The art of cruising

The serene ambience on Carnival's newest ship, Pride, belies its large size. Impressive reproductions of Renaissance art give it the air of a museum at sea.

By ROBERT N.JENKINS
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 20, 2002

[Photo: Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines] A same-size copy of Michelangelo’s David greets diners arriving at the sophisticated steakhouse aboard the Carnival Pride. This view is through the skylight that extends from the ship’s funnel, which is covered with a giant reproduction of Renaissance art.

"Oh, this is cute! I'm so glad I came here," said the travel agent, eyeing the red-and-white checkerboard swivel chairs next to walls of hand-painted tiles lining the cruise ship's wide corridor. "If someone hadn't told me about it, I never would have found it."

Maybe she would have, maybe not. The area labeled the Sunset Garden is actually a hallway leading to the children's play room, at the front of the brand new Carnival Pride. But it is also a quiet place to relax, beneath a ceiling painting of fruit-laden vines clinging to a trellis. Huge, circular windows look out on the sea.

Yet the whimsical Sunset Garden, which competes for passengers' attention with the ship's 13 nightclubs and bars, four swimming pools, three restaurants, Internet cafe and two-story disco, is just a minor note in the symphony of change from the typical Carnival ship.

The line is noted for its extensive use of computer-controlled, changing-color neon tubing, Dayglo accents and glass-walled elevators.

The Pride is more like a museum at sea: Walls and even elevator doors are covered with reproductions of works by Renaissance artists such as Botticelli and Rafael, columns and friezes that appear to be made of bronze are everywhere, and there are 70 specially commissioned glass artworks gracing stairway landings.

[Photo: Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines] In the corridor named the Sunset Garden, the only undecorated surface is the wood floor; hand-painted tiles cover the walls, the ceiling is painted with garden scenes, even the window frames have brightly colored moldings.

The pervasiveness of such art -- some of the Renaissance paintings are the actual size of the originals, but one is about 40 feet tall -- lends a calming, upscale feel to this 2,124-passenger vessel. It's a My Fair Lady makeover of what had been cruising's poster child for Glitzier is Better Syndrome.

Joe Farcus played Prof. Henry Higgins this time, though Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde might be more apt: Farcus is in his 24th year designing the interiors of Carnival Cruise Lines ships.

On one of them, he has parked a classic Rolls-Royce where it couldn't be missed by the passing throngs. On another ship, he stationed life-sized resin models of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis at one of the numerous bars that line Carnival's trademark promenade.

On the Pride, the celebrities have been supplanted by a true superstar: A 10-foot-tall copy of Michelangelo's David greets diners at the ship's reservations-only steakhouse restaurant. This room is circled by mock windows and pediments that honor the Italian architect Palladio. The feeling is one of elegance, hardly the adjective for the previous Carnival decor.

[Photo: Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines] A guest enjoys quiet moment amidst artwork in the Florentine Lobby of Carnival Pride.

Beauty on board

Beauty on a brief visit Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas offers unusual interior space, impressive art and excellent service. But it won't be sailing from Tampa for long.

Leading travel writers on a tour of the more sedate Pride this month, Farcus related how he decides the decor for these huge ships:

"I come up with a center point of design, then come up with the ideas of how interiors could fit into it."

He began conceiving ideas for the Pride about six years ago. "I thought, this ship has to be beautiful . . . then I subdivided that into types of beauty.

"Beauty can be interpreted in many ways, from the physical to the spiritual to the experiential . . . artistic beauty, visual beauty wouldn't be enough. (For instance,) holding the winning ticket for a racing trifecta, you might say, "Man, that's beautiful!' "

[Photo: AP] The 960-foot-long Carnival Pride arrives to a water-cannon salute at Port Canaveral. Of the ship’s 1,062 cabins, 682 have the highly popular verandas.

Ultimately, Farcus designed decorations that do celebrate athletic achievement, and they are in the ship's sports bar. He also featured what he called the "mythological beauty of mermaids" in the sprawling pool-deck restaurant.

Butterflies decorate one nightclub, and the Taj Mahal is the theme for the 1,167-seat theater.

Even another cruise ship is recalled: "Many cruise-ship enthusiasts consider the luxury liner Normandie the most beautiful such vessel ever built," Farcus said. It sailed from 1932-42 and is honored in the Pride's formal dining room.

Although this new ship has all the usual amenities and temptations of an oceangoing resort, it is wrapped in less frenetic packaging.

One travel agent aboard this month told me she had trouble sorting out her feelings about the Pride.

With its overlay of culture, she could not visualize seagoing merrymakers strolling through the ship in wet bathing suits. A day later, when she saw passengers in casual wear moving about the vessel, she was reassured that she could recommend it as she had the previous Carnival ships.

[Photo: Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines] Glass-walled elevators glide through the Pride’s eight-deck-tall atrium.

From elegant to ecstatic

To understand the range of Farcus' ideas, passengers need only to look at that dining room, at his favorite lounge and at the disco.

"In the Normandie dining room, I'm most proud of the hole," the former architect said with an impish smile. "Originally this (1,250-seat room) was two solid steel decks. We had to make it open, elegant, and have a stairway between the decks."

The room's main colors are hues of beige and brown. Glass panels are used as ceiling and wall accents and to separate adjoining tables and booths. The panels feature art deco motifs that Farcus said are copied from Lalique designs on that ocean liner, which was damaged by fire and sank in 1942 while being refitted for use as a troop carrier.

[Times photo: Robert N. Jenkins] These fiberglass torsos, celebrating the beauty of the human form, adorn the disco named Beauties.

Two huge statues on the first and second landings of the curving stairway duplicate sculptures from the Normandie.

In the middle of the ship, amid the cluster of themed bars and casual seating areas, the jazz room Starry Night is a clever paean to Van Gogh:

Two walls are murals of the familiar midnight blue and gold from his Starry Night, while the chairs, tables, wall sconces and mock window frames are copied from another of his paintings.

The disco, named Beauties, is about as loud and stroboscopic as can be tolerated. In other words, it is packaged energy.

Here the beauty Farcus honors is the human form. Dozens of life-size fiberglass male and female torsos form tiny cliques against the black walls and serve as pedestals for cocktail tables. In glossy enamel, the headless, armless torsos are painted aquamarine, crimson, lemon yellow, magenta, peach, royal blue and other colors. The disco aside, Farcus said, "Most of the time, you locate yourself in an intimate place, read a book, have a coffee -- even on a ship with nearly 2,700 passengers," the ship's capacity when the third and fourth beds in cabins are sold.

"It's great to not always feel that you are on a huge ship. We have to overcome the bigness to let the passengers have the best experience."

Maybe they can find it in the cozy, out-of-the-way Sunset Garden.

If you go

[Times photo: Robert N. Jenkins] The bedside lamps in this cabin include tiny gooseneck spotlights, for use while reading.

The Carnival Pride this month began sailing alternating one-week itineraries from Port Canaveral. One Saturday it will head to one of Carnival's two private Bahamian islands and also will call at St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and at St. Maarten. On this cruise, three days are spent at sea.

On the next Saturday's departure, the ship will sail to Key West, Belize City, Belize, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, Mexico, and will spend two days at sea.

This ship is a twin to the Carnival Spirit, launched last fall; another duplicate is being built now.

STAYING ABOARD: There are 20 cabin-price categories. Excluding the suites, the cabins average a relatively large 185 square feet. Of the 1,062 cabins, 682 have the highly popular verandas. Sixteen cabins are wheelchair accessible.

Among cabin amenities: televisions showing broadcast channels and recent films, safes and disposable razors. Closet and drawer space is ample. There are organized activities for children, grouped by age, and the passengers can rent strollers and pay for nighttime babysitting.

DINING ABOARD: There are two main restaurants plus the elegant David's Supper Club. Typical for cruise-ship cuisine, the formal 1,250-seat dining room, Normandie, offers multiple appetizers, entrees and desserts on changing menus.

More notable is the wide range of cuisines offered in the casual pool-deck restaurant, the 458-seat Mermaids' Grille. At numerous buffet stations, passengers can choose from delicatessen sandwiches, carved-as-you-wait grilled meats, pastas, a rotating choice of Asian dishes and big salad and dessert bars. Mermaids' Grille serves at all three mealtimes.

There are also a 24-hour pizzeria offering as many as six varieties and a patisserie serving specialty coffees and sweets. And 24-hour room service is available from a limited menu.

But the big difference between the Pride and other similarly priced ships is the steakhouse ambience of David's. Dinner here is by reservation only; a $25 fee is charged (plus $29 more if you opt for the caviar appetizer).

The menu is impressive: three kinds of dry-aged steaks, large lobster tails, lamb and veal chops, and the topper: five medium-size crab claws from Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach. They are served already cracked.

ACTIVITIES ABOARD: In addition to the 13 bars and lounges and the casino, the ship has an Internet cafe (its dozen or so terminals are always in demand), a two-deck disco, jogging track, gym, saunas, spa, beauty salon, photo studio, video arcade and a three-deck-tall theater.

The Pride's 17-member dance troupe was especially energetic, moving to the music of a 10-piece ensemble playing in an orchestra pit. The stagecraft was innovative, and the two principal vocalists had strong voices. Other musical groups, including a string trio, play in various venues.

BOOKING ABOARD: A good cabin purchase would be category 5A, which has French doors that open -- but onto the ship's lifeboats, so there is no verandah to enter. However, the doors do allow for fresh air -- smokers might especially appreciate that -- and, depending on the cabins' locations, some of the lifeboats obscure the view less than others.

In the brochure, even during the lesser of the two price seasons, category 5A is priced at $80 less per person than the next cabin, which only has nonopening windows.

Actual rates for passage vary with the departure dates as well as the date of booking. Because the Pride began sailing just this month, it is popular with veteran cruisers, so discounts from the brochure rates may be hard to find until the spring. Check with a travel agent for more information and for reservations. Or call Carnival toll-free at 1-800-227-6482; the Web site is www.carnival.com.

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