If you read the recent story about Carnival Cruise Line’s Pinnacle Project and immediately thought, “I need to know more about this ship,” today’s your day.
Legendary Carnival designer Joseph Farcus provides us with pictures and schematics that offer details about the cruise ship that never sailed.
What A Top-Deck Monorail Would Have Looked Like
From the beginning, one of the most intriguing details about the ship was the monorail/people mover which would have not only circled a top deck of the ship, but also served as an elevator. (In some ways, the idea resembles what ultimately came to be known as the “Magic Carpet” on Celebrity Cruises new ships, Edge and Apex.)
The track also looks similar to the SkyRide — on which passengers ride suspended bikes around the top deck — which would later be introduced on the Vista-class ships.
And check out the above picture of the mountain/waterslide which would have sat at the very center of the pool deck. Sure, it’s a long climb up those orange steps to the top, but think of the fun we’d have had coming down.
The area in and around the iconic whale-tail funnel (which, by the way, Farcus designed.) was to have been multi-purpose.
More about the Pinnacle Project can be read Design on the High Seas.
On the blueprints above and below, you can see one of the monorail stations, as well as a space that would have been set aside for a supper club that would have spanned two decks and included a dance floor.
The schematic below offers a cut-away view of the ship, showing at the upper left a Sky Lounge which would have had a killer view. You can also see an indication on the left of what would have been the people mover’s vertical route, taking people from a lower deck up to one much farther up before continuing its path around the outside of the ship.
Renderings of what would have been the ship’s aft show yet again that Farcus and the rest of the Carnival team were heading in a direction which has since been followed by many lines. In fact, look at the photo above, then look at the rendering below of the Carnival Mardi Gras‘ aft section.
People Mover aside, the other ridiculously unique idea we’re sorry to say has yet to show up on any cruise ship is the lazy river which the Pinnacle would have featured. How cool would it to be to drift on a river while sailing in the middle of the ocean?
It’s easy to see, however, how such a feature could have created a bit of a problem when it came to figuring out issues regarding weight displacement.
After all, water — especially the amount needed for a lazy river — is not exactly lightweight.
Another thing we noticed about the above photo was that the promenade deck featuring the lazy river extends in such a way that the lifeboats can be tucked away beneath it. Talk about creating appealing sightlines.
All in all, while the Pinnacle Project never came to pass, many of its elements have certainly found their way onto other modern ships. And who knows. Maybe one of these days, we will still get a lazy river. After all, who could have imagined a cruise ship with a top-deck roller coaster?
