MS Allure of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. The Oasis class are the largest passenger ships ever constructed, and Allure is 50 millimetres (2.0 in) longer than her sister ship Oasis of the Seas, though both were built to the same specifications. Designed under the name “Project Genesis”, she was ordered from Aker Finnyards in February 2006 and her construction began at the Perno shipyard, Turku, Finland, in February 2008. She was named in May 2008 after a contest was held to name her and her sister. The keel of Allure of the Seas was laid on 2 December 2008, shortly after the shipyard had been acquired by STX Europe.

A honour guard soldier gives a flower to a girl on International Women's Day in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, March 8, 2024. International Women's Day on March 8 is an official holiday in Russia. Per tradition, men give flowers and gifts to female relatives, friends and colleagues, even though in the past two years flowers have gotten more expensive. Marches, demonstrations and conferences are being held the world over, from Asia to Latin America and elsewhere. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

A family dressed in traditional chinese clothes celebrates the Chinese New Year in Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand February 8, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Ostriches wear masks as they are transported by a truck for relocation in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, August 8, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Commuters hang off a local passenger train in the morning in Colombo, Sri Lanka September 8, 2016. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

A woman looks out from her stall selling traditional garments and textiles at a market in Ashgabat February 8, 2012. (Photo by Aman Mehinli/Reuters)

A mahout cleans the dust from his elephant in Ahmedabad, India, February 8, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

Starlings are seen at their nesting box in a private garden in the town of Bobruisk, Belarus, April 8, 2018. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)