Stern view

Bow on

[ 04-14-2010: Message edited by: DAMBROSI ]

[ 04-14-2010: Message edited by: Kevin Griffin, London ]

Side view of Epic is OK, stern view is squared off but not that different than most ships. It's the bow view that really emphasizes the villa installation and causes ship lovers to howl.

She'll never be a beauty, but I agree that she looks better from several angles than the Azura/Grand class.

RCCL did a better job streamlining Oasis, but she's by no means attractive on the exterior either.

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Originally posted by Kevin Griffin, London:
Wow! This is one plug ugly kitten! We tend to think that the French are good at design [...]

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Why do you think that she is a 'french' design? Just because she is built in France?

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Originally posted by Dutch:
Epic is still not fully painted. When the white overspray window coverings are removed from the top deck villa housing (and they appear as dark/black window bands), I suspect the appearance of bulk will be minimized. [...]

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I also think that this will make a huge difference.
She is not a beauty but hardly any contemporary passenger ship is beautiful.

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Originally posted by Cunard Fan:
I am actually starting to like her looks better then I did before. I personally think she is better looking then for example Azura.

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I have to agree-- Azura is the worst.

I'm starting to get baffled by all the hate toward NCL Epic. I agree; it's not QE2, and neither was Pride of America. However, Oasis isn't QE2 either, and the aforementioned Azura is even less QE2-ish. I'm really excited about sailing Solstice pretty soon, and frankly she isn't exactly QE2 either-- from some bow angles, she's even uglier than Epic.

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Originally posted by Lubber:

I have to agree-- Azura is the worst.

Azura's stern is horrendous.

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With the Stern bar now being right behind the funnel, it's not as distinctive as the original Grand/Golden/Star/Caribbean Princess, but to say Azura is worse than the Epic, mmmmm, I can't say I agree.

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Originally posted by Ernst:

Originally posted by Kevin Griffin, London:
Wow! This is one plug ugly kitten! We tend to think that the French are good at design [...]
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Why do you think that she is a 'french' design? Just because she is built in France?
.

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Well the French didn't seem to be able to talk them out of it, but if you look back she has certain similarities to MSC ships that preceded her, even all the way back to Mistral, which started the MSC trail. But as John Heald said in his Carnival blog:- "But there’s an even darker side to credit cards……..one that like who the hell designed the Norwegian Epic……. is rarely talked about.

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Originally posted by Kevin Griffin, London:

Well the French didn't seem to be able to talk them out of it, but if you look back she has certain similarities to MSC ships that preceded her, even all the way back to Mistral, which started the MSC trail. [...]

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That's not how it works. A shipyard is not 'talking someone out of a design'. Shipyards are grateful for orders and they build what the customers specifies.

Of course each shipyard has a different approach and each yard prefers certain suppliers or companies to collaborate with but at the end of the day it's the decision of the customer. Beside that, most aspects of ships discussed in this forum are hardly characteristic for a certain shipyard.

By the way, as to how it works, the Seven Seas Mariner was actually built on the Mistral platform from this yard, which is why she has double corridors rather than single corridor's on Marriotti's Seven Seas Voyager. The Mariner even had the former master of the Mistral when she first came out. That's how it works.

Compare the Epic and Fantasia and you will find a lot of similarities by the way. Ships that differed from this "MSC" style evolution were the Renaissance and Celebrity ships that were also built at St Nazaire.

[ 04-15-2010: Message edited by: Kevin Griffin, London ]

MSC cruise ship series (2006/07)
MSC cruise ship series (2008/09)
NCL cruise ship series (2007/09)

The earlier NCL ships of course were the work of Meyer Werft and there are even some similarities there with Oriana and Aurora.

already someone said that most sterns are like this one today, and how true and sad that may become
true... but not so long ago look at the
ms Oriana and ms Aurora where they did a very fine job... as the new Carnival Dream has
not a bad stern either....

furtermore i keep repeating that the lick of paint
on the NCL ships have nothing to do with art
there is a very nice museum there in Chicago
you may have a look around....

the Epic is remarkable, but will never be remembered for it's beauty, and it's never been
purposed for that...

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Originally posted by buddhaJoe:
furtermore i keep repeating that the lick of paint on the NCL ships have nothing to do with art
there is a very nice museum there in Chicago
you may have a look around....

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I'm sure you're not referring to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago? Maybe you were referring to the more traditional Art Institue of Chicago.

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Originally posted by Kevin Griffin, London:
Thanks Ernst but Tillberg do interior design. I want to know who are the "navel" architects who did the line drawings and general arrangement for this ship? ...]

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Tilberg is of course an interior designer and only one of many companies involved in the design of Norwegian Epic (or other ships).

Concerning the 'naval architect' part: Usually the engineering is also shared between several different specialized companies. Some engineering is of course done at the shipyard but there are usually many companies involved who consult the shipyard or the cruise line in these matters (companies specialized in CFD or model tests, regulations etc.).

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Originally posted by Kevin Griffin, London:

By the way, as to how it works, the Seven Seas Mariner was actually built on the Mistral platform from this yard, which is why she has double corridors rather than single corridor's on Marriotti's Seven Seas Voyager. The Mariner even had the former master of the Mistral when she first came out. That's how it works. [...]

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Again, it depends a lot on the customer.

There are of course things or approaches which are characteristic for certain shipyards and shipyards indeed take advantage of what they designed for previously built ships - but this is more related to how the ship is actually built and not the aspects of the design we discuss here.

Often a (more or less refined) concept exists when cruise lines ask shipyards for bids and each shipyard has a different approach on how to realize this concept. It can indeed be the case that a shipyard decides to build a 'new design' 'atop' an existing, slightly modified hull design. There are many examples of rather different ships that actually share quite a lot of similarities or might even be built on similar platforms.

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Originally posted by Kevin Griffin, London:
Possibly Navtec Naval Engineering of Nantes, who claim to have done work on :
NCL cruise ship series (2007/09)

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It appears to have possibly been their subsidiary
NEIPL at Bangalore with tendancies towards an "offshore installation" piled on her brow.

I was in charge of planning an extended family cruise next year. I gave brochures of Oasis & Epic to all 20 folks in our group and asked them to decide. Based upon the diverse dining, aqua park, non-traditional nightlife and unique cabin arrangements, every single person said "Epic". No one hesitated because her superstructure is a bit bulky.

So... Epic beat Oasis on traveler appeal... despite her looks.