Drawings of two categories of the cabins unveiled at the Vacation.com conference in Las Vegas reveal a contemporary, streamlined decor that features rich paneling and warm tones and accent colors.
"We're trying to trend a little bit younger to bring a new group of people onto the ships," Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Kevin Sheehan tells USA TODAY in a one-on-one interview to discuss the new design.
Sheehan says executives worked hard to make sure the rooms will be as functional as they are stylish, taking great pains to address what some cruisers, travel agents and travel writers thought were failings with the cabin design of the company's last ship, the 4,100-passenger Norwegian Epic.
"We listened to our guests, we listened to travel agents and we listened to the press," Sheehan says. "We tried to take (into account) everything that people would say was not perfect on the Epic or what people would want and that we think would be very exciting."
Criticism of Epic cabins centered around their unusual open-plan bathroom layout that had the toilet and shower in separate and not-particularly-private compartments -- a space-saving move that allowed the line to make cabins slightly narrower than is typical. The rooms also were criticized for having poor lighting, particularly around the sink area, and difficult-to-find switches for lighting.
"You needed a Ph.D to figure out how to use the lights," Sheehan jokes. "We simplified that."
The cabins on the new ships will have a standard bathroom with the toilet, shower and sink all in one private compartment.
"There
are a lot of people
who like the Epic
bathrooms, and I
don't think we've
heard a word of
negative commentary
(on the bathrooms)
from anyone in six
or nine months,"
Sheehan says. "But
we do recognize that
there are people who
like the traditional
bathroom."
As previously announced, the two as-yet-unnamed new ships are scheduled to debut in April 2013 and April 2014, respectively, and will carry approximately 4,000 passengers at double occupancy.
Norwegian commissioned design group Priestmangoode of the United Kingdom, working in conjunction with Tillberg Design of Sweden, to design the cabins for the two-ship series, currently dubbed Project Breakaway.
Priestmangoode has worked with Norwegian Cruise Line before, designing the Studio cabins for singles on Norwegian Epic. In contrast to the main cabin categories on Epic, designed by others, Priestmangoode's Studio cabins won raves from cruisers, travel agents and travel writers.
While Priestmangoode specializes in the design of small spaces, Norwegian executives concluded the firm's use-every-square-inch-smartly style would work just as well on bigger cabins as it did with Epic's Studio cabins, Sheehan says.
"At the end of the day, no matter what size the cabins are, they're all small spaces," he notes.
The drawings revealed today showed the look of balcony cabins and mini-suites on the coming ships, of which there will be 1,024 and 238, respectively. Norwegian says it will reveal additional cabin category designs on its Facebook page in July.
Each balcony cabin on the new ships will have a king-size bed (that can be separated) with a pillow top mattress set against a chestnut leather headboard. There will be a lighted recess above the bed to hold items such as books and electronic reading devices.
Each balcony cabin also will have a sofa bed with additional storage. A built-in 26-inch flat screen television will be mounted on the wall and tilt so it can be seen from the sofa or the bed. Underneath the television will be another recessed nook, and there will be a built-in vanity area with shelving and storage space. The cabins also will have LED lighting surrounding the perimeter of the ceiling to give the room warmth and a full-size closet with sliding doors.
Norwegian didn't release the square footage of the new rooms, but Sheehan says the indoor area of the balcony cabins will be slightly larger than the balcony cabins on the Epic. The balcony area itself will be slightly smaller, he says.
The bathrooms in the new cabins will be spacious,
Sheehan says, noting that about half a dozen executives recently packed into a mock-up of one of the bathrooms in a scene that resembled something out of a Marx Brothers movie.
