The fantastic "wall of glass" in the Atrium of
Grandeur of the Seas.
Photo © Aaron Saunders
I've always thought one of the best things about being at sea is simply being able to sit down either inside or out and watch the ocean go by. Even if you're just walking from one end of the ship to another, there's something incredible about seeing the ocean rush past as your ship carries you to some new and exotic destination.
Have a look at some of the newest ships to be built, though, and notice just how many public rooms exist in an interior-only space, with few or no windows at all.
The thinking is rather logical: in order to appeal to a different kind of passenger - the kind who prefers Las Vegas or a land vacation to a cruise - a few lines are going to great lengths to make passengers forget they are on a ship. They limit outdoor deck space, do away with promenade decks, and concentrate on designing interior areas that have few or no windows.
Even smaller rooms, like the International Cafe shown
here aboard Crown Princess, offer large picture windows.
Photo © Aaron Saunders
I didn't realize the extent to which this was occurring until I read Bart de Boer's excellent Norwegian Epic photo-tour on his ShipParade website. As usual, his descriptions of the ship and the photographs he's taken are the best of the best, but what caught my eye was what wasn't in the photos. Have a peek: there's all the usual rooms. Dining rooms, casino, atrium, elevator banks, show lounges...but take a close look at them and notice just how few of them have windows of any kind. The atrium looks more like a large shopping mall or international terminal at an airport than a ship. In fact, it reminds me a bit of the waiting area in Terminal 3 at London's Heathrow airport: a lot of stark white finish broken up by skylights and the occasional window.
They didn't have to, but they did: Cunard included windows
at the forward end of the Promenade deck aboard QM2.
Photo © Aaron Saunders
Royal Caribbean's Vision-class ships were originally dubbed "Ships of Light" when they first set sail back in the mid 1990's. Their enormous, two-story glass windows that covered atrium and dining areas let in an incredible amount of natural light, and afforded passengers excellent views regardless of weather conditions. These ships are remarkable at dawn and dusk: their interiors glow bright red with the setting sun in the evening, making for a memorable night aboard. To an extent, Royal Caribbean carried this theme over to its popular Radiance, Voyager, and Freedom-class ships: all boast the same wall of glass alongside their sweeping dining rooms.
Holland America Line's Vista-class ships are notable for their dual port-and-starboard banks of glass elevators. Located amidships, the elevators traverse every deck of the ship, running through a glass tunnel that offers magnificent views of the ocean. Once the elevators descend below promenade-deck level, clever murals create the illusion of being under water.
Is this a dying feature? Hallways flooded with natural light,
like this one aboard Regent's Seven Seas Mariner.
Photo © Aaron Saunders
Though Carnival Cruise Lines may be best known for their whimsical - and sometimes outlandish - interior decor, the line has never skimped when it comes to viewing space: even their trendsetting Fantasy-class ships, which were at their height during the mid-to-late 1990's, offer ocean views from just about every room.
So is cutting back on the view a growing trend? Hopefully not. In as much as lines are trying to court new passengers who may traditionally not have considered a cruise vacation, there's still a large contingent of us who love the sweeping views of the sea from our ship.
After all, isn't that the point of being on the ocean?
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