Ambius providing the plants aboard Allure of the Seas
In: 10 Nov 2010
Ambius, the world's leading provider of plants for the workplace, is bringing the Central Park neighborhood to life aboard Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, which shares the title of the world's largest and most revolutionary cruise ship with sister-ship Oasis of the Seas. Central Park is an open-air atrium as long as a football field, offering guests an idyllic environment filled with live plants and trees and flanked by upscale shopping and dining venues. Ambius's award-winning team of landscaping designers, led by Denise Eichmann, were awarded the contract as landscape specialists responsible for organizing and implementing all of the landscaping aboard Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas.
Sixty Ambius personnel from across the country will gather at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale to board the vessel following her twelve day transatlantic crossing from the STX Europe in Turku, Finland on Thursday, Nov. 11. "Following months of preparation and planning, the Ambius crew will tackle the massive job of loading the plants onto the ship to meet an elaborate logistics plan," said Denise Eichmann, Senior Project Manager, Ambius. "More than 12,000 plants will be loaded, planted and irrigated with a low volume drip irrigation system which properly delivers the correct amount of water to each plant in less than 72 hours. This remarkable undertaking will help make the Allure of the Seas' Central Park come to life."
Earlier this year, Eichmann's team received the Calscape's prestigious Plantscape Hall of Fame Judge's Award for the most outstanding overall project in 2010. The team was recognized for bringing the best of land to sea with Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas' Central Park initiative, which showcases a revolutionary design where the center of the ship opens to the sky and features lush, tropical grounds. This public gathering place features serene pathways, seasonal flower gardens and canopy trees, and provides guests with more choices in unique outdoor spaces.
Ambius' North American project development team boarded Allure of the Seas in Turku on October 18, 2010 to begin work. At the shipyard and during crossing, the team installed faux plantings and floral arrangements in over 30 venues. "Each venue of the ship features themed decor which requires unique and creative landscaping," adds Eichmann. "Highlights of the compelling landscape aboard the world's greenest and most lavish cruise ship include massive palm trees in the solarium; planters of seaside grasses on the pool decks; bamboo groves and zen gardens at the spa; spiral topiary in cast iron pots at the Bow and Stern Pub; aloe and agave succulents at Rita's Cantina Mexican restaurant; and fields of lavender at the grand staircase outside the Champagne Bar."
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Radiance of the Seas will enter dry dock in mid-2011 and will add a Samba Grill Brazilian Steakhouse as well as a Mexican-themed restaurant caled Rita's Cantina. Both restaurants will debut on Allure of the Seas later this month. In addition, Radiance will get a new Diamond Lounge for Crown & Anchor Society loyalty program members, a Royal Babies and Tots Nursery, interactive flat-panel televisions in all cabins, and wireless Internet throughout the ship.
There will always be some percentage of the business that comes in the form of discount. It's the nature of the business that there will be some of that, but I think it's fair to say that while there still are attractive offers and discounts available on the marketplace today, they're not as broad or as deep as what we were doing in the midst of the recession or in the deepest part of the recession.