Designing a new experience onboard

The onboard cruise experience has come a long way in recent years. Today, guests can try drinks made by robotic bartenders on Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum-class ships, enjoy a traditional Scandinavian spa experience on Viking Ocean Cruises’ Viking Star, and will soon be able to cycle round an 800ft suspended SkyRide track 150ft above the sea when Carnival Vista debuts next spring.

Although some operators are yet to embrace technology to this extent, many are now looking to boost the onboard experience by offering high-end interiors and amenities, more regional and casual food and beverage offerings, enhanced spa and fitness facilities, and a greater choice of interactive onboard entertainment.

“Providing guests with a personalised experience is becoming more important, so cabins are becoming less uniform and are being fitted with more luxurious furnishings and technology,” says Mike Oliver, sales and managing director at Trimline. “Similarly, passengers are no longer satisfied with the traditional buffet and now expect a sophisticated food and beverage offering, so many operators are installing branded outlets, such as familiar high-street coffee shops and retail outlets, onboard their ships.”

Tina Kjeldgaard, project manager at Danish Decoration, which has worked on multiple cruise ship refits for various operators, agrees. “Cruise lines now aim to offer luxury, so we’ve been tasked with designing high-end, boutique-style interiors in cabins, suites and public areas, such as speciality restaurants and shops, over the past couple of years.”

Meanwhile, Alan McVitty, director of M Studio London (formerly McVitty Interior Consultants), has noticed an increased demand for relaxed elegance, rather than formal luxury, particularly in the spa, fitness and dining venues. “Cruise guests are more health conscious than ever, so operators are offering healthier foods in less formal dining venues, as well as instructor-led exercise classes, more massage therapies and specialised cosmetic procedures in the spa and fitness centres,” he says, noting that various design elements combine to create the desired atmosphere in these areas. “Choosing the right colour palette, materials and textures, and carefully planning the temperature, lighting, sounds and smells in spas or dining venues is an easy, yet essential, way of stimulating the senses and promoting relaxation.”

Today’s cruise passengers also expect the same contemporary, sophisticated interiors and a high-quality service as hotel guests, a trend that led P&O Cruises to commission industry newcomer and hospitality design firm Richmond to create the guest accommodation and public areas on newbuild Britannia.

“P&O asked us to approach Britannia as we would a hotel, designing calm, comfortable and luxurious interiors with high-quality materials that reflect the historical grandeur of the great passenger cruising era, rather than following current trends, fashions and gimmicks,” says Terry McGillicuddy, Richmond’s director.

As trends are constantly shifting, it can be challenging to create an interior design that will not only withstand the test of time, but also cater to the diverse tastes of cruise guests.

“Although we are limited by the ship’s dimensions, we want to create functional, safe and aesthetically pleasing spaces that optimise the changing view outside of the ship and can be transformed by subtle lighting changes to suit different purposes throughout the cruise,” says Björn Stenwall, president of the Marine Division at Almaco. “By using natural and calm colour palettes highlighted with a couple of accent colours and flexible lighting, we also ensure that the spaces appeal to as many passengers as possible and create the illusion of space.”

BG Studio International’s priority is to establish a key design theme that will form a narrative for guests the moment they walk into a venue or space. “When we designed the Windjammer Marketplace onboard Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas, we wanted guests to identify that the dining venue was inspired by traditional European yacht designs,” says Hans Galutera, the company’s co-founder and principal. “For example, we integrated an enlarged abstract image of the ship’s hull on the wall panels and juxtaposed compass designs on sections of the flooring with a stylised wave pattern on the carpet. The furniture and decorative lighting also echo the style of traditional yachts.”

However, interior designs must be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

“Designers must work with both the shipowner and the contractor to ensure that their designs will improve operations, work within the vessel’s limitations, comply with necessary maritime or safety regulations, and be delivered on time and on budget,” notes M Studio’s McVitty. “For example, we sailed onboard Windstar Cruises’ Star Breeze and Star Legend before redesigning them to gain first-hand insight into what needed to be improved. We saw that The Veranda restaurant was too small to accommodate the ship’s guests, so we reconfigured the nearby pool area and created an internal courtyard to provide additional seating with a fixed awning and wind breaks.”

Richmond adopted a similar approach for functional designs on Britannia, working with P&O to establish various service details before creating the interiors to ensure their designs benefited both the 1,350 crew and her 3,600 guests. “We wanted the tables to be large enough to accommodate the required table settings, and to ensure that the waiter stations would be able to store the correct number of glasses, cutlery and other utensils,” says McGillicuddy. “Another priority was to make the Atrium the heart of the ship and route traffic around the major venues so they are intimate spaces, not just part of the passenger corridors. We used an underlying material palette in all of the spaces to reinforce the visual flow and provide a calming journey throughout the ship.”

With so many factors to control and tight timeframes to meet during design and outfitting projects, choosing the right contractor is essential.

Trimline, for example, assigns lead designers based on the initial plans and expectations of its clients and works with new and long-term partners who have a similar design experience and ethos. “We try to choose partners located near the project site to ease logistical and timeframe challenges, particularly if the work is being carried out while the vessel is in service,” Oliver explains. “We’re currently working on two of our largest-ever turnkey refits on TT-Line’s Australia-based ferries Spirit of Tasmania I and II, and have collaborated with 20 Tasmania-based contractors and their 200 employees, as well as specialists from the UK. Like always, our experienced project management team has used the Trimline Information Management System to control the workflow and to foster open and collaborative relationships with TT-Line and our partners to ensure they can see our key performance indicators and daily progress reports.”

Danish Decoration also collaborates closely with partners when designing venues. “We take the shipowner’s initial ideas and then work with our skilled long-term partners to create interiors inspired by various factors, such as the regions where the ship will sail,” comments Kjeldgaard. “We also aim to work with new partners to ensure our designs incorporate the latest and most innovative trends, allowing us to provide the best result within the budget.”

Almaco Group relies on its in-house team of architects, interior designers, engineers and project managers, who have extensive experience in procurement, planning, logistics and more. ”Our creative team has all of the skills needed to coordinate, manage and successfully deliver a design or outfitting project, as well as the expertise and practical knowledge to plan spaces effectively and choose the most appropriate materials,” says Stenwall. “The team also works closely with all of the other parties involved in the project to outline a clear work plan with key priorities and a timeframe, and maintains an open and constant flow of communication with these contractors until the vessel is complete. This enables us to complete all of the scheduled tasks, and gives us scope to tackle and resolve unforeseen challenges as soon as they arise.”

With so many parties involved, pulling off a successful project on time is by no means easy. But, as BG Studios’ Galutera explains, it can be done, as long as everybody is committed to achieving the same goals. “We collaborate closely with all key players, such as manufacturers and subcontractors, to ensure that can understand what we’re trying to achieve and that they can interpret even the craziest of our ideas to find a practical way of bringing them to life on the ship,” he says. “We’ve relied on the same core team for several years and our employees’ skills and dedication have played a central role in our success since we opened in February 2002.”

Perhaps M Studio’s McVitty sums it up best. “By sharing innovative ideas and working together to deliver functional and attractive interiors that allow the ship’s crew to provide a high-quality service, design and outfitting companies can certainly help to provide a backdrop for guests’ holiday memories.”