Cruise: Identity, Design and Culture
Publisher: Laurence King
Published: 2006
Place of publication: London
Language: und; eng
Number of pages: 144
ISBN-13: 9781856694469
First sentence: A swelling sea of paperback guides and weekend press supplements reflect the evident popularity of cruising, but this book is the first critical, though affectionate, look at a quite extraordinary economic, cultural and design phenomenon that began to employ mass-market, purpose-built vessels only from the early 1970s.
Description: Affectionate, though not uncritical, "Cruise" examines and celebrates all aspects of international cruising, from the elegant and restrained to the kitsch and excessive. Packed with illustrations, it is a fascinating study of interior and exterior design, of on board entertainment and the dining experience, of corporate identity, ephemera and graphics, all drawn from over a century of ocean-going passenger transport. Today, cruising is a worldwide, mass-market leisure phenomenon and the ships are technologically advanced examples of 'entertainment architecture'. Where once the voyage and ports of call were the purpose, the cruise ship is now a destination in itself, but the inspiration and glamor of the Orient Line or of Cunard's 1936 Queen Mary is not forgotten. Cruise reflects this rich mixture of nostalgia, human interest and contemporary design.