The second day of Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe at Excel in London, UK, included content sessions focused on luxury interiors, modern technology and how ships and cruise lines must evolve in order to stay relevant and meet the demands of their customers.
At the ‘New experiences in river cruise and the delivery of luxury’ session, Hans Rood, managing director of Transcend Cruises, encouraged designers to stop using ‘cookie-cutter designs’ for river cruise ships and to think five years ahead and emulate the way ocean cruising ship interiors are designed.
Rood and other panellists stressed the need for river cruise ship interior design to evolve in order to meet the expectations of the new demographic of river cruise guests, which includes younger passengers and multigenerational groups.
“Designing for families is close to our hearts,” said Barbara Wiethoff, partner at JOI Design. “The focus for us is to create spaces onboard where children feel seen, where they can see the area has been specially designed for them, such as our family cabins which have nooks for crayons, paper, books – they’re very designated spaces that no adult can fit into.”
The ‘New experiences in river cruise & the delivery of luxury’ content session was held at the Harmony Marine Solutions stand at CSIE 2024
Sandra Correia da Silva, architect at Mystic Cruises said ships need to update their Wi-Fi systems to accommodate hybrid workers, while Rood suggested modern technology is not just for workers, but also to enable passengers to stay connected to their loved ones at home. “It’s very important to keep people connected to the world,” he said.
Rood also called for designers to incorporate sustainability into their designs, saying “fuel consumption, types of fuel, waste management, all need to be an important consideration in the future”.
Wiethoff emphasised the need for designers to use more recycled materials in their designs, both in passenger cabins and public spaces throughout the ships. Meanwhile, Correia da Silva suggested one way to keep carbon footprints down is to utilise local vendors and manufacturers.
The panel agreed there are many ways to incorporate sustainability in a design. Lauren West, naval architect at AmaWaterways highlighted the need for cruise lines to properly plan vessel refurbishments to ensure materials onboard are able to withstand heavy use and last until the next planned renovation.
Inspiring cruise interiors through evolving the brand
Evolution was the focus of the ‘Inspiring cruise interiors through evolving the brand’ session, which was hosted by My Nguyen, director of interior design and interior operations at Holland America Line and Seabourn, and featured Studio DADO associate Ann Remotigue and founding partner Javier Calle. Remotigue and Calle agreed brands must stay true to their core values, while allowing room for growth.
“Brands must continually evolve to what cruisers need,” Remotigue explained, while Calle added: “The people at top need to ensure they have their finger on the pulse of what’s happening while remaining true to what makes the brand.”
When it comes to designing interiors for evolving cruise brands, Calle insisted designers listen to their client. “Designs have a story to tell and while a designer may take inspiration from different things, such as eras, objects and music, but everything in the design must go back to the story being told,” he said.
Ann Remotigue and Javier Calle from Studio DADO discussing evolving the brand with My Nguyen from Holland America Line and Seabourn
Studio DADO is itself evolving as a brand, as one of the founding partners, Greg Walton, retires. “Greg has made an incredible mark on the industry,” Calle said. “We’re collaborating with third party marketing company to take a global view of the company in order to help us craft our message for Studio Dado 2.0, while remaining true to our DNA.”
Read more: Studio DADO is entering a new era
Cruise Ship Interiors Awards
The two-day event culminated with the 2024 Cruise Ship Interiors Awards and drinks reception, hosted by interior outfitter Trimline. A total of 11 accolades were handed out to members of the cruise interiors community to recognise their efforts over the past 12 months.
A total of 11 awards were handed out at a ceremony to close Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe
Caption: A total of 11 awards were handed out at a ceremony to close Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe
SMC Design won two awards, scooping Best Stateroom, in partnership with Meyer Werft, for the Balcony Cabin onboard NYK Cruises’ Asuka III. The company also walked away with Best Dining Space for Irth, the flagship Saudi restaurant onboard the extensively refurbished Aroya Cruises from Cruise Saudi.
Royal Caribbean International, one of the awards’ most nominated cruise brands, won Best Onboard Experience, in partnership with Wilson Butler Architects and Breakfast for The Pearl, an art installation onboard the world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas.
Best Refurbished Space went to Windstar Cruises, Design Studio Berg+ and Civil Marine Contract for their work on the Wind Star Lounge onboard Wind Star. Meanwhile Best Suite, sponsored by Bath Fitter, was awarded to Studio DADO and Fincantieri for their work on the Regent Suite for Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
The awards ceremony concluded with the presentation of a previously unannounced award, The Legend of Design award, which was handed to George Scammell, director of interior asset management at Princess Cruises.
“George has had a tremendous impact on the cruise ship interiors industry over his decades as a designer,” said Toby Walters, CEO of Elite Exhibitions, as he presented the award. “He’s not only influenced the trends, but been an immensely valuable mentor and leader to many designers who now lead their own teams.”
The next CSIE will be held in partnership with Hamburg Messe Und Congress in Hamburg, Germany from 2025 onwards.