Hospitality Design - July 2022 - 89

A lounge on the Celebrity Reflection by Callison
RTKL is made up of a series of seating nooks
A dramatic, forest-like ceiling installation defines the Wintergarden
lounge on the Viking Ocean ships, designed by Rottet Studio
A rendering of the Carnival Celebration, a collaboration with
Bigtime Design Studios and the Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry
GG: Only 5 percent of the U.S. population has ever been on a cruise, so the
untapped market is incredible. Our challenge is creating an experience
that appeals to a broader range of guests. Some of these mega ships have
come up with a concept of neighborhoods so guests can pick and choose the
experience they want to have. You have a captive audience on a ship for at
least seven days, and it can't be too bland or cookie cutt er or boring. In the
same way we worry about guest experience in a hotel, we worry about the
passenger experience on a cruise ship.
PK: Design wise, everything has to make sense. Our Mardi Gras ship has
some 60-something public areas, from a fi ne dining seafood restaurant to a
barbecue joint. You have all these diff erent spaces, and you want [them to be
cohesive but diff erent]. In the end, they're on a seven-day cruise, and guests
want something that draws them in and keeps them interested.
On the benefi ts of technology
GG: Technology has aided the development of cruise ships and the fl exibility
of cruising. The technology on board has evolved to manage incredibly
complex reservation systems, shore excursions, and spa appointments with
apps and RFID technology. They know what a guest is doing at any given
time.
GS: With our new Medallion class ships, we have something called Dine My
Way. You can be on your app and order anything you want. You can order an
appetizer from this restaurant and an entrée or dessert from that restaurant.
It's like something out of the retail store.
On staying on time and on budget
GG: Dry docking is renovating a ship aſt er it's been in service. You have
never seen anything like the jobsite of a dry dock. I went to Rott erdam a few
years ago for a three-week dry dock. I pulled up to the port and passengers
were disembarking from one side, and thousands of construction workers
The Crown Grill on Princess Cruises
features a restrained color palette
were waiting to board the ship on the other. They're fl ying containers
onto the pool deck that are the workshops for the contractors. Everyone
is working on top of each other. You've never seen the collaboration and
cooperation of a well-run dry dock. It's an adrenaline rush of gett ing things
done in three weeks with everyone pitching in and working together.
GS: Logistics is probably the biggest diff erentiator between crews and landbased
hotel work. We only get the opportunity of a dry dock every three
years. We have 10 days to do the work. We're reupholstering chairs at the
same time we're pulling out the carpets and putt ing it back in. Design is
about 10 percent of the job. The other part is execution. That coordination is
critical in terms of being able to get these ships back up and running.
PK: Cruise ship projects take fi ve to six years and cost a billion dollars. In
practical terms, they are never late, which is overlooked. When you select
something, you have to make it. There's no going back. You decide it then
and there. Sometimes you design on the spot because that's the only way you
can make it in time.
RR: The nice part is that when you're done, you're done. You're looking at the
ship, and it actually happened.
GG: There are no soſt openings.
On the best part of cruise ship design
RR: For me, it's all about creating a brand. Ships go all over the world, and the
question is, how do you develop something that lasts?
GG: It's an opportunity to do something that's never been done before.
One of the benefi ts of having a 40-year relationship with a cruise line is
you become a trusted partner in developing design with them and making
something you can be proud of.
hospitalitydesign.com July 2022
089
Photos courtesy of PWP STUDIO, ROTTET STUDIO, CARNIVAL, CALLISON RTKL, and PRINCESS CRUISES

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Hospitality Design - July 2022

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