Hull art: today's ships are both canvas and billboard

Cruise Travel, Jan-Feb, 2004 by M.T. Schwartzman

It was just another day at the West Side piers in New York City when we got our first glimpse of Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn. Her white superstructure and blue stack were clearly visible above the passenger terminals, sparkling in the late autumn sunlight. As we got closer, we noticed something different, though. The hull was painted in a tapestry of techni-color imagery: on the starboard side, dolphins played in multi-hued waves; while on the port side was a tribute to New York featuring the Statue of Liberty. These themes, we later learned, were meant to convey the ship's introductory deployments: to the Caribbean from Miami and to Florida and the Bahamas roundtrip from New York.

It was a clever twist on a long-standing tradition. In the past, many cruise lines have been identified by the color schemes of their hulls. If it's midnight blue, chances are she's a Holland America Line ship. Premier Cruise Lines was known as "The Big Red Boat" for its cherry-colored hulls. Now, in a trendy convergence of marketing and styling, hull decor is becoming a genuine art form.

Most observers agree that hull-art on U.S.-based ships dates back to the 1951-built Independence, which for six months in 1968 sported an eye-catching red-and-orange "sun face," complete with the peepers of movie star Jean Harlow. The rays of the sun stretched 400 feet in length, and rose from the waterline all the way up the twin stacks. For the most part, however, this lively paint scheme was nothing more than a short-lived curiosity.

Overseas the story was different. While hull art had proven to be just a novelty in the North American market, it became a fixture on European vessels and gained industry-wide acceptance. Nowadays, cruise-ferries in particular emblazon their corporate logos starboard and port, and many companies embellish their ships' hulls with a dash of corporate colors, such as Birka Line's tricolor ribbon, or with their corporate mascot, as in the case of the Moby Lines whale. Unlike in the U.S., where ships often look identical from afar, in Europe many vessels have become the floating equivalent of billboards. This is especially prevalent in Northern Europe, where it's not unusual to see the corporate imprint of SILJA LINE, VIKING LINE, or TALLINK plying the waters of the North and Baltic seas.

The European practice of using the ship as a canvas is perhaps most vividly expressed by Seetours, a German-based subsidiary of Carnival Corporation. In recent years, the company has unveiled two dramatic examples of the hull-art form: A striking design on the AIDA ships is somewhat reminiscent of the old Independence: a set of lipsticked lips wrap around the bow, and an oversized blue-and-yellow eye on each side gives this vessel a very animated appearance. A little more subdued is the A'ROSA BLU, formerly Princess Cruises' Crown Princess, which after a refit for the German market emerged with a rose-petal motif running from the bow.

In both cases, the dramatic appearance of the ships is meant to create a brand identity, according to Kathrin Heitmann of the company's public relations department in Germany. "The red puckered lips that adorn the bow of AIDAvita have been the unmistakable visual symbol that clearly differentiates this particular cruise ship," she says. "The painting of the exterior is typical for all our ships," she adds. "They create a 'face' that is easily recognized on the oceans and rivers." Furthermore, the lips and eyes convey a fun image, which is well suited to AIDA's active and young target market. A'ROSA, on the other hand, is a little more "grown up," and the rose motif serves "as a symbol for style, beauty, and passion," in keeping with the brand's positioning.

Back in the U.S., NCL has fully embraced the concept of hull art. The idea to paint its hulls evolved from a desire "to be different and stand apart, and really differentiate NCL from the rest of the industry," says Andy Stuart, NCL's executive vice president of marketing, sales, and passenger services. The first step, Stuart notes, was to place a large "Freestyle Cruising" logo on the side of each ship. Then the company decided to take the concept a step further. "If you look at the ship, you have this big white canvas that we're not using," Stuart explains; so with some hesitation, the line commissioned the artwork for the Norwegian Dawn. The murals have been well received, and make a statement whenever the ship pulls into port. "It tells a little bit of a story about who we are and what we do," he says.

NCL is so pleased with the results, it has plans to grace all its forthcoming ships with some type of hull art, and recently announced it would extend the practice to its new NCL America subsidiary. The first ship for the line, Pride of America, scheduled to debut on July 4, "will feature an artistic interpretation of the Stars & Stripes combined with a bald eagle," which "will set the tone for the vessel's 'Best of America' theme," according to NCL president and CEO Colin Veitch (see page 13).