Britain’s biggest ever cruise ship, the £473 million P&O Britannia, which was officially named by Her Majesty The Queen at a glittering ceremony in Southampton, features over 21,000 sq m of custom Axminster carpet from the royal warrantied carpet manufacturer Brintons.The 3,600 passenger vessel is the largest cruise ship designed for the British holiday market. Weighing an incredible 141,000 tons and stretching longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall (1,082 ft), it boasts 15 passenger decks, 26 places to eat and drink and four swimming pools. It also features a three-tier atrium, a 936-seater theatre and a multi-million pound art collection.
Award winning commercial hospitality designers Richmond International, a company renowned across the globe for its work on luxury hotels, was appointed by P&O to design a stylish and luxurious interior of the ship that combined the excitement of cruising with the sophistication of a five-star hotel. Brintons was specified based on its reputation for being one of the world’s leading carpet manufacturers, supplying high quality and innovative products that are custom-made for specific applications
Lois Norman, senior designer for Brintons, commented: “This is an extremely prestigious and exciting project and one that we are really proud to have been involved with. Designing the right carpets for the public spaces was obviously a critical part in delivering the overall vision of what Richmond wanted to achieve and ensure a successful solution for P&O.
“Working in partnership with Richmond, our design team came up with a number of bespoke carpet designs for all the public areas of the ship, including the atrium, theatre, restaurant and bars, casino, library and wedding chapel.
“A fresh and neutral colour palette was used throughout the main areas, with subtle highlights of stronger colours like teal. Many areas featured contemporary geometrics and clean lines to create a sophisticated hospitality look. Each of the themed restaurants also had unique concepts including natural forms and oriental geometric designs.”
