Z – Industry Comment: Connection with the Sea

Connection with the Sea

No it’s not the name of a new Royal Caribbean ship, what I would like to discuss this week is how some ships seem to have a better ‘connection with the sea’ than others. By ‘connection,’ I simply mean that a ship with a good ‘connection’ would have lots of windows in the public rooms, maybe a forward facing observation lounge overlooking the bow, a good promenade deck (ideally a wrap around type) and adequate deck space to sit and get a sea view. You would never be too far away from a sea view and the smell of the Ocean.

You cannot expect big ships to have as good a connection with the sea as small ships. This is because big ships almost certainly have very wide public rooms, and the windows are relatively small compared to the overall size of the room. On large ships, some public rooms and spaces may be located internally and not even have any windows.

For example if you dine onboard Fred Olsen’s Black Watch (28,00gt), wherever you sit in the main dining room, you are never very far away from a window and a sea view. On the other hand, if you are dining in the Queen Mary 2’s (150,000gt) beautiful Britannia dining room, a window could be a considerable distance away from your table. From your table, you may not have a clear view of the sea.

Queen Mary 2’s vertical size can also keep passengers further away from the sea. If you stand on the QM2’s stern, the sea appears to be far below you and your chances of being splashed by a passing wave are nil. If you stand on the stern of a smaller ship you would be much nearer sea level, and could probably taste the sea spray.

However, there are some exceptions to the rule that large ships have less of a connection with the sea. Royal Caribbean’s Radiance-class has tons of glass and offers plentiful sea views, including some from unlikely places, such as one of the gent’s public toilets. Their design also makes the interiors very light. In fact I would say that this class of ship has more ‘connection with the sea’ than many smaller ships.

Likewise not all small ships have a good ‘connection’. Some older ships almost certainly lack large numbers of balcony cabins, if they have any at all. Some do not have the luxury of a front facing observation lounge and wrap around promenade decks are not standard. Even the deck space on some older/smaller ships may be limited.

RCI’s Voyager-class ships are not only 40k bigger than the Radiance-class ships, they also feature a significantly different internal design, although externally there are some similarities. The Royal Promenade, which is an indoor “street” or “promenade” with shops, cafes and bars, runs through the centre of the Voyager-class ships, has no natural light or sea views. There are cabins with windows which overlook this space offering a somewhat artificial outside view when compared with the view of Mother Nature from the balconies of outside cabins.

In RCI’s defense, the Voyager class probably has no worse connection than many other big ship especially when you consider that with so many balcony cabins, many passengers have their own private connection with the sea.

With RCI’s new ‘Oasis’ class, RCI have added skylights to the Royal Prom providing natural light, so you at least get a sky-view. Cabins overlooking the open air ‘Central Park’ – the first ocean going park with live trees and plants – will at least have natural light and a view of the sky from their balconies. Cabins overlooking the ‘Boardwalk’ – the first ocean going seaside arcade – will have a partial view of the sea via the ships open stern design.

But does a ‘connection with the sea’ matter?

Well I think it does. Although modern ships are increasingly becoming giant ‘floating resorts’, the passengers are still buying an ocean going experience. If you can’t actually see the ocean too often, you are missing out on one of the main joys of cruising and might as well be on vacation in a land based resort.