Cruise & Ferry Interiors 2020

5 5 space anywhere, on land or at sea. It also transforms – while it can be a nice place to sit and people watch during the quieter times, it can also be brimming with entertainment at others.” The juxtaposition of tranquillity and lavishness was not a design coincidence. As is clear across Mardi Gras, the visuals and functions of each space were specifically chosen to evoke a certain response from passengers. “The French Quarter will heavily reflect the atmosphere and aesthetic of New Orleans’ notoriously vibrant neighbourhood, with various venues like the Brass Magnolia Jazz Bar, Emeril’s Bistro, Alchemy and Fortune Teller Bar providing guests with entertainment and exquisite cuisine,” says Kummala. The new ship represents the ultimate Fun Ship and so was named after Carnival’s first-ever cruise ship, Mardi Gras. However, in the process of building the onboard spaces and creating the new and improved version of the vessel, the cruise line has had to balance its own concepts of design excellence with feedback from guests. “Mardi Gras is a completely new class of ship for us, so when we designed her, we had the freedom of starting with a completely blank canvas,” explains Kummala. “This provides a fantastic opportunity to create something totally original as the team was able to share ideas without the constrictions of a sister ship. “We worked closely with our operators from entertainment, food, beverage and youth programmes to include the latest proposals that both we and they had. We also carefully considered our guests’ feedback and then used that to improve upon any of the existing suggestions.” However, Kummala believes that beautiful aesthetics fall short if they hinder functionality. “The goal was to have the most exciting and beautiful ship, but none of that really matters if the spaces and layouts don’t function properly. I firmly believe that you cannot create a good design without a good plan. If you have a beautiful design that doesn’t flow or function as it should, how good is the design in reality? As such, function and form will both be in plentiful supply on Mardi Gras.” CFI Onboard spaces such as Grand Central Atrium (top) and Brass Magnolia Jazz Bar (right) will echo the vibrance and cultural richness of New Orleans