Cruise ship
A
cruise ship is a
passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are considered an essential part of the experience.
Cruising has become a major part of the
tourism industry, with millions of passengers each year as of
2006. The industry's rapid growth has seen nine or more newly built ships catering to a
North American clientele added every year since
2001, as well as others servicing
European clientele. Smaller markets such as the
Asia-
Pacific region are generally serviced by older tonnage displaced by new ships introduced into the high growth areas.
The practice grew gradually out of the
transatlantic crossing tradition, which, despite the best efforts of engineers and sailors into the mid-
20th century, rarely took less than about four days. In the competition for passengers,
ocean liners added many luxuries — most famously seen in the
Titanic, but also available in other ships — such as fine dining, well-appointed staterooms, and so forth.
In the late 19th century,
Albert Ballin, director of the
Hamburg-America Line, was the first to make a regular practice of sending his transatlantic ships out on long southern cruises during the worst of the
winter season of the
North Atlantic. Other companies followed suit. Some of them built specialized ships designed for easy transformation between
summer crossings and winter cruising.
With the advent of large passenger
jet aircraft in the
1960s, the vast majority of
inter-continental travellers switched from ships to planes. There are some however, who enjoy the few days of luxury and enforced idleness that a liner voyage affords, so a small niche market has remained for transatlantic voyages. Excluding this exception, the ocean liner transport business crashed. Cruising voyages however gained in popularity; slowly at first but at an increased rate from the 1980s onwards. Initially the fledgling industry was serviced primarily by redundant liners. The first purpose built cruise ships were relatively small, but the size of these vessels has risen dramatically to become the largest passenger ships ever built.
The
1970s television show
The Love Boat, featuring
Princess Cruises' since-sold ship
Pacific Princess, did much to raise awareness of cruises as a vacation option for ordinary people in the
United States. Initially this growth was centered around the
Caribbean,
Alaska and
Mexico, but now encompasses all areas of the globe. As of 2004, several hundred cruise ships, some carrying over 3,000 passengers and measuring over 100,000 gross tons, ply routes all over the world. For certain destinations such as the
Arctic and
Antarctica, cruise ships are very nearly the only way to visit, a fact that is the primary attraction for many tourists.
Present-day cruise ships are organized much like floating
hotels, with a complete "hospitality staff" in addition to the usual ship's crew. It is not uncommon for the most luxurious ships to have more crew and staff than passengers.
As with any vessel, adequate
provisioning is crucial, especially on a cruise ship serving several thousand meals at each seating. The amount of food and beverages consumed by a cruise ship on an average seven-day voyage is staggering. Passengers and crew on the
Royal Caribbean International ship
Mariner of the Seas consume 20,000 pounds of beef, 28,000 eggs, 8,000 gallons of ice cream, and 18,000 slices of pizza in a week.
Many older cruise ships have had multiple owners over their lifetimes. Since each
cruise line has its own
livery and often a naming theme (for instance, ships of the
Holland America Line have names ending in "-dam", e.g.
MS Statendam, and Royal Caribbean's ships' names all end with "of the Seas"), it is usual for the transfer of ownership to entail a refitting and a name change. Some ships have had a dozen or more identities.
Cruise ships and former liners often find employment in applications other than those for which they were built. A shortage of hotel accommodations for the
2004 Summer Olympics led to a plan to moor a number of cruise ships in Athens to provide tourist accommodation. On
September 1,
2005,
FEMA contracted three
Carnival Cruise Lines vessels to house
Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
*
List of cruise ships*
List of cruise lines*
Cruiseferry*
Douglas Ward,
Berlitz Ocean Cruising and Cruise Ships, published annually, with extensive background in addition to ship descriptions and ratings
*
CruiseJournals.com - Cruise Community Pages*
Extensive list of cruise ships with photos & information*
Cruise Lines / Ships / Roll Calls*
Types of Cruiselines
