Oct 01 - World’s Largest Cruise Ship To Visit Gib In 2016
Royal Caribbean International has scheduled a full day call to Gibraltar by the world’s largest cruise ship. The “Allure of the Seas” will arrive at 8am and depart at 8pm on Wednesday 26 October 2016 en route from Cartagena to Las Palmas.
Delivered in November 2010 at a cost of $US1.2 billion, Allure can carry a maximum of 6,320 passengers and has a crew of 2,176. She is 362 metres (1,187ft) long and 60.5 metres (198ft) wide. While in theory she is identical in size to her older sister ship “Oasis of the Seas”, she is actually a mere 50 millimetres longer, thus making her the largest and longest cruise ship in the world.
An estimated 72,630 passengers are scheduled to visit Gibraltar in 2016 on 23 calls by ships of Royal Caribbean and of its subsidiary brands Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises.
The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said that by including this and its other calls to Gibraltar, Royal Caribbean is expressing confidence in Gibraltar’s ability to handle such large vessels and acknowledging its importance as a major cruise port.
The Minister with responsibility for the Port, Neil Costa, has also welcomed the news saying: “Gibraltar has played host to many large vessels before and I have every confidence in the ability of our ground handling operators to service the Allure of the Seas”.
