Interiors
Lusitania and Mauretania possessed the most luxurious, spacious, and comfortable interiors afloat at the time. Scottish architect James Miller was chosen to design Lusitania's interiors, while Harold Peto was chosen to design Mauretania. Miller chose to use plasterwork to create interiors, whereas Peto made extensive use of wooden panelling, with the result that the overall impression given by Lusitania was brighter than Mauretania.
The ship's passenger accommodation was spread throughout six decks. From the top deck down to the waterline, they were: Boat Deck (A Deck), the Promenade Deck (B Deck), the Shelter Deck (C Deck), the Upper Deck (D Deck), the Main Deck (E Deck), and the Lower Deck (F Deck), with each of the three passenger classes being allotted their own space on the ship. First-class, second-class, and third-class passengers were strictly segregated from one another, as was the norm for cruise ships at the time. She was designed to carry 2,198 passengers and 827 crew members, according to her original configuration in 1907.
Lusitania's first-class accommodation was in the centre section of the ship on the five uppermost decks, mostly concentrated between the first and fourth funnels. She could cater to 552 first-class passengers when fully booked.
Lusitania's first-class interiors were decorated with a mélange of historical styles. The first-class dining saloon was the grandest of the ship's public rooms, arranged over two decks with an open circular well at its centre and crowned by an elaborate dome measuring 29 ft, decorated with frescos in the style of François Boucher, realised throughout in the neoclassical Louis XVI style. The lower floor measured 85 ft and could seat 323, with a further 147 on the 65 ft upper floor. The walls were finished with white and gilt carved mahogany panels, with Corinthian decorated columns which were required to support the floor above. The one concession to seaborne life was that furniture was bolted to the floor, meaning that passengers could not rearrange their seating for their personal convenience.
All other first-class public rooms were situated on the boat deck and composed of a lounge, reading and writing room, smoking room, and veranda café. The café was an innovation on a Cunard liner; one side could be opened up in warm weather to give the impression of sitting outdoors. This would have been a rarely used feature given the often inclement weather of the North Atlantic.
The first-class lounge was decorated in Georgian style with inlaid mahogany panels surrounding a jade green carpet with a yellow floral pattern, measuring overall 68 ft. It had a barrel vaulted skylight rising to 20 ft with stained glass windows each representing one month of the year.
Each end of the lounge had a 14 ft high green marble fireplace incorporating enamelled panels by Alexander Fisher. The design was linked overall with decorative plasterwork. The library walls were decorated with carved pilasters and mouldings marking out panels of grey and cream silk brocade. The carpet was rose, with Rose du Barry silk curtains and upholstery. The chairs and writing desks were mahogany, and the windows featured etched glass. The smoking room was Queen Anne style, with Italian walnut panelling and Italian red furnishings. The grand stairway linked all six decks, with wide hallways on each level and two lifts. First-class cabins ranged from one shared room through various suite arrangements in a choice of decorative styles, culminating in the two regal suites which had two bedrooms, dining room, parlour, and bathroom. The port suite decoration was modelled on the Petit Trianon.
Lusitania's second-class accommodation was confined to the stern behind the aft mast, with quarters for 460 passengers. The second-class public rooms were situated on partitioned sections of boat and promenade decks housed in a separate section of the superstructure aft of the first-class passenger quarters. Design work was deputised to Robert Whyte, who was the architect employed by John Brown. The design of the dining room reflected that of first class, with just one floor of diners under a ceiling with a smaller dome and balcony. Walls were panelled and carved with decorated pillars, all in white. The dining room was situated lower down in the ship on the saloon deck. The smoking and ladies' rooms occupied the accommodation space of the second-class promenade deck, with the lounge on the boat deck.
The 42 ft room had mahogany tables, chairs, and settees set on a rose carpet. The smoking room was 52 ft with mahogany panelling, white plaster work ceiling and dome. One wall had a mosaic of a river scene in Brittany, while the sliding windows were blue-tinted. Second-class passengers were allotted shared two- and four-berth cabins arranged on the shelter, upper, and main decks.
Third class aboard Lusitania was praised for the improvement in travel conditions that it provided to passengers; Lusitania proved to be a popular ship for emigrants. Third-class accommodation in most ships of the time consisted of large open spaces where hundreds of people would share open berths and hastily constructed public spaces, often consisting of no more than a small portion of open deck space and a few tables constructed within their sleeping quarters. In an attempt to break that mould, the Cunard Line began designing ships such as Lusitania with more comfortable third-class accommodation. Third-class accommodation aboard Lusitania was located at the forward end of the ship on the shelter, upper, main, and lower decks, and it was comfortable and spacious compared with other ships of the time. The 79 ft dining room was at the bow of the ship on the saloon deck, finished in polished pine, as were the smoke room and ladies room on the shelter deck.
When Lusitania was fully booked in third class, the smoking and ladies room could easily be converted into overflow dining rooms for added convenience. Meals were eaten at long tables with swivel chairs and there were two sittings for meals. A piano was provided for passenger use. What greatly appealed to emigrants and lower class travellers was the honeycomb of two, four, six, and eight berth cabins allotted to third-class passengers on the main and lower decks, instead of being confined to open berth dormitories.
The Bromsgrove Guild had designed and constructed most of the trim on Lusitania. Waring and Gillow supplied a number of the furnishings.
