In the past, we’ve written about why airplanes are painted white, why their doors are outlined with a different color, and the significance of the colors of a plane’s jet engine.
With cruising becoming so popular, we decided to look into the colors of cruise ships, too. I mean, if you think about the more popular cruise lines out there, the vast majority of their respective ships are painted overwhelmingly white.
Carnival
Disney
Holland America
Norwegian
Princess
Royal Caribbean
Virgin Voyages
Even though cruise lines such as Celebrity, Disney and Holland America have decided to keep a hull a dark color (that was a tradition that went back to the days of hiding coal dust), the upper parts of their respective ships are still overwhelmingly white.
History of painting cruise ships white
Cruise ships have been white since around the 18th century. That’s when the British Royal Navy began painting all of its ships white (so they would be more visible when at sea). Because of that influence, passenger ships and cargo vessels also began being painted all white.
Why still white?
Sure they all have some “other” color or colors here and there. But the overwhelming color is white. Here’s why…
White is easy to see
When you’re in the middle of an ocean and just have dark blue ocean and light blue skies, a white ship in the distance is going to be easy to see, because it reflects sunlight. That’s even the case at night, when the ship is lit up with outdoor lighting.
A ship that’s easy to see is a ship that’s easier to avoid collision.
It makes finding maintenance areas easier to find
If you have a white ship, it’s going to be easy to see when rust or cracks start to happen – it’ll be these brownish-orange patches on that white background. If the hull of the ship was, say, brown, those areas would be harder to spot.
It’s also easier & cheaper to fix flaws
Even the best cruise ships that are run by the best captains and crews are going to get into their share of mishaps. A scrape here. A dent there. If a ship is some oddball color like, I dunno, fluorescent orange, they’re going to have to have that color in stock at all times, to fix whatever cosmetic issues pop up (to say nothing of the potential of those kinds of colors fading with time. White takes much longer to fade.).
But if the ship is white, it’s easy to find AND it doesn’t fade. Plus, bonus – white is the cheapest color out there.
They’re more energy efficient
If you think back to science classes in school, you probably learned that while dark colors absorb heat, light colors reflect it. That’s why you tend to wear blacks, charcoal grays and navy blues in the winter months, but lots of light colors, like pastels and whites, during the summertime.
The same thought goes for cruise ships. Their white color reflects the sunlight, so the ship doesn’t absorb excess heat. That, in turns, helps it be more energy efficient. It also means not having to blast the air conditioning so hard when traveling through the Caribbean in spring and summer.
To affect your subconscious
The color white typically symbolizes cleanliness and purity. Using that color subconsciously informs cruise passengers that the ship they’ll be on will be, if not pure, at least definitely clean.
White historically also symbolizes class and sophistication, as well as serenity and tranquility, all of which are things some cruise passengers are looking for.
If you look at white cruise ships from a symbolic POV, white often represents hope for an escape, or a journey to unknown places and distant lands.
White is also used for certain holidays, which makes a cruise ship feel more festive than, say, the battleship gray of a navy vessel. 😉
And finally, white makes the ship appear larger. Just like dark colors make you look slimmer and light colors make you look more broad, a white ship will appear to be larger than it actually is.
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