Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2000)

Cruise Shipping Annual notable a la carte dining room — the vessel's popular restaurant — that was frequented by Olympic's passengers.

After Titanic's tragic and much publi- cized sinking. White Star returned

Olympic to its original builder Harland & Wolff in Northern Ireland, where it received an inner skin to avoid a similar fate. Olympic continued to operate transatlantic crossings until 1935 when it was decommissioned and scrapped in

Jarrow, Northumberland.

But Olympic still lives today — and not just through memories and draw- ings. Years later Celebrity discovered that some of the original paneling from the vessel's a la carte restaurant was pre- served in an English residence. Its own- ers, who had purchased the paneling at an auction after the ship had been cut up. recently decided to sell the piece of his- tory to Sotheby's — the Manhattan auc- tion house where Celebrity made its winning bid.

Walking into the original a la carte dining room one would be encompassed by the elegant honey-colored French walnut paneling that was flecked by gold colored leaves. Boasting a rose-col- ored carpet, the Louis XV-inspired room would hold tables with French-backed chairs, as well as an adjacent waiting room where a piano trio played as guests waited to dine. "The paneling will recapture the ele- gance and glory of one of the North

Atlantic's greatest ocean liners," Max- tone-Graham said.

The paneling has since been sent to

Chantiers for installation on Millenni- um's historical apex — the Olympic din- ing lounge. But before taking on this task, the paneling had to be cleaned and restored. A subcontractor hired by

Chantiers fixed imperfections such as scratches and discoloration on the panel- ing.

According to Francesca Bucci, an associate at New York City-based Birch

Coffey Design, the original paneling for the Lounge Room consists of 40 linear meters of French walnut with gilded details, while the remaining 10-15 per- cent of the lounge, and the entire wine cellar was filled with a replication of its original.

Bucci. whose firm designed the

Olympic Dining Room and Lounge aboard Millennium, as well as various public areas, explained that since the paneling is made of wood, it would have to be treated to meet the flammability requirements. "Traditionally, flammable materials would be coated with a special fire treat- ment," Bucci said. "Since this was a spe- cial situation, we could only treat the back of the paneling and sprinkler sys- tems were added in the lounge instead."

Bucci also mentioned that an original credenza that once stood in the R.M.S.

Olympic's dining room will accompany the paneling in the lounge. Measuring 2 m x 90 cm, the piece will be placed out- side of the restaurant's display kitchen.

While Celebrity may be taking the path of, as Bucci says, "traditional luxu- ry ambiance," the trends in cruise design are split two-fold. "We basically have two mainstream designs," Bucci said. "The subtle, sophisticated and historical European style, or on the other end, the Vegas- style. flashy decor. For the moment, these are the most popular trends among cruise design."

The Future of the Fleet

Celebrity has achieved a healthy growth spurt not only by the merger with RCCL, and the addition of its Mil- lennium Class, but by exceeding its expectations as a whole. "We are very steadfast in delivering a quality product," Sasso said. "We promised a lot. and yet we delivered more."

As it would seem highly unlikely at this point in time, resulting from an average of 10.7 cruise vessel newbuilds scheduled each year through 2003, how would Celebrity handle a possible downturn? According to Sasso, who has been involved in the cruise industry for the past 29 years, "Not since the fuel cri- sis of the 1970s and skyrocketing inter- est rates of the mid-1980s has the indus- try experienced such a dip."

He added, "Our [the cruise] industry has proven to be successful in down markets, today there are ships out there with greater technology. Ships are more attractive and offer more of a variety of amenities, thus attracting more cus- tomers."

Although Celebrity might be dubbed by some industry insiders as new com- petition for other cruise lines that have already made their mark, 2000 could also be dubbed as the year of Celebrity. "2000 is our year," Sasso said. "We'll spend a lot more this year on bigger ships, as well as doubling our fleet size throughout the next five years."

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