More new ship news from the cruise industry: Cunard has announced the design team for its new ship. Set to launch in 2022, the as-yet-unnamed vessel is a major project for the luxury brand, as it will represent its first newbuild ship in 12 years. Joining the design team are Simon Rawlings of David Collins Studio, Terry McGillicuddy of Richmond International and Sybille de Margerie from her eponymous design company.
David Collins Studio is a London-based interior design practice that has worked on a number of hospitality and high-end retail projects, including Kerridge’s Bar and Grill, Corinthia London, The Apartment at The Connaught and Bob Bob Ricard. Cunard says that they will be responsible for the ship’s atrium, as well as the Grand Lobby, Queens Grill Suites and the main dining room. The project will mark Rawlings and his team’s first oceangoing interior.
Richmond International, which has worked in hospitality design since 1966 on hotels such as The Langham London and the Four Seasons Budapest, will helm the ship’s theater, entertainment spaces and outside deck space.
Sybille de Margerie Paris, meanwhile, will design the new ship’s retail spaces, spa and flagship event space, which will be called the Queen’s Room. The project will also mark the first ship interior for de Margerie, who has previously worked on designs for The Mandarin Oriental Paris and Cheval Blanc in Courchevel.
As previously announced, famous hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany will act as creative director for the new ship. He has worked on hotel projects including The Beverly Hills Hotel, Belmond Hotel Cipriani and The Oberoi New Delhi, as well as restaurant interiors for famous chefs such as Thomas Keller and Heston Blumenthal. In the cruise industry in recent years, he has helmed the design for Seabourn’s all-suite Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Ovation, as well as for Holland America Line’s Pinnacle-class ships. He was also named creative director of Costa Cruises’ new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered cruise ships.
In a statement announcing the design team, Tihany said that their design would aim to move forward with a “next generation cruise liner” feel, while still capturing the spirit of the Cunard brand.
Further design and itinerary details for the new ship are still under wraps. It will be built at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Italy and, when it launches, will bring the luxury cruise line’s fleet to four for the first time since the 1980’s. In an interview with Travel Agent shortly after the first announcement of the new ship, executives said that it would give the brand the ability to serve growing cruise demand for far-flung destinations, as one of its ships, the Queen Mary 2, mostly sails transatlantic itineraries, while the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth operate World Cruises for much of the year.
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