Oceania Cruises Welcomes Allura: What to Expect from the New Ship

Oceania Cruises recently added an eighth ship to its fleet. The second Allura class ship for Oceania Cruises – a tad confusingly also named the Allura – had its debut in Europe last week with a four-day shakedown followed immediately by its maiden voyage from Trieste to Athens. This floating beauty is the younger sister ship to the Vista, which was christened in Malta on May 8, 2023. The Allura will be christened in Miami later this year. Four additional ships in Oceania’s new Sonata class with a capacity of 1,450 passengers, will be delivered in 2027, 2029, 2032, and 2035. 

Built at Genoa’s Fincantieri Shipyard, the Allura is 804-feet long, 68,000 gross tons, spans 16 decks, and has a capacity of 1,200-guests at double occupancy in all-balcony staterooms. With two staff members for every three passengers, service is consistently top-notch. There are 800-crew members onboard hailing from 47-nations. 

Guests who have previously sailed on the Vista will feel distinctly at home on the Allura as the footprint, size, and design of the two ships are quite similar.  

Notably, like Vista, even when the Allura is at 100% capacity as it was for the maiden voyage, the public areas are so spacious, one is hard pressed to see the same guests twice unless a specific plan is made. There are a few differences, all of which are truly delightful and add even more panache to this class of ship. 

A Larger Relocated Library 

The relocated and larger library located on Deck 14 with floor-to-ceiling glass walls delivers stunning ocean and sea vistas to go with its well curated selection of books, guides, and other reading materials that will make all bibliophiles simply swoon.  

Miami-based Studio DADO utilized its concept of “redefining luxury” that is ever present throughout the Allura in The Library as well. This resulted in a genteel haven of sophistication, elegance, and comfort. Soft lightening, comfortable seating, and a calming color palette made The Library one of our favorite places onboard Allura to spend time. 

Dining for Food Divas 

The Allura has a mind-bogging culinary ratio of one chef for every eight passengers, compared even to Vista’s one chef for every 10 passengers. This helps explain, in part, why the food onboard is so consistently good.  

As executive culinary director Chef Alexis Quaretti told us, “The biggest challenge on a ship this size is to always provide our passengers with consistency. We accomplish this by continually perfecting our recipes and having an extremely well-trained staff.”   

One of the new experiences onboard the Allura is the Gérard Bertrand Wine Pairing Luncheon. Experiencing this highly curated and wine-paired six-course dining feast with items like riced calamari Venetian risotto and braised beef short ribs was less a meal and more a delectable culinary odyssey where the magic of Quaretti’s team is wedded in blissful holy matrimony to the exquisite vines of the acclaimed winemaker.  

Like a cozy home filled with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, guests are drawn to the new Crêperie as it emits a perfume of sweet warmth. Conveniently located on Deck 14 near perennial passenger favorite Baristas, the Crêperie serves traditional French crêpes with more modern filling takes: Nutella, Banoffee, and Melba, fine Belgian waffles, and the impossible-to-resist signature Bubble waffles filled with soft-serve Italian gelatos and frozen yogurt.  

At the popular pan-Asian Red Ginger restaurant, while paying homage to the Japanese influence in Peruvian cuisine, several new dishes now grace Red Ginger’s menu. Called Nikkei cuisine, guests can gain cultural competence while enjoying a great meal without ever leaving the table. The crispy, lightly crunchy soft-shell crab in bao buns nearly made us weep, while the fusion ceviche with marinated tuna, cilantro, and leche de tigre was delicate and divine.  

Taking the “variety is the spice of life” maxim truly to heart, the final addition to Allura is that in the elegant Grand Dining Room there are more than 270 new recipes among its offerings, including a new eggs-Benedict section with multiple variations of this brunch classic. Additionally, many of the 250 plant-based dishes launched across the fleet in 2019 are also available on Allura.   

Trade Response to the Allura Class 

The trade response to the Allura class of ships has been extremely positive. As Nathan Hickman, Oceania’s chief commercial officer, indicated, “Three themes have really emerged since the introduction of Vista, and now Allura.”  

“First, travel partners have consistently told us that both they and their clients consider these ships to be of a luxury standard in every way, highlighting the design aesthetic, soft goods, guest-to-staff, and space ratios, all of which compare favorably with other ships they have in their portfolios. Second, travel partners have commented that as few ships are being built in the 1,200-guest range, this size provides more dining and entertainment options than those found on smaller ships, while also staying away from the crowds on larger ships today.” 

Additionally, the new concepts that debuted on the Vista, namely the healthy concept eatery Aquamar Kitchen, the bakery adjacent to Baristas, home of guest favorite café crema, the Chef’s Studio with its dedicated Culinary Center – the world’s first hands-on at sea cooking school – and LYNC Digital Center, also present now on the Allura, have, according to Hickman, “[p]roven so popular that travel advisors use them as selling features and Oceania is now looking to introduce those elements on our new ships and retro[fit] them onto our existing ships in upcoming dry docks.”  

Vista’s arrival to Oceania’s fleet was 10 years in the making. Fortunately for the traveling public, it has only been two years since Vista’s arrival for Oceania to add Allura to its fleet. With the additions thoughtfully made and so beautifully executed, no doubt the response from the trade and the public will be the same.