By Lisa Bauer
We had a very successful trip to Turku last week for our international press trip. I also had a secondary motive for the trip, which was to spend time with our start up Hotel Director Raimund Gschaider and Captain Hernan Zini to gauge their feelings on how everything is going. I will definitely sleep better now knowing they are both very confident that we are in good shape for delivery. We have a number of our teams permanently in Turku now getting prepared for delivery and completing inspections. The inspections are going well, and I actually ran into our Senior Chef Helga and Chef Seidy as they were doing a walk thru with the US Public Heath team. Helga also inspected all of the galley equipment this week. Full stateroom inspections were being completed during our visit, as was the certification of the main theatre. We are now ready to begin adding the sets for Chicago: The Musical and Blue Planet.
We were very fortunate to have Romero Britto and Caroline Cardenas, a member of Romero’s team, join us on the trip. Romero unveiled the special painting he created exclusively for us on the trip. (See photo below) He named the painting “Celebration.” All of our guests also got a big surprise when Romero gave them a book featuring his artwork and he individually signed the books for everyone. I believe the Britto gallery is going to be a very popular spot onboard Allure of the Seas. Romero is so engaging and I am also thrilled he is joining us for the Maiden voyage on December 5th.
We made a “big” reveal that we were adding the Samba Grill as a specialty restaurant, which received a very positive reaction. It is interesting that the restaurant is now available for pre booking online and has quickly become the third most popular venue after just announcing it! This Brazilian style steakhouse will feature a center buffet that will include a large salad bar, ceviche, shrimp as well as featured cheeses and bread. The meat will of course be carved tableside and include different cuts of sirloin and Filet Mignon, Picanha, roasted spring lamb leg, grilled baby back ribs, robust sausages, pork loin, shrimp and salmon. (I am full just thinking about all of this food). In addition to the full restaurant option for $25.00 cover, we’ll also offer a vegetarian option for $15.00.
All in all it was a great trip and I’m already looking forward to going on October 26th for the delivery and then doing the crossing. Captain Zini has assured me we will have smooth sailing – I’ve heard that before.
Thanks for the updates Adam. Absolutely love the Britto C&A painting. I am hoping the copies of it which I believe will be on sale on Allure are not too big so it can fit in my suitcase.
Will you be onboard for the first couple of sailings?
I am sure there may be some Critters who would be interested in a Table Tennis Challenge.
We’re glad you love the painting as much as we do Elizabeth!
Adam
Great to hear that The Allure is so ahead of schedule and nearly ready for our sailings.
Congrats to your team on the fabulous job they are doing, we are also in final preperations to receive the WOW that is The Allure. We think the Samba Grill will be a great addition, Good luck with all the sea trials and inspections, December cannot come soon enough for us, see you on board.
I was just wondering. Will Capt Bill
have the honors of bringing Alure to Florida??…And will there be video’s of Alures progress crossing the North Atlantic as Oasis did??……
Thanks,
Owen
A Platnium Crown and Anchor Member
Hi Owen, thank you for reaching out to us. The Master on the Allure is actually going to be Captain Hernan Zini. To be informed about Allure of the Seas, please visit allureoftheseas.com as we will have daily updates from the crossing.
Bob and I are so thrilled to be sailing on the December 5 voyage as well as the November 29-December 1 Pre-Inaugural. We have all of our specialty restaurant restaurants booked and paid for and all of our entertainment booked as well. What a fabulous week it will be!
We are especially excited that Romero Britto will be onboard and know we will be spending many wonderful hours at his gallery.
Thank you for making the Allure of the Seas so exciting for all of us who are loyal to and love Royal Caribbean!
You have some persistent mistakes in the website of Royal Caribbean, You can see in Ship Facts about the size of the width of the Allure of the Seas, which the max beam say 184.40 ft and it should be about 216.5 ft .
Last year I did the cruise preinaugural the Oasis of the Seas and I realize it.
I wrote several emails to alert you and I got response from your Customer Services Representative on February 22, 2010, and they said that will be solved.
After more than 7 months the error still persists in your website in both Oasis and Allure.
But it is also the wrong width for all ship class of Freedom that your website says the max beam is 126.64 ft and should be about 183.7 ft should be.
Next to enter the Allure, once again I suggest you correct it.
Cordialment
Joaquim, we are sorry for the inconveniences. We have taken your comment and forwarded it to the appropriate department. Thank you for your proactive efforts to help us maintain the accuracy of our reporting within our website.
Will there be a new brazilain restaurant added on Oasis? I hear the Solarium restaurant is not as well as expected.
Good Afternoon,
It’s really getting exciting again now! We can hardly wait another “WOW” fix, once we board the Allure inaugural sailing on the 5th. We are still on a high from our “WOW” fix from the Oasis inaugural.
We have completed all our ressies for dinner, shows and MTD. However this is will be a first having dinner at the Samba Grill, what a great idea to add a Brazilian fare offering. There is always something new to look forward to on an RCI sailing.
Hope all goes well with her sea trials and wishing a smooth sail over to her new home in Florida.
Thank RCI!
Donna, we’re happy to hear you are as excited as we are for the inauguration of Allure of the Seas as well as trying the Samba Grill. It is always great to hear that our efforts to best accommodate our guests are noticed as we plan to ensure that our guests experience the “WOW” throughout our entire fleet. Thanks again for your comment and we can’t wait to see you onboard with us on the 5th.