Megastar interiors, 27 January 2017

Tallink's new Helsinki-Tallinn fast ropax Megastar will enter service tomorrow, but she was shown to the press yesterday in Tallinn. I was there as a representative of Cruise Business Review and my article on the ship will be featured in the next issue of the magazine. Whilst waiting for that, here is a photographic tour of the ship.

Updated 29.1.2017 with a photo of the garage in normal use and some previously neglected information.

Megastar

IMO 9773064
Built 2017, Meyer Turku, Finland
Tonnage 49 200 GT
Length 212,20 metres
Width 30,60 metres
Draught 7,10 metres
2 824 passengers
186 cabin berths
800 cars (if no freight units carried) or
320 cars and 110 freight units
3 653 lane metres
5 Wärtsilä LNG/diesel hybrid engines, combined 45 600 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
2 stern thrusters
Service speed 27 knots
Ice class 1A

The interior design of the Megastar has been the responsibility of two Finnish interior designers: dSign Vertti Kivi & Co and Aprocos. While dSign is the more widely publicised of the two - having designed the majority of the public spaces - in terms of floor area, the two practices were essentially equal, thanks to Aprocos doing some of the largest areas onboard, most notably the twin-level Traveller Superstore, as well as all the cabins. But, without further ado, let's dig in!

Deck 11 is inaccessible to the public, housing crew areas.

Deck 10 has the command bridge forward, followed by more crew areas, passenger cabins, the diver's lounge and, right aft, the open sun deck for passengers. Being smart, I neglected to visit this deck completely during my tour.

Deck 9 is one of the two principal passenger decks, hosting the buffet and à la carte restaurants forward, followed by the children's play room, a cafeteria and a fast food eatery, with a sitting lounge and two bars right aft.

The Delight Buffet covers most of the forward quarter of the deck. Right at the front, there is a neat bay window, continuing the shape of the command bridge above. A very neat little detail.

In contrast with dSign's earlier shipboard work, the Megastar features plants as decor in various spaces.

The Delight Buffet is designed as a series of cabinet-like spaces, which can be cordoned off on less busy departures.

The servery areas of Delight Buffet are in the middle, in the now-popular island arrangement.

Adjacent to the buffet entrance is the ship's à la carte dining room, Chef's Kitchen. The placement was strategic on the part of dSign, as it is hoped to encourage passengers en-route to the buffet to "upgrade" their dining experience.

Aft of Chef's Kitchen is the children's playroom.

Moving further aft, the starboard side of the ship is filled with the Fast Lane cafeteria. Here, again, the area is subdivided into indivisual segments with their own colour scheme. This spot is my personal favourite.

The Fast Lane servery areas.

More Fast Lane sitting areas. While the menu and branding are the same as on the Fast Lanes found onboard other ships of Tallink Grupp, the decor is unique.

The aftmost areas of Fast Lane have more neat plant detailings in the space dividers.

While Fast Lane covers the starbord side amidships, on the port there's first the galley and the a Burger King restaurant. Here, the decor is in accordance with the Burger King concept - so nothing to write home about.

The stairwells (seen here is the midships stairs on Deck 9) are all designed by Aprocos in a quite attractive styling. However, each of the three staircases has the same colour scheme; perhaps unique colours for each would have aided in passenger orientation.

Aft of Burger King is the Sitting Lounge, a much-desired if somewhat retro feature. Here, again, the design of the space is by Aprocos.

Apposite of the Sitting Lounge on the starboard side we find the Victory Bar with its centerpiece horse lamp.

Victory Bar was envisioned by dSign as a stylish, contemporary rendering of a classic sports pub.

Again, plants bring a nice organic counterpoint to dSign's angular detailing.

As in the other dSign-drawn spaces, there are some very neat lighting fixtures in the Victory Bar.

The final indorrs public space on Deck 9 is Sea Pub, another concept familiar from earlier Tallink and Silja Line ships, but with a new interior design from dSign.

Sea Pub is, without question, the most vibrant-coloured of all dSign-made public areas onboard.

dSign envisioned the Sea Pub as a more quiet space, in contrast with the Victory Bar. We'll see how the spaces will turn out in practice.

Aft on Deck 9, the outer decks have been built in as an enclosed, winter garden -like space.

Deck 8 is the second public room deck. Forward, there are the extra-cost Business and Comfort Class lounges, followed by the entrance lobby, the Coffee & Co coffee bar, the Lobby Shop and the Traveller Superstore, which covers the entire aft half of the deck.

The forward section on Deck 8 is split between the Business Class (seen here) and Comfort Class areas.

Food and drinks are included in the Business Class price, thus the space has its own buffet servery area.

dSign chose to decorazte the Business Class lounge in restive hues of grey and black, conductive for working.

The Comforst Class lounge, accopying the port side forward, features similarly restive decor as the Business Class.

Again, organic detailing brings the space to life.

The Comfort Class areas also feature three cabinets, which can be used either as private meeting rooms or incorporated into the main lounge on busier departures.

The two extra-cost areas are followed by the entrance lobby and corridors leading to the public rooms midships. On the port side, a video of the ship's naming ceremony, alongside a picture of the godmother (Finland's former president Tarja Halonen) and the lucky coins laid under the keel.

The corresponding space on the starboard side.

Amidships is the Coffee & Co coffee bar area. Here, the walking paths cross from one side of the ship to the other, an interesting new solution devised by dSign.

The Coffee & Co servery area, alongside the reception, is located in the triangular space formed by the crossroads forward.

Port side sitting areas for Coffee & Co. The starboard side has more hues of fuchsia.

The aft triangle from the corssroads has further seating and the Lobby Shop.

Located adjacent to the main supermarket, the Lobby Shop might seem like a strange concept, but many passengers probably welcome the chance for quick shopping in a much smaller space.

The Traveller Superstore, designed by Aprocos, is similar in styling to the Tax Free Superstore found onboard other Tallink and Silja vessels, but with the name altered to reflect the fact there are no tax-free sales on the Helsinki-Tallinn route.

The Traveller Superstore extends down to Deck 7, with an extremely impressive atrium-like staircase in the middle. Alas, the equipment I had with me couldn't quite capture the space in the way it deserved.

Very wish display!

Deck 7 features one of the Megastar's most innovative features: a garage that passengers can access during the voyage. This is meant for shoppers taking large amounts with them, as there is direct access from the garage to the Traveller Superstore.

During our visit, however, the garage was turned into a party space for a short celebratory cruise run from Tallinn later in the evening.

The garage photographed once the ship was in normal service on 29.1. Very similar to a shopping center on dry land.

The Decks below, 3-6, are further car decks, with technical spaces and galleys down on Decks 1 and 2.

As always, Kships will return.