First Impression: Allegria

Date toured: May 2008

The 151-foot motoryacht Allegria was built in 2004 by Holland’s Hakvoort Shipyard and originally went by the name Flamingo Daze. The new owner changed her name before the summer 2008 charter season, but not much about the yacht itself, according to the team I met onboard from Moran Yacht & Ship. The news seems to be that there is new artwork onboard, as well as an upgraded audiovisual program that now includes a Kaleidescape sound system.
Allegria’s crew came with her new owner, according to Moran. Some have worked in charter before, while others are new to the industry. I didn’t have a chance to meet with any of the crew during my tour, so that’s all I can say about them here.

I can tell you that the yacht showed nicely with a particularly interesting sundeck that caught my attention. It has an unusual layout, with lounge chairs all the way forward, then a large, round bar, then a dining table in the shade—great for afternoon lunches al fresco—and then, all the way aft, a hot tub and sunpad. If you’re docking stern-to in the Mediterranean, you’ll be able to toast the scene on shore from the hot tub instead of being all the way forward on this deck, which is more common.

One level below, in the sky lounge, there is a drop-down projector screen as well as a pop-up plasma television for movie nights. A roulette table is a nice touch for charterers who want to pretend they’re at the casino tables.

The only other tidbit I managed to snag during my time onboard is that the new owner is somehow involved with Microsoft—so the WiFi and computers should always be working. That's a good thing for charter clients who are primarily concerned about staying in touch with the office back home.