for "Best Cruises Overall" in the 2019 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards.[14]
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, which forced it to have to sail at a reduced speed.[15]
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.[16] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was delayed by Royal Caribbean.[17] Renovations for Allure of the Seas began in February 2025 at the Navantia shipyard in Cádiz, Spain, and were completed in April 2025 at a cost of over $100 million. The project included the installation of the Ultimate Abyss dry slide, the Perfect Storm waterslides, a redesigned pool deck, and updates to the adults-only Solarium. Additional changes included the addition of Splashaway Bay, new dining venues such as El Loco Fresh, The Lime & Coconut bar, and the Pesky Parrot tiki bar, as well as Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade and The Mason Jar Southern Restaurant & Bar. The ship also introduced a new Royal Escape Room, a Laser Tag experience, redesigned Adventure Ocean youth spaces, and an updated teen area known as Social298.[18]
Starting in November 2022, Allure of the Seas was based in Galveston, Texas, at the Port of Galveston's new cruise terminal.[19] As of May 2025, Allure of the Seas is based in Barcelona, Spain, sailing 7-night Western Mediterranean cruises.[20]
