Objective – to redesign and rebrand interior spaces of Mein Schiff 1 & 2 to align the experience with Marella Discovery 1 & 2 optimising layout and design to appeal to future customers.
My role – to understand the “as is” Mein Schiff experience and highlight priority venues to be redesigned. Working with strategic design consultants and lead Product Development Manager to develop all identities and concepts for venues across the ship and ensuring these are commercially and operationally efficient. Engaging with key stakeholders both internally and externally to sell the vision and highlight capital required. My final role was to hand over the implementation of this design to the business (BAU).
Solution – 2020 strategic design and key Product Development Manager recruited and worked collaboratively to develop venue identities meeting our requirements, incorporating learnings from TUI Discovery implementation and operation to ensure Marella Explorer 1 & 2 are delivered as a step up from the Discovery fleet.
The designs we worked on included the following:
- Hull design – taking the wave design from Marella Discovery and applying this to Mein Schiff (which sounds simpler than it was!)
- More choice – 10 eateries combining existing favourite concepts – Surf & Turf, Kora La and the Snack Shack – with new venues – Umi Sushi and The Mediterranean (a piazza offering pizza and tapas) and Scoops ice cream stall.
- More choice – 10 bars. The new signature bars include, Indigo which is at the very top of the ship, and will team ocean views with a casino and a nightclub and The Lounge, which is a more relaxed gathering space in the centre of the ship.
(Visuals included are highlighted orange)
Outcome – Marella Explorer launched in May 2018: this project benefitted from longer lead times that helped to ensure budgets were optimised and the social buzz following the launch of imagery suggests that this will be another great success for Marella Cruises.