It's possible Royal Caribbean will be sending the largest cruise ship in the world. Allure of the Seas, to Europe in 2015 according to port information.

According to a ship docking schedule for cruise ports in Italy, Allure of the Seas is scheduled to dock in Naples in October 2015.

The news of Allure of the Seas going to Europe at all has not been confirmed nor announced by Royal Caribbean but cruise schedules are often produced well in advance to secure a spot.  

One possible scenario is Allure of the Seas is going to Europe for routine drydock maintenance and will offer a few cruises while "in the area", which is similar to what Oasis of the Seas has planned for next summer.

Royal Caribbean and Wireless Maritime Services (WMS) have launched the second phase of 3G cellular data services onboard Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. 

Having already launched EVDO in November 2010, WMS has followed that up with the launch of UMTS (3G) services.  This marks the first time that both 3G services have been successfully deployed onboard cruise ships, and marks a major milestone in passenger connectivity.

EVDO stands for “evolution data only” which is the 3G path for CDMA carriers.  UMTS stands for “universal mobile telephone service” and is the 3G path for GSM carriers.  

Prior to this, cellular data speeds onboard cruise ships were regulated to 2G speeds, but now guests can experience speeds of four to six times those speeds with these upgrades.

“It’s one thing to have UMTS work in a lab environment, it’s an entirely different and thrilling level of success to have it working as well is it is onboard these ships,” said Tony Patino, vice president of engineering at WMS.  “Leveraging the expertise of our parent, AT&T, the WMS Engineering and Deployment teams have been working diligently to optimize and develop better use of parameters, finely honing our technology in order to achieve this great result.”

WMS recently announced the signing of a new four-year contract renewing its relationship with Royal Caribbean Cruises continue providing cellular at sea wireless services to guests and crew on all existing ships across the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises brands.

Royal Caribbean has made a name for itself by offering fun things to do onboard its ships, especially things that are unique and new to the cruise industry.  When Oasis of the Seas was built, among the many innovations that WOW'ed guests, was something elegant and simple: a carousel.

Located in the Boardwalk neighborhood on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, is the first ever carousel-at-sea. Hand-crafted and especially designed by Carousel Works for Royal Caribbean International, this full-sized, traditional carousel is truly one-of-a-kind.

Given that the Boardwalk area is inspired by the nostalgic seaside boardwalks of the past, it's a modern tribute to a time gone by. The carousel uses turn-of-the-century carousel designs as its basis down to the very last detail.  Even the original artwork scenery panels located on the carousel’s eight Rounding Boards feature custom painted scenes to highlight the wistfulness of life on the historic boardwalks.

In addition to the great history, the carousel is just plain fun for kids and adults. Eighteen figures are suspended from stainless steel poles along with one ADA accessible chariot that were created from poplar wood populate the carousel.  There are eleven carousel horses that follow a tradition carousel design, including one intricately designed Royal Caribbean lead armored horse, that even features the crown and anchor logo.  Designers also included other animals such as a zebra, giraffe, jaguar elephant, lion and even a crowned frog prince. The stationary chariot on Oasis of the Seas is an elegant peacock, while the stationary chariot on Allure of the Seas is an elegantly adorned traditional carriage.

Be sure to also check out the carousel at night because like the fairs of the past, nighttime is when these rides really shine when they are all lit up.

No cruise on an Oasis-class ship is complete without at least one ride on the carousel, with perhaps an ice cream cone to compliment it.  Handlebar moustache and flapper skirt optional.

Royal Caribbean announced that it is expanding its collaboration with award-winning chef Michael Schwartz that will feature seasonal tasting menus aboard Allure of the Seas’ fine dining restaurant, 150 Central Park.  Schwartz had previously been working on the food at 150 Central Park on Oasis of the Seas since 2011.

Schwartz has built his reputation as a chef on a commitment to cooking with sustainable foods at his flagship Miami restaurant.  Schwartz will continue to help the cruise line select and integrate fresh, high quality ingredients into 150 Central Park’s supply chain by leveraging his relationships with South Florida farmers and beyond.

Royal Caribbean executive vice president Operations, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, commented on the news, "Royal Caribbean continually looks to deliver WOWs to our guests through innovative and diverse dining concepts featuring the freshest possible ingredients. We are thrilled to be able to grow our relationship with a respected hometown partner like chef Michael Schwartz and offer his locally-sourced menus at both our 150 Central Park locations.”

“I am thrilled about the opportunity this program has offered my favorite farmers to grow and improve their operations,” says chef Michael Schwartz. “Royal Caribbean has been a willing and enthusiastic partner in this program, and the collaboration has worked because of their commitment to the sustainable philosophies I care so much about. Adding Allure to the line-up offers economies of scale with benefits for everyone involved.”

Over the past year and a half since the unique farm-to-ship program began on Oasis of the Seas the cruise line has elicited an overwhelmingly positive response from guests to Schwartz’ fresh, simple, and pure approach to fine dining. What began with hydro naturally-grown baby beets, carrots and other produce from Swank Specialty Produce in Loxahatchee Groves Florida, grew to a portfolio of responsibly-raised produce, poultry and meats – from Poulet Rouge chicken from North Carolina’s Joyce Farms to grass-fed beef from White Oak Pastures in Georgia.

Condé Nast Traveler released its list of the top spas around the world and in the case of the best spas for cruise ships, three of Royal Caribbean's onboard spas made their Top 25 list.

Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas (9), Grandeur of the Seas (16) and Allure of the Seas (20) all ranked in the top 25.  The list of the best spas ranked them by treatments, staff & facilities.

The polls results came from Condé Nast Traveler readers who shared their findings with the web site over the course of the year.

O3b Networks announced that it has signed a second mult-year deal with Royal Carinbbean to bring high-speed satellite internet service to another of it's ships, this time Allure of the Seas.  

The agreement will provide guests and crew aboard Allure of the Seas with internet service that is anticipated to be four times more responsive than existing and planned GEO satellite systems.

Royal Caribbean and O3b signed a deal last summer to provide O3b’s new maritime offering O3bMaritime aboard Oasis of the Seas.  

Royal Caribbean Chief Information Officer Bill Martin commented on the agreement, "Cruise ship guests expect the same quality voice and Internet services they experience on land. We are proud to be the first cruise line to offer guests and crew aboard our innovative Oasis class of ships connectivity services that are in a league of their own. This latest agreement underlines our confidence in O3b Networks and the game-changing level of connectivity it is set to provide aboard our ships.”

O3b describes their internet service as "fiber-like speeds at sea".

After being delayed due to Tropical Storm Isaac, Royal Caribbean's ships returned to port today.  Allure of the Seas had her seven night itinerary extended to nine due to the storm, but arrived in Port Everglades at 5:30am this morning.

Despite the delay, passengers said the staff on board did a great job handling the storm and keeping everyone safe. "Good job. They did an excellent job. They let us know in advance. I didn't hear anyone complaining," said Barbara Moore.

Meanwhile Majesty of the Seas made her way back to the port of Miami, which was closed since Saturday.  Tropical Storm Isaac forced the port to close but was reopened on Monday afternoon.

Majesty of the Seas was extended from a three-day journey to a four-day trip, and the ship did not stop at the scheduled ports of call. "They gave us back our port charges, I guess because we didn't go to any ports. But other than that, I think they made a lot of money in the casinos and the alcohol," said passenger Michael Brodie.

Royal Caribbean is announcing that Allure of the Seas will be delayed returning home by two days due to Tropical Storm Isaac.  Instead of returning to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday as scheduled, she will instead stay out at sea to avoid the storm until Tuesday.

This will bring Allure of the Seas back to port two days later than scheduled. The next sailing for Allure of the Seas will begin on Tuesday August 28 instead of Sunday August 26 as a result and will reduce the length of the cruise from seven to five nights. As a result, the ship will skip scheduled calls in Falmouth, Jamaica and Labadee, Haiti and add a call in Nassau, Bahamas.

Royal Caribbean is making up the delay to those on the now five-night cruise by offering them onboard credit for the missing days as well as a future cruise certificate worth 10% of the fare they paid for the cruise.

Royal Caribbean is asking guests who are scheduled to sail on Allure of the Seas on Sunday, August 26, not arrive at the port until 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 28 for check-in and boarding.

If you are scheduled to sail on the August 26 Allure of the Seas cruise and cannot make the new Tuesday departure, you should call Royal Caribbean at 888-829-4050 in the U.S., and 408-926-9002 internationally.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas rescued 58 Haitans that were stranded in the Caribbean Sea and brought them to Cozumel, Mexico.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez says a guest spotted the boat and immediately informed a crew member on Thursday as they were heading from St. Maarten to Cozumel.

The Haitians informed the Allure of the Seas crew that they didn't need any help but the Allure of the Seas did contact the United States Coast Guard.  The Coast Guard asked the ship to return and help them.  

A total of 47 men and 7 women were rescued and given food, water and medical treatment.

Royal Caribbean turned the Haitians over to the Mexican Navy upon arrival in Mexico.

Photo by IssiC_MS