Ambius wins new Royal Caribbean contract

Ambius has been awarded a contract to organize and implement the landscaping aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas.

Ambius landscape designers, led by Denise Eichmann, will bring ‘Central Park – Garden at Sea’ to life aboard the cruise ship. Ambius is sending 60 employees from across the country to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to load the plants onto the ship once it arrives from Turku, Finland.

“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 Eichmann, senior project manager, Ambius.  “Over 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 make the Allure of the Seas’ ‘Central Park – Garden at Sea’ come to life.”

The Abmius North American project development team boarded Allure of the Seas in Turku on October 18 to begin working. At the shipyard and while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the team installed faux plantings and floral arrangements in more than 30 venues on the ship.

“Each venue of the ship features themed décor, which requires unique and creative landscaping,” Eichmann said.  “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 Stearn English Pub; aloe and agave succulents at Rita’s Mexican Cantina; and fields of lavender at the grand staircase outside the champagne bar.”

Earlier this year, Eichmann’s team received the Plantscape Hall of Fame Judge’s Award for outstanding overall project in 2010. The award from Calscape was for a project that also brought land to sea with Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas’ Central Park initiative.

For more on how Ambius handles the logistics of installing gardens on cruise liners, check out the April Lawn & Landscape story and this viedo on the Chicago-area company.