Although the design approach to the architectural defining of the environments on board has changed from time to time in the modern era, it could be said that a sort of “eclecticism” constitutes a leitmotiv never abandoned and declined differently during its evolution up to our days. In the past, the inventiveness inspired by ancient artistic styles aboard the first ocean liners was primarily meant to meet the taste of the time, as a source of attraction for customers. Nowadays we see similar situations aboard cruise ships, most of all because of their increasing dimension, that entails a great differentiation among spaces on board. Then, the coexistence on board of multiple stylistic features as a sort of a contemporary eclecticism is a consequence of design choices meant to impress the customer. The contribute here presented aims to discuss how the role of the designer has changed through the decades, and which is today its function in establishing correspondence between identity of the company, characterization of the ship, and finally attractiveness in the customer.