FICTIONAL ICONS INSPIRE INTERIOR DESIGN OF THE CARNIVAL MIRACLE
MIAMI (11/05/03) - Legendary characters, places and themes combine in subtle
ways to create a unique ambiance aboard the Carnival Miracle, set to debut
Feb. 27, 2004, from Jacksonville, Fla. Inspired by characters from novels,
songs, poems, myths, movies and Broadway, these "fabulous fictional icons"
were chosen for their styles that evoke a different mood in each of the
Carnival Miracle's public areas and rooms.
>From the mythical muses of antiquity to the fictional hometowns of Batman
and Superman, Carnival ship architect Joe Farcus has allowed his imagination
to range freely across genres and eras to design an interior he himself
admits is different from anything he has done before.
"We haven't done anything quite in this style before, and it creates an
entirely new look. It has classical elements, reinterpreted in a sort of
post-modern way that combines clean lines yet with decorations and
colorations that are simply delicious," Farcus said.
The design elements of the public spaces evoke a Deco style, and the names
of the common areas suggest the 1930s Deco period. Thus, the lobby and
atrium are named after the Metropolis of Superman fame. The lobby lounge is
called the Jeeves Lounge, after the fictional butler of P.G. Wodehouse's
novels. The foyer is the Batman-inspired Gotham Lounge.
The Miracle's lower promenade is called the Fountainhead, from the Ayn Rand
novel, whose main character is the idealistic architect Howard Roarke. The
upper promenade is called Kane's Way from Orson Wells' film "Citizen Kane."
The card room is The Joker, referring again to Batman.
All of the major doors in public areas are adorned with multihued wood
inlays of Clio, the muse of history and creator of the Greek alphabet.
Since Clio inspires the art of writing and creation of fictional characters,
Farcus chose her as a thematic symbol for the Miracle.
The main dining room and its annex take their names from mythology. Bacchus,
the Greek god of wine, lends his name to the dining room, while the
restaurant annex is named after his wife, Ariadne. The restaurant's walls
have elements that look like giant silver goblets with a leaf design of a
grape vine. Grape lights with antique copper finished leaves are hung in
garlands in between the goblets and appear on the ceiling as well. There are
also depictions of Bacchus and Ariadne from classical paintings, while
ceiling murals continue the grape motif, which is repeated on the edge of
the balcony and the separators between the banquettes. Chandeliers
resembling bunches of grapes descend from the ceiling.
The ship's casual dining Lido Deck area, Horatio's, takes its cue from the
C.S. Forester stories about the Napoleon-era British naval captain Horatio
Hornblower. Around the room are large three-dimensional Horatio figureheads
made to look like a carved ivory sculpture. Between the banquettes are large
models of 18th- and 19th-century sailing ships. Wooden beams, arches trimmed
in brass and anchor motifs complete the nautical ambiance.
Nick and Nora's, Carnival Miracle's supper club, is named after detectives
Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by Dashiell Hammett. The room,
located at the top of the Miracle's atrium and under a red skylight, has a
sophisticated look with all ebony paneling. The centerpiece is a large mural
of a great black and white photo of New York from the 1930s. More black and
white photographs of the same era give the room a decidedly elegant feel.
The Phantom Lounge takes its theme from "The Phantom of the Opera," from the
popular Lloyd Webber musical, which derived from the 1911 novel, Le Fantome
de l'Opera, by Gaston Leroux, both of which are set in the Paris Opera
House. The theater's windows feature a Phantom's mask in white enamel with
curtains fashioned like a cape while walls are decorated in red paneling
printed with leaves. Candlesticks and stained-glass lamps adorn the walls
and rich fabrics cover the ceiling to recall the elegance of the Paris Opera
House.
Guests entering the Mad Hatter's Ball show lounge will feel like they just
chased the white rabbit into Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." Depicted
on the sloping walls are three-dimensional characters from the novel - the
Mad Hatter and White Rabbit - having tea together. On the wall slightly
raised paintings of the Queen and King of Hearts and some Jacks appear.
Heart motifs also are cut into the walls and inlayed into the doors, tables,
bar tops and floor. The Queen's rose garden is recreated with rose-shaped
lamps in red and white hues.
Carnival Miracle's dance club, Dr. Frankenstein's Lab, resembles an old
gothic castle in ruin with faux stone walls and other decorative touches.
Where some stones appear to have fallen off the wall are panels from an
original 1941 Frankenstein comic book. Flashes of static electricity are
done in neon around the windows and a pair of two-deck-high Frankenstein
monsters adorns the dance floor. The chair upholstery is stitched in the
same way the monster may have been stitched together, while carpeting also
features a Frankenstein motif. A giant Frankenstein is located on the side
of the dance floor and will be constantly "brought to life" with electrical
arcs.
The casino is called Mr. Lucky's, after the 1943 Carey Grant movie and
television show of the 1950s where Joe Adams, a.k.a. "Mr. Lucky," runs an
illegal gambling yacht, The Fortuna, which sails out of New York. The
interiors of the room are yacht-like with a dome in the center that looks
like a sailboat with a raised cabin, complete with beams and oblong
portholes showing the New York skyline, along with a ceiling that looks like
a skylight with little stars shining through. Glass chimney lamps and brass
lamps accent the walls, and the bars have brass anchors applied to them. The
bar tops have a design that looks like coiled rope that says "Fortuna" on
them.
The sports bar is called McGuire's, after the movie "Jerry McGuire," which
is about a sports agent. On the walls are framed autographed photographs of
famous athletes as well as some old sports-related contracts such as Babe
Ruth's original minor league contract encased in the clear laminated
tabletops. The overall motif is a sophisticated Irish sports bar with lots
of television screens and bar-top gaming machines.
The 19th-century anonymous poem and Jazz Age song are the inspiration for
Frankie & Johnnie's jazz club, a swanky, speakeasy-modern design. Along the
walls are recessed LED lights, and specially designed ceiling lights in
polished stainless-steel tapered tubes descend from the ceiling nearly to
the tabletop. Long murals in a sophisticated color scheme evoke the Jazz
Age. The main wall panels are in textured silver, but there also is woodwork
stained in a red birds-eye maple color scheme. The ceiling over the dance
floor area has a series of chrome spheres and inverted pyramids that recall
the 1939 New York World's Fair.
Of all the gin joints in the world, Carnival Miracle's piano bar had to be
named Sam's, after the movie "Casablanca." The room's design evokes Morocco,
with Middle Eastern columns, grillwork and lights, wood-planked banquette
housings, Moroccan-looking fabrics, and decorative Moorish design tiles in
the tables, bars and carpeting.
The Raven Library is named after Edgar Allen Poe's poem "The Raven," and
looks the way one would expect the author's library to appear, with
beautiful woodwork and a kind of modern Victorian atmosphere.
The winter garden enclosed promenade is patterned after the garden of Jay
Gatsby's mansion, from the novel "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Gatsby's Garden has long arches that look like cast iron trelliswork with
intertwining vines, and the pattern is repeated on the walls. "Gatsby's"
also features a faux stone floor, along with a ceiling comprised of a series
of little domes with ceiling fans.
Carnival Miracle is slated to debut from Jacksonville Feb. 27, 2004, with a
series of 12 three- to six-day voyages through April 17, 2004, marking the
first time that Carnival has ever operated from that port. The ship will
also operate seven-day departures from Baltimore and New York before
repositioning to Tampa for year-round seven-day western Caribbean cruises
from that port beginning Nov. 7, 2004.
