The smiley cruise ship on this month's cover is the Aida, owned by P&O Princess Cruises' German Unit, Aida Cruises.

The giants of the cruise market, at least, have plenty to smile about—as do those brands that have well identified niches. The number of passengers carried annually continues to grow and the demographics are in place for that growth to continue. The only cloud in the picture is that, with softening economies, cruise prices are under pressure, at least for the moment. Still, overall, added capacity means added revenues

In case anyone hasn't noticed, we're living in a Golden Age of cruise ship design and construction. As the number of cruise passengers carried annually continues to soar—nearly 7 million in 2000—shipyards continue to deliver vessels packed with facilities and features that often top those offered by the most exotic shoreside resorts.

Meantime, the platforms that carry these floating resorts—the hull and machinery element of the package—become ever more innovative. All this is borne out by tonnage now coming out of the principal cruise ship construction yards.

As this was written, for example, Royal Caribbean's 88,000 gt Radiance of the Seas had just finished its journey down the Ems Canal from Germany's Meyer Werft, for sea trials prior to its scheduled delivery this month.

With a length of 293 m and breadth of 32 m, the 2,100 passenger ship is the largest ever floated out from Meyer Werft's covered building facility, though the yard will deliver a 91,000 gt ship to Star Cruises later in the year.

"With her sleek, mega-yacht exterior, an abundance of windows, and all- glass elevators facing the sea, Radiance of the Seas gives a remarkable sense of openness, connecting guests to the ocean," says Jack Williams, president, Royal Caribbean International.

"With every class of ship, we're able to benefit from what came before. There's continuous improvement and a natural progression of design work and creativity".

Royal Caribbean International commissioned nine architectural design teams, including its in-house design department, to create all the interior and exterior spaces on this vessel. From the plush red suede sofas in the trendy Books, Books & Coffee bookstore to the stainless steel and copper accents of the futuristic Starquest disco with its revolving bar, each public area has a unique personality of its own.

"We have a tradition of surprises with each ship we introduce," says Williams. "On Radiance of the Seas, guests will find more glass than on any Royal Caribbean ship as well as the first ultra high-tech self-leveling pool tables on a cruise ship."

While self-leveling pool tables maybe what wows cruise customers, the marine industry will likely be paying a little more attention to the ship's power plant. The Radiance of the Seas is the world's second gas turbine powered cruise liner. The first was the Millennium, delivered last year to Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Cruises brand by Chantiers de l'Atlantique.

Like Millennium, Radiance's power plant consists of two GE LM2500+ engines in a COGES arrangement with a steam turbine. Propulsion is by two Azipod podded drives.

At 88,000 tons and with a 2,100 guest capacity (double occupancy), Radiance of the Seas is described by RCL as "a new generation world cruiser designed to sail world itineraries."

NEXT

HOME

&Mac195;

HOME