By guest author Carly Sharp

Maritime design isn’t just design; it’s an experience, an immersion and a lifestyle.  Over the last few years, I have been collaborating to bring inclusive design into interior design to make beautiful spaces for all. As an interior designer who has ongoing experience in an inclusive design consultancy, I understand the importance of balancing inclusion and beautiful design.

Introduction

Accessibility on board cruises has been a design obligation since the enforcement of ADA on cruise ships in 2005. Cruises are arguably the most accessible way to travel, but there is still room to improve both their accessibility and market share. Sixty-one million adults in the US – 26% of the total population – have disabilities. While ADA recommendations focus almost exclusively on the needs of wheelchair users, these number only 5.5 million of the 61 million total. Currently, it is the responsibility of designers to be inclusive through integrating best practice and utilising up-to-date research.

In order to be an inclusive designer, it’s important to consider all potential guests in your design. Accommodating their needs, whether holistic, neurological, or physical, is all down to intentional design choices. Choice is, in fact, a keyword when it comes to inclusive design. Accessibility is built on creating choices; the act of designing an environment that a guest can navigate through positive choices. The environment should be filled with options, allowing guests to pick between a staircase or step-free access, digital screens or standard signage, low seating or high tables, or other options explored in this article.  It can seem unrealistic to design for everyone, but each small step and knowledge enhancement enables more people to partake in an immersive cruise experience.

It is estimated that 12% of adults with disabilities have cruised in the last five years. There is an open market of 88% of people with disabilities who aren’t actively cruising. This may be because they are impacted by one of the many disabilities often not considered or understood by designers, such as epilepsy; a disability that affects up to 1 in 26 people. From a business perspective, integrating small, often low-cost design choices in the earlier stage could make a cruise the choice holiday for many more families.

As well as ethically, it just makes business sense to consider how to design cruise ships inclusively and reach the widest number of potential passengers. If you do this well, customers will talk about their positive experiences with family, friends and their communities and word will spread. Small changes can make a massive impact on an individual’s experience… good design equals inclusive design!

Carol Thomas MBE, Director, Access Design Solutions

An accessible stateroom on board Norwegian Prima
An accessible suite on board Norwegian Prima

Five easy changes

So, what does it mean to be an inclusive designer? A common misconception is that accessible design is unattractive. Often, the first thing that comes to mind when considering access may be plastic grab rails, ramps and lowering counter heights. However, inclusive design means placing equal weight on the aesthetics, experience and accommodations for guests with access needs. We must educate ourselves as designers to ensure that the accessible bathrooms and cabins are as beautiful as the others. It is also crucial to understand the breadth of different impairments people may have and how to be intentional with each of our decisions by considering how they may affect someone. We are at the forefront of design decisions which are experienced by thousands of people on board ships daily, including those with access needs.

Here are five changes that could be implemented in the earliest stages of the design process:

Educate early, save later

Staff training in the earliest planning stages is vital. Cruise ship interior designers navigate more complexities than other land-based hospitality designers. They must grapple with ship weight, movement and vibrations, plus space limitations. All of which narrow the scope for implementing accessibility. Late design changes can be costly or impossible to action without impacting the general arrangement or passenger capacity. Therefore, setting accessible design intentions from the outset, and educating all stakeholders to ensure a successful outcome that doesn’t impact the budget, is a must.

Empowering guests through choice

Some cruise ships are large – especially the modern ‘floating cities’ and traversing them can be fatiguing. Where it’s not possible to create alternate routes, designers can implement resting spaces, such as a beautifully displayed sofa. Within spaces such as bars there are many repetitions of seating arrangements. Designers can specify variations of core furnishings in order to introduce options for all guests. For example, some guests may struggle to sit and rise from particularly low seating – including a variety of furnishing styles and heights creates options for guests hoping to use the space. Both examples introduce small scale changes that helps the guest choose to engage with the space.    

A restaurant on board Disney Wish
All restaurants on board Disney Wish are wheelchair accessible

The debate between material choices

For someone with a visual impairment – which numbers around 1 in 5 people – reflective materials such as shiny aluminium and mirrored walls can be disorientating. These materials are often selected to play on the scale of the space. Exchange reflective walls for an alternate material which is easier visually. If in need of a mirror to play on the space place a feature mirror which will allow people to move comfortably around the ship.

Integrating low-stimulation spaces

As designers, we want every room to possess a sense of brilliance. For the 1 in 7 people with Neurodiversity these extreme designs may in fact be overwhelming, and detract from their experience on board. A way to support these passengers through design is by integrating a few relaxing spaces on board.

Vivid colours and strong visual contrast are important features on, for example, signage or doors, but should be used sparingly for this purpose. Colours that are in abundant in nature, such as greens and light, warm, neutral colours, are particularly soothing. These should be used on surfaces which might be in view for longer periods of time. Flickering lighting from poor quality LED can also be a trigger – warm and consistent light is preferred. Give careful consideration to the acoustics of the spaces, perhaps deploying noise dampening materials outside of their usual remit.

Wayfinding for everyone

Every passenger benefits from great wayfinding. Wayfinding is often conducted via an interactive electronic screen. However, screens can trigger potential issues for those with photosensitive epilepsy, especially if the screen develops a glare or flicker. Include physical signs which are 3D printed – 2-3mm in depth – and show a well-known symbol as well as descriptive text. Also consider the height of signs. A guest who is neurodivergent or has vestibular conditions may get disoriented having to look above a comfortable height. You could even ensure the information on the signage has a contrast of 70LRV points from the material on the background.

Conclusion

The reality is that not every designer is going to specialise in accessibility. However, every designer can apply small but powerful changes to make a huge difference to both existing and potential guests. Educating ourselves on the effects of disabilities and impairments in a space could mean we have the opportunity to positively impact thousands of passengers, daily. We can help grow our client’s market and enhance their brand image. Let’s reach towards a future where cruising is inclusive to all.

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