By
Susan Parker |
Celebrity Reflection may be the fifth in the Solstice series but she has some distinct differences, including a new deck and 48 additional suites. “These changes required Meyer Werft to redesign the whole ship, which is 60cm wider in order to achieve the correct stability,” explains Harri Kulovaara, executive vice president maritime, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL).
Deck 14 forward is the home of the Reflection suite and five Signature suites. These are located in a private area which was once the sole domain of the Sky Observation Lounge. The latter has been almost halved and is now smaller and more intimate. The suites themselves are designed by BG Studios of New York, which has worked with RCCL before. “You can feel Manhattan in them. They are very contemporary,” comments Kulovaara.
Contemporary they certainly are. The 1,636ft2 Reflection suite, with its 194ft2 wraparound balcony, is the brand’s first two-bedroom suite. Complete with seaview shower extending beyond the edge of the ship, the suite also features a veranda tub with rain shower, 24/7 butler service and in-room iPad.
“One thing that marks these suites apart is the ceiling height, which is about 50 per cent higher than most, giving them a quite different feel,” says Kulovaara. Over the years this has been something of a challenge for builders, with designers constantly pushing the height boundary.
For the engineers the location of the suites has been an “interesting challenge” according to Kulovaara, due to their location next to the Sky Observation Lounge and nightclub. This led to a requirement for especially reliable soundproofing.
“To achieve the noise insulation required, there is a double wall between the suites and the lounge, creating an air gap. With no connection between the two spaces, no noise is transmitted. In addition, these spaces are built on an elastic foundation created by interlocking rubber elements which again reduce the transmission of sound. The deck is elevated by some six inches in order to achieve this arrangement,” says Kulovaara. The result is that passengers can sleep easily despite the adjacent night club. As with so much that RCCL does, this had never been done before, he says, adding: “The same system of soundproofing has been deployed between the suites and the basketball court on the deck above.”
The company worked with Meyer Werft for three months to arrive at this solution. “The German shipyard came up with not only the design but also the quality controls in order to ensure that the installation was handled correctly,” says Kulovaara, who evidently has an enormous respect for the shipbuilder.
Each of the suites was built in situ, unlike the standard staterooms which are built along a flowline belt, similar to car manufacturing processes. Of the latter, he says: “These are made up of 24 stations, each taking 17 minutes to assemble a particular component, resulting in an eight-hour cycle from start to finish for a single cabin.”