The Allure of the Seas — a twin to Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, which made the same narrow squeeze under the Great Belt Fixed Link a year ago — measures around four football fields and accommodates 8,300 people, including crew members.
Hans Nilsen, an official at the Korsoer Naval Station, said the passage went fine, with about a 20-inch (50-centimeter) gap and 1.5 inches (4 centimeters) to spare to the safety margin when it squeezed under at around 1420 GMT after lowering its telescopic smokestacks.
“It went great,” Nilsen said.
He said traffic on the bridge did not have to be stopped during the passage because the voyage was made during daytime, reducing any risks.
The Allure of the Seas is worth about $1.5 billion. It left the shipyard in Turku, Finland, on Friday and is expected to reach its new home port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in a few weeks.
The cruise liner measures 1,200 feet (360 meters) from bow to stern, and its height from sea level is 236 feet (72 meters).
Aside from a two-deck high dance hall, a 1,380-seat theater and an ice skating rink, a number of pools, spas, gyms, it also houses bars, restaurants and cafes as well as a shopping street with a park with trees.
It boasts the Rising Tide Bar as one of its showpieces — an elliptical restaurant platform accommodating 50 customers that ascends and descends a vertical distance of 32 feet (10 meters) between the central park and promenade.
The ship’s home port will be Fort Lauderdale in Florida, where it is expected to arrive in a few weeks.
Construction of the Allure of the Seas at STX Finland’s Turku yard began in February 2008.
