How Do You Like HAL's Paint Scheme for Ships?

[jhannah]

I thought it might be time for a lighter thought or two, and thought of this. HAL's paint scheme (dark blue under white) is distinctive. It sets their ships apart from others that are mostly white. But, times change. Is it too old, in your opinion? Is it time for a new look with more contemporary colors?

Disclaimer -- I am not promoting anything ... just asking for your thoughts.

[bepsf]

Color me Blue and White - I love it!

[elmorejj]

I agree with Brian, I prefer the elegance of the blue and white.....jean :cool:

[RuthC]

I agree with Brian and Jean. I prefer the elegance of the blue and white.

(is there an echo in here?)

[SharonN]

I agree. Love the Blue and White!

[Renorita]

I thought it might be time for a lighter thought or two, and thought of this. HAL's paint scheme (dark blue under white) is distinctive. It sets their ships apart from others that are mostly white. But, times change. Is it too old, in your opinion? Is it time for a new look with more contemporary colors?

Disclaimer -- I am not promoting anything ... just asking for your thoughts.

How about "Hot Pink" with purple polka dots! :D

[jhannah]

How about "Hot Pink" with purple polka dots! :D
Watch it, or you'll get voted off the island!

[RevNeal]

While I know that it's a dark Navy Blue, it still looks like Black to me. But ... whatever it is ... I love it. The color scheme makes HAL ships look like passenger ships SHOULD. I can't STAND that all-white scheme that many other lines have.

[Vic The Parrot]

I have to say, the dark blue hull with white superstructure gives the HAL fleet a distinctive look. Very classic!

And now that the boot-topping (red below the blue) has been added, the look is very authentic, as it should be for that line.

On the QE2 holiday cruise, I've noticed some ships that were quite awkward-looking in thier 'colours'. There was the Summit, from Celeb, with it's blue, white, gold combo.

Somehow, those colors made that ship look like a shoebox from
Nike. Sorry, but that thing called a 'ship' isn't.

Then there was the AIDA 'SOMETHING' in Grenada .....
All white .. not that white ships are ugly, but the graffiti on the hull made it an eyesore.

2 eyes on each side of the bow, enclosed in what looked like a
sperm swimming, meeting a set of bright red lips on the prow.

C'mon, that's considered eye-catching 'ART' ??

The most understated, and innovative hull art I've seen was on the old INDEPENDENCE in the early 70's. A sunburst covering the white hull, and upper decks, with a pair of Jean Harlow eyes on each side.

Now, that was art!
It got attention, and left an impression on passers-by.


I would still sail on HAL ships if they reverted back to the pebble-grey hull colouring. And the old funnel colorings of green, black, and white. That would be a nice trip down memory lane!

Like the saying goes, "clothes make the person"
And a paint scheme makes a ship, a ship.

[doone]

I am also with the majority here, I love the classic blue and white. It does set HAL apart from the other cruise ships.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

While I know that it's a dark Navy Blue, it still looks like Black to me. But ... whatever it is ... I love it. The color scheme makes HAL ships look like passenger ships SHOULD. I can't STAND that all-white scheme that many other lines have.

Thanks Greg, I thought I was the only one who saw it as BLACK:D

[Roz]

The blue and white is very Dutch....think Delft china.

Roz

[localady]

I am also with the majority here, I love the classic blue and white. It does set HAL apart from the other cruise ships.

Count me in too! Between the classic blue and white tradition in addition to the wonderfully polished woods and fabulous Dutch art, it's stunning ......Not so pleased about the new Pink Crows Nest on the Ryndam!:eek:

[Vic The Parrot]

Not so pleased about the new Pink Crows Nest on the Ryndam!:eek:


PINK????


you're kidding??

[obriendan]

I agree with everyone. All of those other all white cruise ships need a contrasting color!

[CDRMark]

While I still wax nostalgic about 'haze grey', I think HALs color scheme is truly classic and elegant. All white is too iceberg-like, and the exploding paint can schemes are a bit too much.

Cheers
MarkB

[Bill S]

I agree with VegasJim: I find HAL's paint scheme distinctive. It is a classic look!

[dougnewmanatsea]

The most understated
You are joking about the "understated" bit, I hope?

It certainly was different, but INDEPENDENCE belonged in American Export black, pre-refit, or post-refit (what year was that... 1958?) in white. No sunbursts, leis on the funnels, or any such nonsense.

Hardly a more perfect-looking ship could be found, I think, than INDEPENDENCE, as built, in black, with the newly designed (specially for her) buff Export funnel colors. Just perfect - trim, sleek, and elegant, the epitome of mid-century American style at sea.

I would still sail on HAL ships if they reverted back to the pebble-grey hull colouring. And the old funnel colorings of green, black, and white. That would be a nice trip down memory lane!
Certainly! Someone, somewhere (I think it was Henrik Ljungström of "The Great Ocean Liners (http://www.greatoceanliners.net)" fame) did a Photoshop rendering of ROTTERDAM (the current one) in the pebble grey HAL colors. Lovely. But of course the funnel colors of the day were green, white, and mustard - green, white and black went out around 1900 I think, having been the original NASM/HAL funnel colors.

I also know that my friend and HAL marine artist Stephen Card is a big fan of the grey, and you simply can't argue with Capt. Card when it comes to ships' aesthetics. (Anyone who likes the way PRINSENDAM looks, thank him - his liking for the grey colors aside, I believe it was he who designed PRINSENDAM's current livery. She looks great.)

Personally I think the best-looking HAL ship ever was NIEUW AMSTERDAM (II) in the pre-war black, with of course the mustard-colored funnels that she maintained throughout her life (war service excepted). But there have been so many great-looking HAL ships, in all the various color schemes - even the much-maligned and short-lived 1970s dark blue hull with orange funnel and "slug" logo looked good... I'm partial to it on STATENDAM (IV) but PRINSENDAM (I), which did not live long enough to see another livery, also looked rather sharp in those colors.

And at the outset of the current livery, on NIEUW AMSTERDAM (III), the funnel initially did not have the famous "oval", but rather a small dark blue shilouette of the "flash" logo - this was not changed long after. I do not think that NOORDAM (III) ever wore these colors. You could still see them in "N" ship publicity materials from HAL until quite recently (at least into the mid 1990s as I recall).

[Vic The Parrot]

You are joking about the "understated" bit, I hope?






Ok, I was kidding ..... (sorta)


:-D


But that design on the Indy was certainly better than the 'sperm' on the AIDA ship! LOL

I'm sure you have to agree with me on that one.

[damcruiser]

Traditional... what's not to like

[gizmo]

Ok, I was kidding ..... (sorta)


:-D


But that design on the Indy was certainly better than the 'sperm' on the AIDA ship! LOL



LOL. This description is as good as the Rev's descriptions of some of Hal's atriums.

[damcruiser]

The blue and white is very Dutch....think Delft china.

Dutch=House of Oranje.. just watch them wear the Dutch colors at "voetbal" games

Delft Blauw... they don't use term "china" in the Netherlands.

If you love tradition we would still be ready for Dutch night

[dougnewmanatsea]

Ok, I was kidding ..... (sorta)
Whew... That's a relief ;) .

But that design on the Indy was certainly better than the 'sperm' on the AIDA ship! LOL

I'm sure you have to agree with me on that one.
The Aida colors really don't bother me to be honest - I mean, those ships are totally "different" anyway... So why not go all-out and have a bizarre-looking color scheme?

I can't say I actually like it, but it is different.

There aren't many color schemes for ships that I don't like - mind you, some ships didn't look right in the color schemes they were given, but every color scheme has some ship that seemed just made for it.

I actually like some of the more unusual color schemes - like good old Epirotiki tan, or the very stylish dark green (yes, GREEN) hulls of the late Union Steamship Company of New Zealand. And how about that wonderful tan-ish grey used by many Scandinavian firms, e.g. D/S på Bornholm af 1886 (who came up with it, I think), DFDS, and NAL?

And I have to disagree with all those who don't like white - on some ships, nothing else would do. Certainly not on HAL ships, mind you, but we all know that any good Italian cruise ship (save Flotta Lauro's navi blu, of course) simply must be white. Heck, even many Italian liners were white - and how anyone could deny the sheer beauty of a EUGENIO C. in bright, sparkling white, with a thin blue band around her waistline, steaming across the South Atlantic a tutta forza is beyond me.

[damcruiser]

While I know that it's a dark Navy Blue, it still looks like Black to me. But ... whatever it is ... I love it. The color scheme makes HAL ships look like passenger ships SHOULD. I can't STAND that all-white scheme that many other lines have.

Shame on you reverend... that's nothing but ship bigotry.. or is that ship racism????

Beauty is only skin deep... don't judge a book by its cover...

[the2ofus]

Another vote for the classy dark blue and white colors. By the way, the perception of dark blue as black is due to a condition called 'presbyopia' or aging eyes. Who says HAL doesn't host a younger clientele? Most of the folks on this board can tell the difference! Those who can't aren't old anyway, they're just color-perception-challenged.

We saw that AIDA ship in Barbados a few years ago. Startling, to say the least!

[DFD1]

I love the dark blue and white on the Hal ships.

I think the trend toward all white cruise ships over the last twenty or so years has given many of them a "me too" look and is not very interesting.

The older cruise ships of the 40's, 50's and 60's had many different paint and pattern variations and, I think, were more attractive.

Carnival has achieved some individuality with the red "flare" funnel and logo.

It seems to me that at the least some color in a shear stripe or a boot stripe would give each cruise line some distinction even white were retained as the major color.

Celebrity, on the other hand, has completely obliterated the lines of the ship with their color layout (IMO). The first time I ever say a Celebrity ship, many years ago, I thought it was the ugliest ship I had ever seen. We were completely turned off by them and had no intererst in sailing with them at all until we learned later what a good job they were doing. I still think the ships are ugly.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Celebrity, on the other hand, has completely obliterated the lines of the ship with their color layout (IMO).
Well, we'll see what happens when a Celebrity ship goes without its distinctive color scheme when HORIZON leaves the fleet next year - she will presumably get the very colorful Island Cruises logo plastered across her hull, but it would be easy to envision her without that.

Personally I think the HORIZON-class and CENTURY-class ships are very attractive - their exterior color schemes were designed along with the ships themselves by the late yacht designer Jon Bannenberg. He also did the MILLENNIUM-class ships, though I can't say I find them attractive at all... But then Bannenberg had more than a few controversial designs through his career.

[Vic The Parrot]

I still think the ships are ugly.


I agree



A box, is a box, is a box......


Can ships nowadays get ANY UGLIER?

A lot of the cruise lines need to hire better marine architects.
Someone from 'the old school'

[damcruiser]

Ugly??? takes a discriminating eye to find ugliness in the exterior of many ships.

[damcruiser]

When I saw the Rotterdam last year it was in need of a major exterior cleaning

[Vic The Parrot]

Gotta admit, even with a 'little dirt' on the hull, the Rotterdam looks better than that thing up there......

[damcruiser]

Gotta admit, even with a 'little dirt' on the hull, the Rotterdam looks better than that thing up there......

Gotta be the glasses...:p

I'm perfectly happy to call either one "home"

[Vic The Parrot]

time to change your disposable contacts, eh?


heeheehee

[Dutchman]

Class speaks for itself! HAL's colors are known world wide and there is no mistakeing them from the others!

[sail7seas]

Dutch=House of Oranje.. just watch them wear the Dutch colors at "voetbal" games

Delft Blauw... they don't use term "china" in the Netherlands.

If you love tradition we would still be ready for Dutch night


If not "China".....what do they call it? Pottery? For fine bone china? table setting? Dishes? Plates?

[Kabana]

We love the blue and white, classic and sets HAL apart from the other ships in port. On our Oosterdam cruise last year cruisers from Carnival were ohhing and ahhing over the ship in St. Maarten commenting on how beautiful it was.

Check this paint job out, we were parked next to it in Tortola (it is an old RCCL ship sold to a another cruise line).

[sail7seas]

WE LOVE THE BLUE AND WHITE AND I CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO SAY HOW UNHAPPY WE WOULD BE TO FIND 'DIFFERENT LIVERY'. I THINK THE COLORS ARE SMART AND TRIM AND REALLY, REALLY DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY CHANGE.

[Esme]

If not "China".....what do they call it? Pottery? For fine bone china? table setting? Dishes? Plates?


It's called Delftware Pottery. Check out the following site for the history of Delftware

http://www.delftwares.com/whatisgendel.html

[dougnewmanatsea]

Check this paint job out, we were parked next to it in Tortola (it is an old RCCL ship sold to a another cruise line).
Not RCI... This was built in 1989 as SITMAR FAIRMAJESTY for Sitmar who were taken over by Princess. She became STAR PRINCESS (I) before entering service as P&O bought Sitmar and merged them with Princess. In 1997 she was transferred to P&O Cruises and became ARCADIA (III) (not to be confused with the upcoming fourth ARCADIA, originally planned as an HAL ship and later as Cunard's QUEEN VICTORIA, and a near-sister to the HAL Vista-class ships, presently being built in Italy). In 2003 P&O Princess formed a new UK-market cruise brand called Ocean Village Holidays, focusing on the low-end of the market with a casual (more casual than any mainstream US-market line) "club ship" bent... Basically a British version of the German-market Aida ships discussed above for their unusual color scheme featuring eyes, lips, etc. It was at this point that she got the unusual livery.

Of course Carnival and P&O Princess have since merged so OCEAN VILLAGE is actually now a distant corporate cousin of the much more conservatively attired HAL ships.

[peaches from georgia]

It's called Delftware Pottery. Check out the following site for the history of Delftware

http://www.delftwares.com/whatisgendel.html
Thanks for the link, Esme. What a great site for not only the history, but tips on buying, all kinds of Delftware, or should I say Delft Blauw .

[777steve]

Doug?

What happened to S7S' reply to Esme's link information?

[Kabana]

Thanks Doug, I stand corrected ;)

[sail7seas]

Esme's post does not answer my question. I was not referring to specifically delftware but 'china' in general. Delftware is specific and I would imagine most HAL Mariners are well aware of what Delft is.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We love the classic blue and white and hope HAL never changes the color of their ships.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Last year when we were in Tortola, we saw the Ocean Village. We were on her inaugural cruise to Alaska in 1989 when she was the Star Princess. She was a beautiful ship then. We sailed on her again in 1991 - still great. But when we saw her last year, she looked in bad shape. In spite of the wild color design on the outside we could see a lot of rusty areas on her.

[damcruiser]

New color:

https://rccl.bridgetrack.com/sweeps/pole/img/pic_main_upsell.jpg

[Druke I]

I like the current colors also.

For variety, I'd like to see Princess adopt the corn-yellow hulls and stacks of its predecessor company Orient Lines (prior to P&O's merger with Orient).

[wblynch]

The problem with HAL ships is they all look dirty everytime I see one in port.

I think the colors actually help make them look dirty.

Freshly painted they look great but unfortunately they are not always fresh.

I look forward to our Oosterdam cruise but seriously, I never wanted to try Holland America before because their ships look dirty and rusty to me.

[dougnewmanatsea]

For variety, I'd like to see Princess adopt the corn-yellow hulls and stacks of its predecessor company Orient Lines (prior to P&O's merger with Orient).
GRAND PRINCESS with a corn colored hull? EUGH!

Now, P&O's fleet might not look bad with corn colored hulls... ORIANA really should have one as hers is after all an Orient Line name!

(For those wondering, the Orient Line we're discussing above has absolutely nothing to do with the one that owns MARCO POLO - a new and totally different company which revived the name.)