I am very happy with the show.
Jacco van Overbeek
It begins…
After a fantastic night at our Official Launch Party, hosted by KETTAL, Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Europe launched a successful first day as attendees flooded through the entrance at 10.00am!
The expo hall quickly filled up with cruise lines execs, senior interior designers, shipyards and outfitting experts, along with IMO certified suppliers.
As early risers filled the hall, visitors were wowed by the stands on display. Every model on display on the Dyson stand was fully functional, from their hand dryers to their air filters to their hairdryers. Crestani 2000 boasted waterfalls flanking their stand while a transformer statue towered above the show floor near the VIP lounge. It was no surprise that visitors flocked to YSA Design’s stand as it was their first time exhibiting in many years.
Amazing conference sessions
Kicking off the two-day event, Greg Walton, CEO & Founding Partner of Studio DADO Inc moderated the first conference session: Leaders’ Debate – Pillars of Design. He led speakers from MSC Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Tillberg Design in a vibrant discussion spanning the deep understanding designers must have of their future customers, the true, highly debatable, importance of technology in cruise design to designing for crews. A question from the audience prompted the discussion regarding designing for the crew and from it emerged one of the most interesting conversations of the day. Designing for crew quarters has previously been left to the shipbuilders but is increasingly taken on by the ship’s designers. There is a call for single rooms amongst crew, although a large portion of crew still prefer doubles. Either way, the old, four-to-a-room style has been left in the past. Alison Clixby
Crowds flocked to Adam D. Tihany’s keynote address, Defining the Narrative: Cruising in the Age of Design. In his roles as Creative Director for Italy’s Costa Cruises and Britain’s iconic Cunard Line, as well as Designer for Holland America, Adam is steeped in hospitality and cruise design. He spoke eloquently of his history as a designer, his deep connection with Italian culture and how he has incorporated that in his designs and his firm belief that when you create, you have to believe that your work is immortal – and design with that in mind.
Fun on the show floor
The show floor was buzzing with activity and exhibitors gave visitors plenty to do.
Applelec were displaying their innovative fibre light, demonstrating how their laser technology had 360 degrees of flexibility. The less than a millimetre thin wire was on display in its raw form, embedded in a floor tile and integrated into signage. Applelec dunked the thin, zingy green fibre into a bottle of water to demonstrate how resilient the material was and how the light retained its clarity.
Matitone Travel, a travel agency that specialises in transporting people to drydocks, were demonstrating their patented technology on an oculus headset. The VR experience allows owners or project directors for cruise ship build and refit to view their project in 3D, in realtime. The headset can skip from realtime view to schematics, and highlight issues on the live image.
YSA Design hosted their own virtual reality tours on their stand. Visitors could navigate the sports bar aboard MSC Seaside, a project they completed December 2017. YSA recently embarked on a 7 day trip aboard the Seaside themselves to witness their project in action and learn from their completed work.