The Allure of the Seas is the second in a series of the world's largest cruisers built at Turku Shipyard. The first vessel in this series, the Oasis of the Seas, was handed over to the owners, a US shipping company Royal Caribbean, at the end of October. These are revolutionary vessels of a totally new type, whose striking design and bold innovations will radically change the cruising business. Under the contract, the Allure of the Seas will be delivered to the owners towards the end of 2010.

- Both in its innovativeness and other features, the Allure of the Seas is the twin of the Oasis of the Seas, excluding some colour and material changes, explains Toivo Ilvonen, Project Manager of the Oasis class.
Last week, Mr Ilvonen together with Mr Martin Landtman, CEO of STX Finland Oy, received the Finnish Quality Innovation award for the design and construction of the Oasis of the Seas.

- Thanks to this innovative ship concept and successful delivery, STX Finland has further reinforced its global position as the leading builders of large passenger vessels, says Mr Landtman. 
As a building project, the Allure of the Seas is just as complex a whole as its predecessor.
- A sister ship is more straightforward to produce as part of a series, as the design work has already been completed, Mr Ilvonen says.
The project has progressed on schedule, and in the launching stage, over 60% of the work has been finished. Once the Allure of the Seas is moored at the outfitting quay, the next step will be interior outfitting.

The length of the Allure of the Seas will be 361 m, beam 66 m and height from sea level 72 m. The gross tonnage of the vessel will be 225,000. At full capacity, the Allure of the Seas will ac-commodate 6,320 passengers and a crew of 2,100. It will have 16 passenger decks and 2,704 cabins.

The predecessor of the Allure of the Seas, the Oasis of the Seas, reached its home port in Fort Lauderdale on 13 November, 2009 after a 14-day voyage across the Atlantic. The planting of palm trees and other vegetation in the Central Park area has been completed and the vessel will be christened in a naming ceremony on 30 November, after which it will depart on its festive maiden cruise. This Finnish-built vessel has attracted a great deal of media coverage all over the world.

Images of the vessels in the Oasis class available on line: www.stxeurope.com - Media Centre - Download Centre - User ID: stxeurope, Password: group, and at www.allureoftheseas.com.

Contact persons:
Martin Landtman, CEO, tel. +358 (0)50 577 0390
Toivo Ilvonen, Oasis class Project Manager, tel.+ 358 (0)400 525 438
Tanja Sabell, Communications Manager, tel. +358 (0)41 448 8740

STX Finland Oy has three shipyards in Finland, located in Turku, Rauma and Helsinki. The company belongs to the international STX Europe Group, with a product range including passenger ships as well as merchant and offshore vessels. The Group has 15 shipyards in Brazil, Norway, France, Romania, Finland and Vietnam. In all, STX Europe has approximately 16,000 employees. www.stxeurope.com

STX Europe's principal shareholder, the international conglomerate STX Business Group, has production plants representing various industries all over the world and a total of approximately 39,000 employees.

Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand with 21 ships currently in service and one under construction. The line also offers unique cruise tour land packages in Alaska, Canada, Dubai, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. For additional information or to make reservations, call your travel agent, visit www.royalcaribbean.com or call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN. Travel professionals should go www.cruisingpower.com or call (800) 327-2056.