Cruise ship seakeeping and passenger comfort

In the last decade the design and construction of a substantial volume of large cruise ships has stimulated the evolution of cruise ship design. The MARIN and TNO involvement in these developments, and in particular the increase in size, have lead to new insights in how the ship design governs passenger discomfort.
Our contribution to the conference highlights our experience with the link between passenger comfort and cruise ship design by identifying the particular seakeeping qualities of cruise ships that govern passenger comfort and showing the impact the most important choices in cruise ship design on these governing factors. Attention is paid to the effect of combined motions and roll stabilisation on seasickness, the discomfort introduced by slamming induced whipping and to postural stability.