The Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo makes its debut in Germany. This trade event brings together the entire naval interior design supply chain, from architects to suppliers, targeting a highly specialised audience that includes leading European cruise brands, shipyards and design studios. A sister event to Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Americas, CSI Europe will take place on 3 and 4 December and will be hosted in Hamburg, replacing the London venue that hosted the fair until last year. The new edition of CSI Hamburg will therefore gather at the Hamburg Messe & Congress for two days of talks, conferences and meetings for the B2B audience, on topics ranging from the challenges facing the European cruise industry to the new solutions that will contribute to projects over the next two years – 295 refurbishments and 73 new constructions are expected.
An important section of the fair is dedicated to over 300 exhibitors from across the naval interiors supply chain, from manufacturers to designers. There are around 120 new companies participating in CSI Hamburg, alongside exhibitors such as Outfitters Meyer, Marine Interiors (Fincantieri), The Deluxe Group and Accomar. Also noteworthy is the area dedicated to hospitality, Hospitality@CSI, which will host panels exploring how hotel activities influence the guest experience. Another topic of the event is the Cruise Ship Interiors Awards, whose award ceremony (to be held on the evening of the second day) will feature completely new categories and a renewed jury.
The heart of the event is the conference programme, organised in collaboration with NEWH, which this year is divided into two new thematic areas: Hospitality and Interiors, alongside a whole day dedicated to shipbuilding. Numerous authoritative voices have been called upon to contribute, including Gabi Haupt (Director of Cruise Experience at Riverside Luxury Cruises), Julie Higgins (Director of Hotel Operations & Sustainability Officer at Uniworld Boutique River Cruises), and Alejandra Obregon (Senior Director, Architecture & Hotel Design at The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection). They will be joined by well-known names in shipbuilding such as Meyer Werft, Neptun Werft and Lloyd Werft, design studios JOI-Design, Allstars Design, De Jorio Design International and SMC Design, as well as management companies Roland Berger and Columbia.
The topics covered are clearly European-inspired, starting with the main session, “Offering luxury cruises on smaller vessels”. The river cruise market is growing, and hotel brands are continuing their foray into the yacht cruise sector. Speakers will therefore explore the meaning of “luxury” on board smaller vessels, from possible experiences to the design of high-quality services.
Finally, the Sustainable Design Summit returns once again to CSI Europe with a working group led by the theme ‘From ideas to impact: start with yourself!’: a mix of voices and experiences drawn from real-life examples from participants in the speakers’ case studies.
