The world’s largest cruise liner twin faces its first big test today

The world’s largest cruise liner has a twin,The Allure of the Seas, which cruised out of the shipyard in Turku, southwestern Finland where it was built, faces its first big test today, when it must squeeze under a Danish bridge, just one foot taller than the ship,even after its telescopic smokestacks are lowered.

Spanning nearly four football fields, with a 3-D move theater, an open-air central park and room for 8,300 people, set sail Friday for its new home port in Florida.The gigantic vessel is the sister ship of the Oasis of the Seas, which was also delivered to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines last year with a price tag of about $1.5 billion.

The Allure of the Seas is in the same price range, said Juha Heikinheimo, managing director of STX Finland, which constructed the vessel.STX Finland is part of the international STX Europe Group, with shipyards in Brazil, Norway, France, Romania and Vietnam.The Allure of the Seas spans 1,200 feet from bow to stern, and its height from sea level is 236 feet . It weighs 600 tons,12 times more than the Eiffel Tower.

It can accommodate 6,300 passengers and some 2,000 crew and has dozens of restaurants, cafes and bars along a promenade shopping street that includes a park with living trees and numerous plants. The ship boasts a two-deck high dance hall, a 1,380-seat theater and an ice skating rink, numerous pools, spas, gyms and a rock climbing wall.