Rec Deck on 24th Century Ships?

In TMP it's shown that the refitted Enterprise has a recreation deck, which makes a ton of sense, IMO. Surely ships of that size with such large crews would need more than just one lounge (Ten-Forward) and a couple of holodecks for relaxation. That said, I always wondered why they didn't use this on TNG and give the Enterprise-D an entire deck devoted to recreation, especially since they had Starfleet permitting families to live aboard many ships at the time.

Imagine it; it'd be like the Promenade on DS9 in a sense. Civilian merchants with various shops and services, private holosuites separate from the ones used for official functions, simulations, etc. Child care centers, restaurants, bars, gyms, etc. Each time they stop at a starbase, they could get a new group of merchants who would swap out and bring new products/services to the ship. Of course, there would be some who would stay, much like Quark did on DS9.

And even if we assume Starfleet reconsiders allowing children/families on starships after the Dominion War, it would be just as important to keep morale up among the crew, especially if they were going to be separated from their spouses and families for extended periods of time. I can even see a form of long-distance holo-communication between spouses and/or significant others where they... interact with each other in real time via holograms transmitted between their locations, whether one person is on a planet somewhere using a holosuite or using another starship's holodeck. This could also be applied to family gatherings such as birthdays and other non-sexual activities.

Personally, I think having somewhere like this on a starship would make a lot of sense. Maybe we'll see it in the next Abramsverse movie, assuming there is one down the road. Or if they ever return to the 24th century era or beyond. For that matter, I don't suppose there's anything stopping Discovery from using the idea, minus the holosuites, of course.

 

I rather trust the E-D had several areas like that "in reality". After all, there's a lot of space left over after you accommodate mere 1,000 people (and a few dolphins) in luxury and then install, say, a hundred labs like the ones we saw!

The heroes just wouldn't interact with the "civilian" side of the ship much, for whatever reasons. They have their holodecks; they are busy; discipline is better maintained through segregation; whatever to keep the studio from having to build the mall for real!

Kirk's old ship already had extensive recreation facilities (and if TAS is any incidation, early holodecks as well). Quite possibly those are the most important facilities a starship can have, in terms of space allocation: labs can be built on a chip, quarters can be closets, but the psychological needs of the crew are paramount and cannot be miniaturized.

Timo Saloniemi

 

They have multiple holodecks. Plus rooms that appear to be setup for gymnastics (assuming those were not also on a holodeck). Plus the saucer section is huge for crew that is less than three times the size of Kirk's crew.

 

I imagine that security concerns - and a rudimentary grasp of good taste - would preclude Starfleet from letting a starship on active duty double as a souk.

 

The deck plans as devised by Ed Whitefire show the whole front area of the saucer devoted to a public "mall" area

 

So does every ship get its own PX or is it just the big ones like the Galaxy class?

 

Galaxy-class ships are huge. Most are more like the internal volume of a modern aircraft carrier smaller.

 

TNG was created in the late 1980's, naturally the ship is going to possess a mall.

 

Maybe there's an auditorium on the Enterprise D with holographic versions of Tupac Shakur and the Backstreet Boys.

 

Is there a holo Tiffany singing in the food court?

 

The President: "Who's Tiffany?"

 

No evidence says they had a mall but then there's no evidence against it either. I could see a large area for recreation but you could get almost anything from a replicator so what would the shops sell?

 

So wait, if the "real" E-D had a mall, what will discovery have? A big box commercial center, with horrendous parking management, lots of unused open space, and at least one coffee shop every half a block?

Mark

 

U.S. Navy vessels all have their own store, where the crew can purchase goods. In Trek, there's mention of a "ship's store" in the original series episode "Charlie X."

When Charlie brings Janice her favorite perfume, she comments, "...not even ship's stores have it."

Everyone seems to be thinking that this is a mall as we know them today—a shopping center. However, that's not what it is. It is simply a promenade, a sheltered walk.

 

Or a large public space, like the National Mall in Washington D.C.

 

Haircuts. See mister mott. He's also a part time hoople.

 

Amazon.

 

One word: Arcade.

 

Doesn't mean it's a store as in a shop it could mean stores as in storage.

 

Well, since TOS used a lot of naval terminology and"ship's stores" is coming parlance for the onboard shop, it's logical to speculate that it might be a shop. Also, why would they store perfume and other sundries in the ship's cargo hold (i.e. storage bay)?