Quantum Class - why are the two sides carved in

[ignites]

I've notice this aspect of the ship as kind of 'odd' for a while now.. but i believe, most cruise ships ive seen have perfectly parrallel sides (port and starboard)... but on the quantum the mid-sections are caved in a bit.

 

Besides being 'unique' in looks, is there any other reasons... I dont think its for the lifeboats since the lifeboats near the rear of the ship is not caved in...

 

Just being nosy... #4DaysAway!

[DEIx15x8]

As ships get bigger they have to work to keep the center of gravity down. In the past ships would get wider as they got taller to compensate for the added height. With newer ships they are trying to get the ratio of balcony cabins up which requires more decks of balconies resulting in taller ships. This leads to a top heavy ship so they need to make the top decks skinnier than the lower ones. This can be accomplished in two ways, split the deck and move it out with air in the middle like the Oasis class or slide the decks in with air on the outside. Either way the higher decks end up smaller and lighter lowering the center of gravity. This is all in addition to the use of different lighter materials for higher decks like they started with the Voyager class.

[PuterMonkey]

See, wading through all the muck and first-world griping on this site, every now and then you come across a truly interested tidbit you didn't know before :)

[Biker19]

...and the two sides could be parralel (tho skinny) but to accomodate elevators and staircases you have the humps. This design has been used for some time - see Solstice class ships at Celebrity for example.