Ship shape

It is important to apply 'eclecticism' with cruise ship interiors, according to the designer of the Costa Deliziosa, Joseph Farcus.
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On February 23, Costa Deliziosa became the first cruise ship in history to be inaugurated in an Arab city. The 294m-long, state-of-the-art, luxury cruise liner was named during a lavish ceremony at Dubai’s Port Rashid.

Built in Italy, at Venice’s Fincantieri shipyard, Costa Deliziosa is the third ship to be delivered to owner Costa Crociere in just nine months, and represents part of a EUR2.4 billion fleet expansion programme for Italy’s largest tourism company. Along with sister vessel, Costa Luminosa, Costa Deliziosa is also the most innovative and exclusive member of the Costa fleet – essentially, a whole new breed of cruise liner.

“Costa Deliziosa represents the upscale part of our offering,” explained chairman and CEO, Costa Crociere, Pier Luigi Foschi. However, in spite of its size and advanced features, it is a ship that was designed to make its guests feel comfortable, he continued. “Above all, it is a ship that transforms a normal, ordinary holiday into a dream come true.”

Hence the name, derived from the Italian word delizia, meaning ‘reason or cause for great pleasure, joy and satisfaction; something cherished that uplifts the body and soul’.

It fell to Miami-based designer and architect Joseph Farcus to create interiors to match these lofty principles.

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Designing experiences

“Pier Luigi Foschi gave me an idea of what the guest should be feeling, in a general, spiritual way,” Farcus explained. “He didn’t say, ‘Make this red, make this blue’ or anything, but he talked to me about who his guests were going to be, and what they would expect onboard in terms of their experience. Because that’s what I’m doing, I’m designing experiences.”

The design process was very natural, said Farcus, who has produced ten cruise ships for Costa Crociere, and first entered this niche segment of the market working with Carnival Cruise Lines.

“How I approach it is very personal. I sit down with a blank piece of paper and start drawing. I draw by hand. We have a very small office, just a couple of people and, basically, I design almost everything myself,” he added.

“When I first started off in my career, I made more of an effort to come up with a central idea and then build a design around colours, or impressionist paintings, or Italian villas, or something like that. But, over the years, that has progressed and now, I just design the ship as a whole,” Farcus detailed.

“What I did do was take the ideas that Pier Luigi Foschi has of appealing to higher-end travellers who have had more experience of going on cruises, and maybe made the design a little more refined in that respect.”

As a result, premium materials were employed throughout the ship. Marble and granite were complemented by stucco, applied using a spatula in the traditional ‘spatolato veneziano’ technique.

Other high-end finishes included parchment scroll lamé, refined Zebrano wood and wenge timber, Murano glass, and polished and glazed steel. In support of the ship’s distinctly Italian roots, the design called upon high-end Italian brands, such as Rubelli for fabrics, Molteni for furniture, and Sicis, a specialist in art mosaics, which appear in some of the most exclusive parts of the ship.

A total of 970 La Murrina chandeliers appear in Costa Deliziosa’s public areas, alongside chairs and couches designed by Italian designers Rossi D’Albizzate, Moroso and Baxter.

Floating gallery

The ship is also home to an exclusive art collection, curated by Milanese architecture firm Casagrande & Recalcati. The permanent collection brings together a total of 340 original works and 4,756 reproductions, by old masters and emerging artists alike.

For example, the ship’s central atrium is dominated by the Sphere, an arresting gilt bronze sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro. This space is also notable for its scale, and in the way it embraces natural light. “The atrium is topped by a skylight so that natural light comes all the way down into the main lobby. Having the light so that it is coming in from above also draws you to look up and that gives you an initial feeling for how big the ship is,” said Farcus.

With a gross tonnage of 92,600, the ship can carry up to 2,826 guests. Facilities include 1,130 cabins, 772 of which have verandas, four restaurants, 11 bars, three pools and four jacuzzis. A 1,300m² theatre show lounge covers three levels and has a seating capacity of over 800. Its centrepiece is a giant 18m² screen flanked by giant, statuesque lampshades.