Metamorphosis - Cruise Ship Portal

Insight > Shipbuilding, maintenance & repair
A rendering of the Norwegian Epic’s aft pool.
a place where it really works for both
sides; things are progressing very well.”
Martinoli may have only joined NCL in
April of last year, but his first experience
of the Epic came earlier, having become
an advisor to Apollo Management in
March 2008. “It was one of the first things
I was told to do for them,” he recalls,
“being sent out to have a look at the
project and see how it was progressing.
It’s a huge undertaking and a significant
investment, so clearly Apollo wanted to
keep a close eye on its evolution.
“That was my involvement initially,
but upon becoming COO one of my areas
of responsibility is for new building.
Needless to say, this is one of the
biggest things going on within the
company, not just from a long-term
perspective, but on a day-to-day basis. It
requires constant monitoring.”
“
Speaking on the eve of yet another trip
to the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard
on the west coat of France to check up
on the latest progress, the cruise veteran,
whose previous roles include executive
VP, operations at Carnival Cruise Lines,
60
Roberto Martinoli joined NCL last April.
senior VP, operations at Costa Crociere
and managing partner at Martinoli Group,
is clearly excited by the thought that the
Norwegian Epic is so close to completion.
“We finished loading all the cabins
towards the end of the year, the steelwork
I’ll certainly be spending plenty of time on the
ship at the beginning. It’s far preferable than
being on the phone five hours a day.
is completed and all major aspects of the
project are in place,” he explains.
“Systems preparation is also up and
running, so it’s really just interior
decoration and the finishing touches that
need doing between now and delivery.
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“The overall design is
fantastic – I can say that as it
was all confirmed before my
arrival. From an architectural
standpoint they’ve done a great
job; the whole thing feels so
dynamic and new.”
Work on interiors has been
shared between two practices
with whom NCL enjoys a longstanding
relationship, SMC and
Tillberg Design, and a team of
in-house designers have
focused on the crew areas and
behind-the-scenes logistics. The
hip, somewhat urban feel of the
ship’s cabins feels like a
departure from traditional
notions of maritime design, but
it is the scale and span of the
entertainment amenities on
board that really excite.
“When NCL launched the
Freestyle Cruising concept back in 2000 it
was mainly centred around the dining
experience, placing an emphasis on choice
and flexibility,” Martinoli explains. “What
the Epic represents is a further step
forward through applying similar
principles to entertainment. Instead of one
big show with two sittings of 3,000, you
have several different locations, smaller
capacities and the opportunity for people
not to feel obliged to be at a certain place
at a certain time. This is quite a significant
change to the cruise experience.”
Having already confirmed acts such as
Blue Man Group and Legends in Concert,
the COO believes the Epic’s output will
be more akin to Vegas or Broadway than
anything found on the high seas. These
claims will surely attract a wide audience,
but the scale on which this new level of
Freestyle Cruising will be conducted
might also pose problems. Sometimes
being able to dictate guest behaviour in a
more dictatorial manner does have its
benefits, and with at least 60% more
passenger space than any of the existing
fleet, a lot of work is being put into
minimising congestion.
“There are certainly challenges that
arise around ensuring people are flowing
through the ship and no bottlenecks are
created,” Martinoli acknowledges. “We’ve
put a lot of focus into the ‘urbanistics’ of
the design and extended our on-board
reservation system. Part of that was
working with external consultants, using