Cruise & Ferry Interiors 2021

1 3 vanity seat and you might think it would be a straightforward choice, but it’s taken us months because we want to get it absolutely right. All of these little details together make a very big difference to the final outcome.” Every design detail decision is meticulously considered to withstand hair-splitting interrogation. “When we’ve produced a mock-up cabin, we can be in there for hours with Vago talking about little details such as the width of the shelves or the depth of the wardrobe,” says Young. “These details have already been discussed in depth and resolved by our design team, but this type of design audit is critical to ensure that we hit the quality standards we are known for.” Mock-ups represent a pivotal phase in the shipbuilding process and the implications of a design change at this point are significant. “The curtains may look great in the drawings and renderings but if there’s something not quite right about them in the mock- up, we need to change them and this triggers a whole new set of decisions,” says Young. “Not only do we need to choose which fabric, pattern and colour to use, but we also need to consider whether the new curtains need a blackout backing or lining, what tracks to use and whether to hide them, how they will fit with the carpet, whether they will hang lower over time – the list goes on and on. You can imagine the size of the task if we’re talking about changing a whole room where every tiny detail has to be scrutinised!” MSC Cruises signed the agreement for MSC Virtuosa around seven years ago and the lengthy timespan created a different set of challenges for Young and his team. “We didn’t know then exactly what we’d want in seven years so there are mechanisms in the contract that specify deadlines for decisions to be made and contractual lump sums for significant components of the build,” he says. “Two classic examples are catering and lighting and sound.” Explaining that a shipbuilding contract is typically signed with a block general arrangement Young adds: “We might know that the main lounge is here and the Japanese restaurant is there, “ We’re forever challenging ourselves to build better and more sustainable ships” The new MSC Virtuosa features the only MSC Starship Club with Rob, the first humanoid robotic bartender at sea Photos: Ivan Sarfatti, MSC Cruises