At Sea with Doug Newman

Royal Caribbean has unveiled the first design innovation of its upcoming Project Genesis newbuilds: Central Park, an open-air “neighborhood” located in the center of the ship’s superstructure, landscaped with live greenery and looked down upon by balcony cabins. Central Park will be one of seven distinct “neighborhoods” aboard the two 220,000 GT, 5,400-berth ships, being built at Aker Yards‘ Turku shipyard and scheduled for delivery in late 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Central Park will include 254 park-view balcony cabins, 80 park-view window cabins, seven restaurants, cafés and bars, boutique shops and three gardens: the Pergola Garden, featuring plants from the Caribbean; the Sculpture Garden; and the Chess Garden.

The bars and restaurants of Central Park will include 150 Central Park, the ship’s most exclusive dinner venue; the casual Central Park Café; the Italian Giovanni’s Table; the Chops Grille steakhouse popular on other Royal Caribbean ships; and Vintages wine bar, which will also feature a full tapas menu. Bars will include the Canopy Bar, situated near one of Central Park’s two glass domes looking down on the as-yet-unannounced space below; and Rising Tide, the first moving bar at sea. Rising Tide will be a three-deck space that slowly ascends to Central Park and then descends to the public spaces below.

Central Park will be located on Deck 8 of the ship and will be 62 feet (19 meters) wide and 328 feet (100 meters) long. It will incorporate irrigation and drainage systems and “micro-climate control”, and a horticulturist will be carried on board to offer classes for passengers interested in the flora.

Royal Caribbean has launched a dedicated Genesis microsite offering more detailed information and a host of renderings.