A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with millions of passengers each year. 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. Cruise ships operate mostly on routes that return passengers to their originating port. In contrast, dedicated transport oriented ocean liners do "line voyages" and typically transport passengers from one point to another, rather than on round trips. Some cruise ships also engage in longer trips which may not lead back to the same port for many months (longer round trips).
Traditionally, an ocean liner for the transoceanic trade will be built to a higher standard than a typical cruise ship, including stronger plating to withstand ocean voyages, most commonly crossing the North Atlantic. The only dedicated transatlantic ocean liner in operation as a liner, as of September 2009, is the Queen Mary 2 of the Cunard fleet. The liner Queen Mary is in service as a hotel in Long Beach, USA, the Queen Elizabeth 2 is slated for similar duty in Cape Town, and the United States is currently stored in Philadelphia, USA, with long-standing plans to return it to service, although this appears increasingly unlikely given its age and condition. Some former ocean liners currently operate as cruise ships, however this number is ever decreasing. The MS Marco Polo is an example.
History
Early years
The first vessel built exclusively for this purpose was the Prinzessin Victoria Luise , designed by Albert Ballin, general manager of Hamburg-America Line. The ship was completed in 1900.
The practice of cruising grew gradually out of the transatlantic crossing tradition, which never took less than four days. In the competition for passengers, ocean liners added many luxuries — the Titanic being the most famous example — such as fine dining and well-appointed staterooms.
In the late 19th century, Albert Ballin, director of the Hamburg-America Line, was the first to send 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.
Jet age
With the advent of large passenger jet aircraft in the 1960s, intercontinental travellers largely switched from ships to planes, sending the ocean liner trade into a slow decline. Ocean liner services aimed at passengers ceased in 1986, with the notable exception of transatlantic crossings operated by the Cunard Line, catering to the niche market who enjoy the few days of luxury and enforced idleness that a liner voyage affords. In comparison to liner crossings, cruising voyages gained popularity; slowly at first but at an increased rate from the 1980s onwards. Initially the fledgling industry was serviced primarily by small redundant liners, and even the first purpose built cruise ships were small. This changed after the success of the SS Norway (originally the ocean liner SS France , which was converted to a cruise ship) as the Caribbean's first "super-ship". Since then the size of cruise ships has risen dramatically to become the largest passenger ships ever built.
Modern days
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. Today, several hundred cruise ships ply routes worldwide. And even larger vessels are on the horizon. Plans are set for at least two cruise ships that will be 220,000 gross tons and hold 5,400 passengers each.
For certain destinations such as the Arctic and Antarctica, cruise ships are very nearly the only way to visit.
The largest passenger cruise ships are the Oasis class vessels owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International; these are MS Oasis of the Seas, and the under-construction MS Allure of the Seas. Oases of the Seas is 1,187 feet (362 m) long, sits 236 feet (72 m) above the water line, and measures 225,282 gross tons.
Organization
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. For example, passengers and crew on the Royal Caribbean International ship Mariner of the Seas consume 20,000 pounds (9,000 kg) of beef, 28,000 eggs, 8,000 gallons (30,000 L) of ice cream, and 18,000 slices of pizza in a week.
Many older cruise ships have had multiple owners. 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", e.g. MS Freedom 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 accommodation 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, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) contracted three Carnival Cruise Lines vessels to house Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
Regional industries
The number of cruise tourists worldwide in 2005 was estimated at some 14 million. The main region for cruising was North America (70% of cruises), where the Caribbean islands were the most popular destinations.
Next was Continental Europe (13%), where the fastest growing segment is cruises in the Baltic Sea . The most visited Baltic ports are Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Stockholm and Helsinki. The seaport of St. Petersburg, the main Baltic port of call, received 426,500 passengers during the 2009 cruise season.
According to 2008 CEMAR statistics the Mediterranean cruise market is going through a fast and fundamental change, Italy has won prime position as a destination for European cruises, and destination for the whole of the Mediterranean basin. The most visited ports in Mediterranean Sea are Barcelona (Spain), Civitavecchia (Italy), Palma (Spain) and Venice (Italy).
Caribbean cruising industry
The first journeys across the Caribbean Sea were made by Amerindian canoeists who “settled the island chains, paddling north from the river systems of the Orinoco and the Amazon”. This resulted in the fight for control of the Caribbean, particularly for the Caribbean Sea between the European powers. The sea became an economic highway for “slavers, traders, buccaneers, and fishermen”. It also became a passageway for “escaped slaves, indentured labourers and settlers, and later still a watery flight path for emigrants and boat people”.
The Caribbean cruising industry is a large and growing market, and currently the most popular. Cruising has grown from “an estimated 900,850 passengers in 1983 to 2.3 million passengers in 1993”. Cruise lines operating in the Caribbean include Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America, P&O, Cunard, and Norwegian Cruise Line. There are also smaller cruise lines that cater to a more intimate feeling among their guests. The three largest cruise operators are Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean International, and Star Cruises/Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Many of the American cruise lines in the Caribbean depart from ports in the United States, “nearly one-third of the cruises sailed out of Miami”. Other cruise ships depart from Fort Lauderdale ("Port Everglades"), Port Canaveral (approximately 45 miles (72 km) east of Orlando), New York, Tampa, Galveston, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Many UK cruise lines base their ships out of Barbados for the Caribbean season, operating direct charter flights out of the UK and avoiding the sometimes lengthy delays at US immigra
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