Allure of the Seas Entertainment Preparations

Amber Theater (Photo courtesy STX Europe)

Allure of the Seas

Entertainment Preparations

It's Day 7 onboard Allure of the Seas which is crossing the North Atlantic on its journey to home port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.    Today the weather has taken a turn for the worst as the ship gets closer to Hurricane Tomas.  Captain Zini and officers constantly monitor weather conditions to keep the ship, crew, and passengers safe at all times.

Weather plays an interesting role in onboard activities.  The ship's speed and movement impacts the various entertainers who could be either preparing for or performing a show.   In this video, Captain Zini talks about how the the staff work together to assure the safety of the performers and we get an inside look at preparations for Allure's shows.

Video: Setting Up for Showtime: Technical Preparations for Allure's Entertainment

Allure of the Seas will feature world-class entertainment on stage, ice and water but what goes into making sure these shows go live without a hitch? Watch as the crew gets everything from lights to sprinklers ready for showtime.

Allure of the Seas Entertainment

Dreamworks Characters on Allure of the Seas
Courtesy Royal Caribbean Cruise Line & Dreamworks

Captain's Log Day 4 talks about some of the differences between the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas.   One of the main differences is the entertainment onboard.   Dreamworks has entered into a partnership with Royal Caribbean International.

The DreamWorks Experience 

As of December 1, 2010, Allure of the Seas^SM is the first to welcome the DreamWorks Experience onboard their already stunning collection of experiences for the whole family. Allure of the Seas will be the exclusive ship in the fleet with the How to Train Your Dragon^TM Ice Show and Madagascar^TM Aqua Show. 

Video: The DreamWorks Experience: Innovative Entertainment Debuts on Allure

The colorful and imaginative world of DreamWorks will come to life every day on Allure of the Seas. Guests will experience 3-D movies, meet Shrek, Po and Alex, and enjoy events for all ages while cruising with Royal Caribbean.

Allure of the Seas Atlantic Crossing Day 3

Captain Zini on Bridge of Allure of the Seas

It's day 3 of the Allure of the Seas crossing from Finland to Florida and Captain Zini and the crew pause to talk about their favorite things aboard the ship.   It has been smooth sailing thus far but the captain needs to speed up a bit to avoid an approaching storm.   Tomorrow the Allure will be entering the English Channel early in the morning.

Video: Worldwide Wow:First Reactions from Allure's International Crew



The largest and most revolutionary ship in the world is sure to get a WOW from all who see her and the crew of Allure of the Seas is no exception. Get their take on this impressive addition to Royal Caribbean's fleet as she makes her way across the Atlantic.

Allure of the Seas Atlantic Crossing Day 2

Allure of the Seas passes Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge

One of the first challenges for both Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas was passing under Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge.   In order to accomplish this, the smoke stacks have to be lowered, the speed adjusted to create the proper draft, and ballast adjusted to obtain the proper clearance.

Video: A Mission Accomplished: Allure Clears Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge



Allure of the Seas is one step closer to her arrival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida as she passes Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge with very little clearance to spare. Learn about the physics behind what helps the cruise ship make it under the landmark with such a tight fit.

Hurricane Tomas Threatens the Caribbean

5-Day Forecast Cone for Hurricane Tomas (Credit: NOAA NHC)

Click for Current 5-Day Graphic

Tomas is 12th Hurricane in Atlantic
Heavy Rains are Possible Today

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

UPDATE:

800 AM EDT THU NOV 04 2010
...HURRICANE HUNTER DATA SHOWS TOMAS CHANGING LITTLE IN STRENGTH...

Watches and warnings are now discontinued for Hurricane Shary as she bypasses Bermuda, but a new tropical storm has become the 12th hurricane of the busy Atlantic season. Tropical storm warnings were posted for Barbados, Dominica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Grenada while Hurricane Warnings were posted for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Martinique on Saturday.

Carnival Miracle altered it's ports of call due to the storm.  We will continue to monitor the developing situation.  Currently Tomas is a Category TWO hurricane.

NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane TOMAS

Updates from the Islands

Latest local updates from the special hurricane correspondents on the islands (with pictures):

  Barbados  --  Dominica  -- Grenada -- Trinidad & Tobago

Martinique -- St.Lucia  -- St.Vincent & Grenadines -- 

Current Watches & Warnings

 A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* HAITI
* THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS...AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* JAMAICA

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* THE SOUTHERN COAST OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FROM THE HAITI
BORDER EASTWARD TO BARAHONA
* THE CUBAN PROVINCES OF GUANTANAMO...SANTIAGO DE CUBA...AND HOLGUIN

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 48 HOURS.

A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED
SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN 24 TO 36
HOURS.  PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED
TO COMPLETION.

A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE
WITHIN THE WATCH AREA.  A WATCH IS TYPICALLY ISSUED 48 HOURS
BEFORE THE ANTICIPATED FIRST OCCURRENCE OF TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE
WINDS...CONDITIONS THAT MAKE OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT OR
DANGEROUS.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA IN THE UNITED
STATES...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE
MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FORECAST OFFICE. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA OUTSIDE
THE UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.

Discussion & Outlook
 

SUMMARY OF 800 AM EDT...1200 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...15.9N 76.0W
ABOUT 305 MI...490 KM SW OF PORT AU PRINCE HAITI
ABOUT 150 MI...240 KM SSE OF KINGSTON JAMAICA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...50 MPH...85 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNW OR 330 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...10 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...998 MB...29.47 INCHES

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 50 MPH...85 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.  SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES...185 KM
FROM THE CENTER.

AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER PLANE JUST REPORTED A MINIMUM
CENTRAL PRESSURE OF 998 MB...29.47 INCHES.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

STORM SURGE...A DANGEROUS STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY
AS MUCH AS 1 TO 3 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS IN THE WARNING AREA
IN AREAS OF ONSHORE WINDS.  NEAR THE COAST...THE SURGE WILL BE
ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE WAVES.

WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO FIRST REACH THE
COAST WITHIN THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING AREA LATER TODAY..
MAKING OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT OR DANGEROUS.  HURRICANE
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA
BY LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY FRIDAY.

RAINFALL...TOMAS IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS
OF 5 TO 10 INCHES OVER MUCH OF HAITI AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC...
WITH POSSIBLE ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES.  TOTAL RAINFALL
ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER JAMAICA.  THESE
RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES OVER
MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.  RAINFALL TOTALS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE
OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. 

 Cruise Line Advisories

Update:  November 5th

Princess Cruises' Caribbean Princess, which was scheduled to visit St. Lucia on Thursday, will no longer be able to call there.

Grand Princess' scheduled calls to the Dominican Republic on Friday, November 5 and to Grand Turk on Saturday, November 6 have both been cancelled. A visit to San Juan on Friday has been added to the ships itinerary.

Ruby Princess will no longer call in Grand Turk on Friday, November 5. Th ship will take a longer southerly route in order to avoid Tomas, but is expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on time.

Silversea Cruises' Silver Spirit, which was scheduled to visit St. Lucia on Friday, will call in Roseau, Dominica.

Carnival Miracle, which was scheduled to dock in St. Lucia on Saturday and St. Kitts on Sunday, instead spent the weekend at sea. To compensate, it stopped in Grand Turk on Monday and Nassau on Tuesday.

Carnival Victory, which was scheduled to stop in St. Lucia on Thursday, November 4, will now spend the day at sea.

Carnival Freedom's scheduled call to Ocho Rios on Thursday, November 4, is being replaced with a visit to Cozumel.

Freedom of the Seas replaced yesterday's sea day with a visit to CocoCay, and instead of calling in Labadee today the ship will remain at sea.

Serenade of the Seas departed from San Juan for a Southern Caribbean cruise on Sunday, and rather than calling on Curacao, Aruba and Dominica, the ship will now visit Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

P&O's Ventura will skip its scheduled call in St. Lucia tomorrow, and will instead call in Dominica.

Celebrity Millenium will no longer call on St. Lucia on Friday, November 5, but will instead visit Martinique.


Update:  November 2nd

Freedom of the Seas replaced yesterday's sea day with a visit to CocoCay, and instead of calling in Labadee today the ship will remain at sea.

Serenade of the Seas departed from San Juan for a Southern Caribbean cruise on Sunday, and rather than calling on Curacao, Aruba and Dominica, the ship will now visit Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

P&O's Ventura will skip its scheduled call in St. Lucia tomorrow, and will instead call in Dominica.

Carnival Cruise Line :    

MSC CRUISES: 

Norwegian Cruise Line:

Royal Caribbean International:  

Celebrity Cruises: 

Tropical Storm Resources (click links below)
HURRICANE TOMAS	National Hurricane Center
Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook	National Weather Service
Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion	Hurricane Preparedness
Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook (ATL)	Real-Time Hurricane Information
Active Storms	NOAA Satellites & Information
NASA: Latest Storm Images	WMO Severe Weather Information Centre
Real-time Monitoring (Atlantic)	The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Real-time Weather Sites	Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

Tropical Storm Shary Targets Bermuda

5-Day Forecast Cone for TS Shary (Credit: NOAA NHC)

Click for Current 5-Day Graphic

Shary is 18th Named Storm in Atlantic

Becomes a Category ONE Hurricane 

UPDATE:

1100 AM AST SAT OCT 30 2010
...SHARY RACING NORTHEASTWARD...EXPECTED TO TRANSITION TO A
POST-TROPICAL STORM BY TONIGHT...

The busy Atlantic Hurricane season continues with the eighteenth named storm, Shary.  Tropical storm warnings are posted for Bermuda as the storm will be passing there later today (Friday).    Several inches of rain are forecast at this time.    So far, no cruise ship itineraries have been affected, but we will continue to monitor the situation and advise you of any changes.

Updates from the Islands  -- - Bermuda - -
Locals from the Islands of Bermuda are providing updates (link above) on the storm complete with pictures.
NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane TOMAS and Hurricane SHARY

Current Watches & Warnings

 THERE ARE NO COASTAL WATCHES OR WARNINGS IN EFFECT.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR...
* BERMUDA

A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED
SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN 24 TO 36
HOURS.  PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED
TO COMPLETION.

A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE
WITHIN THE WATCH AREA.  A WATCH IS TYPICALLY ISSUED 48 HOURS
BEFORE THE ANTICIPATED FIRST OCCURRENCE OF TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE
WINDS...CONDITIONS THAT MAKE OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT OR
DANGEROUS.
  

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 48 HOURS.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA IN THE UNITED
STATES...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE
MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FORECAST OFFICE. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA OUTSIDE
THE UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.

Discussion & Outlook
 

SUMMARY OF 1100 AM AST...1500 UTC...INFORMATION (30 Oct)

LOCATION...35.9N 55.6W
ABOUT 580 MI...935 KM ENE OF BERMUDA
ABOUT 755 MI...1220 KM S OF CAPE RACE NEWFOUNDLAND
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH...120 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NE OR 55 DEGREES AT 40 MPH...65 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...989 MB...29.21 INCHES

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.  SHARY IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON
SCALE.  WEAKENING IS EXPECTED TO COMMENCE SOON...AND SHARY WILL
LIKELY LOSE TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS BY TONIGHT.

HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 10 MILES...20 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 105
MILES...165 KM.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 989 MB...29.21 INCHES.

Bermuda Weather Forecast 

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

NONE

 Cruise Line Advisories

No advisories have been posted at this time - watch for updates.  Check with your cruise line directly if you are scheduled to be in Bermuda today.


Carnival Cruise Line :    

MSC CRUISES: 

Norwegian Cruise Line:

Royal Caribbean International:  

Celebrity Cruises: 

Tropical Storm Resources (click links below)
Hurricane SHARY	National Hurricane Center
Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook	National Weather Service
Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion	Hurricane Preparedness
Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook (ATL)	Real-Time Hurricane Information
Active Storms	NOAA Satellites & Information
NASA: Latest Storm Images	WMO Severe Weather Information Centre
Real-time Monitoring (Atlantic)	The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
Real-time Weather Sites	Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

Allure of the Seas Begins Atlantic Crossing

Allure of the Seas - Photo Courtesy STX Europe

Farewell Finland

Florida Bound

Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line LTD.,  didn't get much sleep since the previous day's activities ended after midnight and the Allure of the Seas departure from Finland began at 5 AM.   The weather report showed some strong winds building in the morning so Captain Zini decided to schedule an earlier departure from the Turku, Finland shipyard.

Allure of the Seas Wheel House
Photo courtesy of STX Europe

After two years of construction, testing and outfitting, Allure of the Seas is finally ready to make the transatlantic voyage to her home port in Florida! Watch as this incredible ship bids farewell to Turku.

In this video log, Captain Zini reviews the weather and other critical information before ordering the lines to be cast off.   This is the moment everyone has been waiting for.

Just as the Oasis of the Seas did exactly a year ago, the Allure will head into the open Atlantic Ocean to make its way to Florida.   Come back periodically to watch additional videos and learn more about this incredible ship.

For us the anticipation is building as we await our chance to report live from the Allure of the Seas starting November 26th as she embarks on one of the pre-inaugural voyages out of Fort Lauderdale.  But for now, sit back and relax as we watch Captain Zini prepare for Allure's first voyage across the Atlantic.

Video:  Farewell Finland: Allure Begins a Transatlantic Voyage