 |
|
|
 Travel & Outdoors | February 2006 
Extreme Makeover: Taking High Style to the High Seas
 Denny Lee - NYTimes
| | The new Norwegian Jewel has 10 courtyard villa suites that open to a common area, above, with a lounging bed, pool, hot tub and small gym. (Andrea Mohin/NYTimes) |
Captain Stubing wouldn't know thread counts from pillow tops. And Frette? That must be Charo's boyfriend.
Cruise line cabins have come a long way since "The Love Boat" set sail for Acapulco back in the 70's, but now they are getting positively swank. In what the industry terms an "extreme makeover," aging vessels are being refitted, refurbished and, in some cases, even reassembled, turning claustrophobic cabins into floating skyboxes that would make Ian Schrager proud.
Balconies are being welded on, mattresses upgraded, fiber-optic lighting installed and goose-down pillows fluffed all in an effort to attract younger passengers accustomed to plasma televisions as well as entice repeat customers tired of the same floral duvet.
"Cabins used to be closeted, drab and uninspiring a lot like inexpensive roadside motels," said Glen Reid, a leisure analyst at Bear, Stearns & Company in New York City. "Today, they're looking a lot more like five-star resorts."
And what resort would be complete without personalized stationery, a 24-hour concierge and a full-service spa? As part of a $225 million facelift, Holland America Line is adding those and a dozen other boutique-minded comforts to its 13-ship fleet. Clunky televisions are being replaced by flat-screen models; single-spray faucets are being upgraded to pulsating showerheads; and beds are being perked up with Sealy Posturepedic Euro-top mattresses.
Thread counts are rising faster than gasoline prices. Holland America upgraded its 180-count, blended-cotton sheets to 250-count, all-cotton linen. Silversea Cruises upped the ante with 320-count, Egyptian cotton bedspreads.
Not to be outdone, Crystal Cruises now boasts 350-count Frette linens in its penthouses, a pillow menu (hypoallergenic, foam, feather and neck-shaped) for its most discriminating sleepers.
No detail is too small to be embellished. Bathrooms are not only being outfitted with full-body jets and whirlpool tubs, but they now feature chic toiletries like Acqua di Parma (Silversea), L'Occitaine (Norwegian Cruise Line) and Red Flower (Crystal).
"They carry it at Barneys," said Mimi Weisbrand, a spokeswoman for Crystal, which switched to Red Flower from Aveda. "Each room will be stocked with two scents: blood orange and gardenia. We're the first to give passengers a choice of two scents."
It's all part of the amenity creep popularized by style-conscious hotels and now engulfing the cruise industry in a tidal wave of designer chic. "It's similar to what Ritz Carlton and the Four Seasons feature in their suites," said Erling Frydenberg, the chief operations officer at Silversea. "We want to stay competitive."
But the decorating drive is also a matter of economics. New construction of cruise vessels has slowed in recent years, and cruise lines are focusing on modernizing older vessels.
A striking example is the Royal Caribbean International's Enchantment of the Seas. Last year, the eight-year-old ship was cut in half and a 73-foot-long midsection was inserted like a drop leaf, adding 151 new staterooms and extending its length to 990 feet. Similarly, the company's older Sovereign of the Seas was recently retrofitted with 62 balconies to meet a growing consumer demand for outdoor accommodations.
"People have developed an expectation for private balconies, both on cruises and on land," said Adam M. Goldstein, the president of Royal Caribbean.
The same upmarket drift applies to the d้cor. Gone are the days when cabins felt like hospital waiting rooms, characterized by beige metal walls, harsh overhead lighting and office-grade chairs that were often bolted to the deck. Las Vegas-style themes that were popular in the last decade (Polynesian tiki bars, African safari lounges, Parisian cafes) also seem to be on a wane.
The emerging look today is more sophisticated and more residential. Walls are now sheathed in exotic wood veneers like eucalyptus. Chairs are upholstered in tanned leather and crushed velvet. And the lighting mixes low-voltage halogens, soffit-mounted diodes and custom-made table lamps.
"Our cabins went from traditional to contemporary," said Alexandra Don, the vice president of onboard guest services for Crystal, which replaced all the soft furnishings on the Crystal Symphony last year. Neutral-toned carpet was laid down, less-frilly curtains were hung and quilted duvets were spread. It was the second facelift in three years.
"Redesigns used to take place every four to five years," said Frank Symeou, the chief executive at designteam, a London firm that has worked with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Cunard. "Now it's every couple of years."
That's not the only thing getting younger. While retirees are still a core segment of the cruise industry, the average age of passengers has fallen in the last decade to 50 from 60, according to the Cruise Line International Association in New York. The latest association survey shows that people under 40 now make up about a quarter of the manifest.
In decorating terms, that means pastels, floral prints and pale woods are out; muted textures and darker woods are in.
"It's no longer just Grandma and Grandpa, but all ages," said Gunnar Aaserud, the executive architect at Yran & Storbraaten, an Oslo-based design firm that is modernizing the Silversea fleet. "We're moving away from shiny brass, and more toward brushed stainless steel."
That younger look is evident on the newest ships. The Norwegian Jewel, a Norwegian Cruise Line ship that entered service in September, was meant to evoke a stylish international hotel, with a dozen suites that feel like Gen-X bachelor pads.
The 5,750-square-foot Garden Villa, for instance, has rosewood walls with stainless steel trim, a dark walnut wet bar with shiny aluminum stools, and a white circular couch that faces a 42-inch plasma television. The bathrooms are equipped with more flat-panel televisions, his-and-her bowl-like sinks, and sconces that resemble light sabers.
The nightclub atmosphere is echoed throughout the ship. Passageways are lined with abstract art. Teak cabanas ring the swimming pools. And instead of marble and mirrors, the atrium has a Jumbotron-size monitor, a simulated skylight with stalactite-shaped crystals and Louis XVI-style chairs rendered in hot pink.
"The atrium was inspired by the minimalist Philippe Starck style," said Trevor Young, vice president for hotel, new building and refurbishment for Norwegian. The Whiskey Bar, with its bands of orange light and top-shelf liquor framed behind frosted yellow glass, borrows heavily from the Mandarin Bar in London.
Hip hotel references are even finding their way into stately and more conservative ships like Cunard's Queen Mary 2. While much of the behemoth vessel is swathed in walnut burr and accessorized with silver butler trays, the Commodore Club could be mistaken for a Scandinavian airport lounge, the Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar has the crisp elegance of a Herm่s showroom, and its Canyon Ranch spa could be the focus of a Wallpaper centerfold.
"When we ask our clients what they want traditional, themed, contemporary or avant-garde very often they will mention hotels like the Delano in Miami," said Andy Collier, the head of design at SMC Design in London, which collaborated on the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth 2's recent renovation. "They want that cool sophisticated look."
But cutting-edge design has its limits in a travel sector where social activities are programmed to the minute, and predictability is prized over adventure. Cruises, after all, take the guesswork out of visiting foreign places, and appeal to the kind of mainstream tourist who probably prefers Ethan Allen over Herman Miller.
"As much as the industry is trying to broaden the demographic, they don't want to alienate the core customer by adopting avant-garde designs," said Robin Farley, a senior leisure analyst with UBS in San Francisco. "It's still an older customer base."
Cruise lines agree that their interiors won't end up in glossy magazines anytime soon. "You can build a wonderful ship that wins all the design awards, but nobody will go on them," said Ms. Don, the Crystal vice president. "Our demographic doesn't want a bathroom wall made of glass. They don't want to watch their 78-year-old wife taking a shower." |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us