If you’re speculating about the cruise ship of 2050, you’re thinking like a marine designer. The life of a seagoing vessel averages 30 years, and with newbuild orders signed for a decade down the road, what’s on the drawing board now will rapidly become the ship of the future.
We can tell that tomorrow’s cruise ship won’t look radically different from today’s vessels. Behind the scenes, however, it’s another story.
One visible design change is a sharper bow profile replacing the bulbous pod design. This is already starting to appear onboard many vessels — Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge has a parabolic ultra bow; Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) upcoming Leonardo-class ships feature an inverted bow; and Lindblad Expeditions’ 2020 National Geographic Endurance uses the X-Bow, which was patented in 2006 by Norway’s Ulstein Group. The design reduces speed loss in waves, creating more fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.
Apart from this, cruisers aren’t likely to notice big modifications across the industry.
“We need to maintain our legacy of 145 years of tradition with a consistent look and feel, so guests immediately recognize a Holland America Line (HAL) ship,” said Orlando Ashford, president of HAL.
According to Petu Kummala, director of interior design and architecture for Carnival Cruise Line, cruise ships keep the same overall appearance in order to hark back to the glory days of sea travel.
“New ships tend to have a traditional look, despite all the innovations, and there is a romantic side to cruising that needs to be preserved as the distinguishing feature compared to land-based experiences,” Kummala said. “The more radical futuristic designs are generally just dreams — although sometimes something real grows out of the concept.”
A case in point is NCL founder Knut Kloster’s dream of Phoenix World City, conceived in the early 1980s, before mega-ships were a part of the industry. His 5,200-passenger ship design included a sports arena, tropical gardens, sidewalk cafes, nightclubs, cinemas, bistros, discos, six pools, six Jacuzzis, a business center, a brokerage office, 28 designer shops and 12 restaurants. Many of these features have made their way onto recent vessels.
Harri Kulovaara, executive vice president of maritime and newbuilding for Royal Caribbean Cruises, has led the design and construction of highly innovative ships for all the company’s brands. He was involved with the creation of the central promenade on Royal Caribbean Oasis-class ships and most recently worked on Azamara Club Cruises’ Azamara Pursuit and Celebrity Edge. Kulovaara credits the company’s cutting-edge virtual reality and computer modeling tools, which allow teams to quickly visualize new features and how they will impact the projected ship design as a whole.
Creativity is also a central part of the process.
“Innovation is like gymnastics,” said Cyril Tatar, vice president of newbuilds for HAL. “You do it every day, and then when there’s an occasion to use it, you have all that to draw from.”
Sustainability Drives Innovation
The emphasis on sustainability — mostly invisible to passengers — will certainly have a strong impact on the ships of the future. The adoption of low-pollutant liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been hailed as the first major development in ship power in nearly 100 years, and cruise lines have been quick to move on it. LNG cuts carbon dioxide emissions by about 25 percent. It has no sulphur, 85 percent less nitrogen oxide and 99 percent fewer particulates than current fuels.
The first LNG-powered cruise ship, AIDAnova from AIDA Cruises, is scheduled to debut this fall. Other confirmed orders include newbuilds for Carnival, Costa Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, Ponant and Royal Caribbean International.
“Environmental responsibility is a core element in the future of cruise ship design, particularly as we expand our itineraries farther into remote destinations,” said Lisa Bolton, general manager of product development for Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours. “For Scenic, this may be in addressing fundamentals such as becoming 100 percent carbon dioxide neutral; removing the need for anchors that impact the ocean floor; aiming for reduction in noise and vibration; or becoming plastic-free. As technology advances, there is also the potential to look for other energy sources, possibly solar- or wind-generated.”
A Focus on Luxury
Luxury design is also guaranteed to grow.
“The class system has returned with a vengeance,” said Tom Baker, co-owner of Houston-based Cruise Center. “Luxury accommodations and privileges are constantly evolving.”
Rooms with a view are a big part of this evolution. NCL has displayed renderings of its Leonardo-class ships (scheduled for 2022 through 2025), which will feature spacious condo-like accommodations at the stern. Celebrity Edge’s 5,000-square-foot Iconic Suites above the bridge offer the same view as the captain. Carnival is reinventing and expanding its accommodations for the much larger newbuild orders for 2020 and 2022, with a new upscale category. And MSC has just announced four 500-room, ultra-luxury ships for a total value in excess of $2.2 billion.
“It is off the back of the great success of our ship-within-a-ship luxury concept that our guests asked us to enter into the ultra-luxury segment,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC. “It’s a natural evolution of the MSC Yacht Club.”
In a tail-wags-the-dog scenario, seagoing ship design is drawing inspiration from European river cruising, which has creatively addressed issues of efficiency and optimal use of space because of the constraints on ship size. A notable example is Celebrity Edge’s 918 Infinite Verandas, where each balcony can be adapted as an inside or outside space.
River cruise lines now building seagoing ships are quick to transfer elements to the larger canvas.
“The design of our river cruise fleet laid the foundation for the approach to our ocean ship design — that of detail in design and innovation,” Scenic’s Bolton said. “This drive for innovation and the desire to surprise will be part of any future ship design.”
Viking uses the same design team for its river and seagoing ships, and it has benefited from years of devising ways to optimize space on its river vessels. The company brought this culture of efficiency to its seagoing ship design, along with its policy of consistency. While most cruise brands generate a series of new classes, Viking’s river and seagoing vessels are virtually identical to one another.
“We got it right the first time — why mess around?” said Tor Hagen, founder of Viking.
Richard Marnell, vice president of sales and marketing for Viking, says the benefits include significant cost savings and speed of construction.
“We can pass along substantial savings to the customer,” he said. “And for the guest, keeping a consistent design across the fleet provides familiarity, so they can focus on the destination and the travel experience, and it allows the onboard staff to adapt easily from ship to ship.”
Rethinking the Onboard Experience
Passenger dining will experience changes, too. Designers see the main dining room transforming or disappearing onboard the ship of the future. In contrast, the buffet, once an afterthought, has been evolving and is now often more exciting than the main dining room.
Cruise lines continue to look to shore for dining and other ship features, as well.
“Top venues on land are being watched carefully for ideas of design and content,” said Andy Stuart, president and CEO of NCL. “It used to be that the dining and entertainment experiences on cruise ships didn’t have to be of land-based quality — but that’s over. We have to be as good, or better, than what’s happening on land.”
As The Ritz-Carlton plans to launch its new Yacht Collection — with three 298-passenger yachts due next year — the company is borrowing heavily from its land-based operations. The brand will bring popular resort amenities onboard, including The Ritz-Carlton Spa and a restaurant from Sven Elverfeld of Aqua, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Wolfsburg in Germany.
In contrast, Virgin Voyages is not focused on re-creating land-based luxury on water, but instead wants to feature the adventure of going to sea. Dee Cooper, senior vice president of design and customer experience for Virgin Voyages, says the company will stick with design that highlights spectacular views of the sea. Special touches include plenty of benches and daybeds and using “retro-futurism” inspired by the past but with modern customer appeal.
“The sea is timeless, and human relationships with the sea will always be our focus,” she said.
The sea as a destination is also shaping the design of the new ships for rapidly expanding Ponant. Navin Sawhney, CEO of the Americas for Ponant, says the company’s Blue Eye Lounge design took two years and features furniture inspired by aquatic life and “body listening” sofas that transmit the vibration of the sea. There are also two eye-shaped underwater portholes, three digital screens that stream live underwater footage and hydrophones that transmit the natural sounds of the ocean.
Sawhney also sees a trend toward enrichment entertainment replacing classic options such as casinos. Virgin does not include a casino in its design, but instead offers a theater that can accommodate major lectures.
Technology is the wild card in future ship design, with rapid advancements constantly opening up new possibilities. For instance, HAL’s Ashford notes that the personalization of experience generated by onboard technology not only allows the cruise line to know about clients’ tastes and habits in order to create magical experiences, but it also enables the crew to track guests during safety issues; respond when a concentration of passengers may need additional staff for service; and arrange smoother embarkation and disembarkation.
With technological changes advancing at an ever-greater speed, it seems like cruise lines are barely scratching the surface in terms of what can be accomplished in the future.
“These are the best times ever to be selling cruises,” said Van Anderson, co-founder of Avoya Travel in San Diego. “Innovation is occurring around the industry as never before, and there is plenty more to be excited about ahead.”
