New Ship Emulates a Luxury Hotel : The extra-wide Radisson Diamond is spacious enough for a conference center.

Our first glimpse of the revolutionary twin-hulled Radisson Diamond did not do much to enhance the glamour of this expensive new ship ($600-$700 a day per person), touted to be the latest in luxury.

The square, boxy, semi-submersible craft, looking (as one cynic said) as if it were still waiting for the bow to be delivered, was tied up at Tilbury docks alongside the sleek Royal Princess, something akin to seeing “Star Wars” robot C-3PO hanging out with Cary Grant.

Then again, people made a lot of smart remarks about the first horseless carriages, too.

The truth is, once aboard the ship, it’s easy to forget its “Mr. Five-by-Five” profile and luxuriate in the space that its extra width provides. The 20,000-ton ship is 105 feet across the beam, while a traditional cruise ship in the 20,000-ton range is about 75 feet wide.

The passenger-space ratio for the 354-passenger vessel, which is reached by dividing the gross registered tonnage by the number of passengers carried, is a whopping 56 compared to the Crystal Harmony’s 51.4 and the Royal Viking Sun’s 51.3.

While stateroom size is 244 square feet, fairly standard in the upper end of the luxury cruise market, hallways, foyers and public rooms are designed on a hotel scale--bigger and wider, with a lavish disregard for making every inch pay off.

First-time cruisers, accustomed to the Hollywood sound-stage spaces of “Love Boat,” will find more rapport here than on classic ships. Even more important, the vessel’s deep draft of 26 feet, the twin hulls and two pairs of stabilizers are supposed to minimize pitch, heave and roll, reducing the chance of seasickness, another concern of first-timers.

But during the three-day publicity sailing for the media, shareholders and travel executives, the usually choppy English Channel was smooth as a lake, so there was little chance to evaluate stability. We could scarcely tell when the ship was moving and when it was tied up.

Despite its futuristic exterior and technological advancements--everything from a computerized passenger photo security system to its eight satellite phone connections, the most of any ship--the Radisson Diamond still feels like a hotel inside.

Perhaps it’s all those meeting rooms--a conference center that seats 150 and can be divided into six smaller rooms, plus three boardrooms that double as library and card rooms.

At one time, the partnership of Radisson Hotels International and Diamond Cruises Ltd. announced intentions to use the ship primarily for group travel, but those bookings apparently did not materialize as quickly as expected.

According to Keith Wyness, vice president of marketing for Diamond, the new emphasis will be on attracting the individual traveler, “Royal Viking, Seabourn and Sea Goddess passengers, (plus) people who haven’t cruised before--adventure travelers that may take a safari or stay at a ski resort.”

But the Radisson Diamond is less formal and less elegant than those ships Wyness cited that share its price range. It is more likely to attract affluent, young, destination-oriented passengers, plus those inveterate cruisers who rush to sail aboard every new ship.

Cruise director Tony Sher says that passengers will spend more time in port with many all-day excursions and overnight calls on the schedule. The ship will sometimes make unscheduled stops in calm waters to set up a hydraulically operated floating marina at the stern with a steel-mesh enclosed swimming pool, jet skis, water-skiing boats and sailboats. An on-board lecture program is also in the works, he says.

There are only two lounges, a subdued room called The Club with fawn leather sofas and Art Deco accents, and the larger, livelier Windows, a three-level lounge with two bars, afternoon tea service and late-night disco.

The ship is easy to get around because of a central atrium with stairways and glass elevators, marred only by an overabundance of mirrors and countless yards of gaudy cabbage-rose carpeting.

The casino includes three blackjack tables, roulette, computer poker, Caribbean stud poker and 46 slot machines.

The food was excellent and the service quite good for a shakedown sailing with many servers on their first sea job. Key hotel and restaurant staff, including executive chef Stefan Hamrin, were recruited from Seabourn. The aft dining room, high-ceilinged with a glass wall and shimmery silver draperies, has open sitting for all meals, and menus include seven main dish choices every evening.

But what we found most exciting was an extraordinary alternative restaurant called The Grill that serves a different Italian menu nightly. Restaurateurs Felice and Hanne Marra, who hail from Northern Italy’s Piedmont region, prepare three or four homemade pastas daily and serve a bit of each, along with several appetizers, a main dish with vegetables, wines and dessert. There’s no surcharge, but advance reservations are required since service is limited to 50 people.

A crew of 186 from 14 different countries is aboard; officers and flag are Finnish. According to Wyness, the ship meets all the newest safety standards and is equipped throughout with sprinklers.

There are 177 cabins, two of which are 550-square-foot suites with private verandas that will sell for $900 a day per person, double occupancy, in the Caribbean this winter. There are also two cabins designated for handicapped passengers.

The ship is not really suited for families with young children, given the lack of kids’ play areas, programs and staff for supervising children’s activities.

Of the standard staterooms, 120 have private verandas and 55 offer instead larger sitting areas by a picture window. They are priced at $600 a day per person, double occupancy, in the Caribbean this winter, $700 in the Mediterranean this summer, plus air fare. Some reduced introductory Mediterranean packages with air included are also available.

Cabin mini-bars will be stocked with four bottles without charge, and soft drinks and house wines with dinner are complimentary. Tips are included.

The ship will cruise in the Mediterranean on seven-day itineraries through mid-September, then make a crossing to its winter home port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, before calling in Ft. Lauderdale on Oct. 15. Eastern Caribbean ports of call include St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Martinique and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

For more information, contact a travel agent or Diamond Cruises at (305) 932-3388.