Delicious Australia – (10)October 2019

HIGH STYLE

Forget generic nautical blues and

whites and cookie-cutter cabins

• ships today are calling upon
  the world’s best designers and interiors
  experts to fit-out rooms and public
  spaces. Boutique river cruise line
  Uniworld utilises sister hotel company
  Red Carnation to decorate its ships,
  which come with priceless paintings
  and sculptures as well as designer
  lighting and high-threadcount linens.
  Virgin Voyages also enlisted hospitality
  institution, America’s hip Ace group,
  to style its upcoming ships, with a
  support team of nine other design firms
  in the wings to ensure facilities and

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flourishes are as luxeatseaasthey

are on land.

Celebrity CruisesnamedNewYork

interiors darling NateBerkusasits

‘design ambassador’forupcoming

ships, and then announcedfamed

designers Kelly HoppenandTom

Wright as among thoseworkingon

ships including CelebrityEdge. Adam

Tihany – whose pastprojectsinclude

the Four Seasons resortin Dubaiand

the Beverly Hills Hotelin LosAngeles

• has also been in highdemand,
  imagining the two-storeyQueen’s
  Lounge on HollandAmericaLine’s
  Koningsdam, as wellaspublicspaces
  on Seabourn’s EncoreandOvation.

3 TOP STATELY

CRUISE SHIPS

CELEBRITY FLORA

WALL-TO-WALL GLASS IN

LUXE PENTHOUSE SUITES

SCENICECLIPSE

EACHSUITEHASA PRIVATE

VERANDAANDLOUNGEAREA

SKYPRINCESS

SKYSUITESOFFERSTUNNING

OCEANVIEWS

Celebrity

Cruises’

whimsical garden

is inspired by

childrens’

playgrounds.

FAR-FLUNG FRONTIERS

Expedition cruising used to be synonymous with roughing

it: ships focused on the destinations, rather than the

on-board facilities. Today’s liners come with more luxe

trimmings than a billionaire’s mega-yacht, from helicopter

landing pads to private submarines.

Ponant’s freshly minted Le Lapérouse and Le Champlain,

will have underwater lounges with live views of the ocean

and marine sounds, and a hydraulic platform to allow easy

access to Zodiacs (inflatable boats used to ferry passengers

onexcursions) and the sea. Meanwhile, Celebrity’s new Flora

(inset)features plunge pools, all-suite accommodation and a

telescope-equipped stargazing platform, while Scenic Eclipse,

visiting Antarctica and the Northwest Passage, has ice showers

and thermal lounges, plus two helicopters and a custom-built sub.

Other high-tech expedition ships in the works include Crystal

Endeavour, debuting in 2020 as the largest polar-class ship at sea;

and Hapag-Lloyd’s Hanseatic Inspiration, with a glass-floored

viewing platform and Ocean Academy for independent research.

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