Pacific Sky sails under Sydney Harbour Bridge

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. The first vessel built exclusively for this purpose was the Prinzessin Victoria Luise, commissioned by Albert Ballin, general manager of Hamburg-America Line. The ship was completed in 1900. Image File history File linksMetadata Pacskysydbridge_web. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Pacskysydbridge_web. ... The Pacific Sky, (formerly Sky Princess), was an Australian cruise ship operated by P&O Cruises Australia (November 2000 - May 2006). ... The Sydney Harbour Bridge, is the main crossing of Sydney Harbour carrying vehicular, rail, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. ... A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. ... Albert Ballin (15 August 1857 – 9 November 1918) was a director of Hamburg-America Line, and is the person who is credited with the invention of cruise ships. ... Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container shipping line and a cruise line. ...

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. Tourists at Oahu island, Hawaii Tourism is the act of travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes, and also refers to the provision of services in support of this act. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighboring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ...

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. For the similarly named rock band, see TransAtlantic. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... A postcard of SS United States. ... RMS Titanic was an Olympic class passenger liner that became infamous for its collision with an iceberg and dramatic sinking in 1912. ...

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. Albert Ballin (15 August 1857 – 9 November 1918) was a director of Hamburg-America Line, and is the person who is credited with the invention of cruise ships. ... Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container shipping line and a cruise line. ... For other senses of this word, see winter (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Atlantic (disambiguation) The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ... For other senses of this word, see Summer (disambiguation). ...

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. Jet aircraft with condensation trail Jet aircraft are aircraft with jet engines. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

Pacific Princess off the U.S. West Coast

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. Pacific Princess off the US West Coast Pacific (formerly Sea Venture and Pacific Princess) is a cruise ship. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The Love Boat was a TV series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from 1977 until 1986. ... Sea Princess at Fort-de-France Princess Cruises is an American cruise line made famous by The Love Boat TV series, in which two of its former ships, the Island Princess and Pacific Princess were featured. ... Pacific Princess off the US West Coast Pacific (formerly Sea Venture and Pacific Princess) is a cruise ship. ... World map depicting Caribbean: West Indies redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area around the South Pole. ...

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. A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis. ...

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. Workers load a Cruise Ship in Charlotte Amalie, USVI A storeroom onboard the Silverseas Silver Whisper Cruise ships consume vast amounts of food every day, the following is a list of supplies provisioned onboard the Celebrity cruise ship Constellation for a average 7 day cruise. ... U.S. headquarters in Miami, Florida. ... Mariner of the Seas Mariner of the Seas is one of five Voyager-class cruise ships from Royal Caribbean International; it is one of the largest in its fleet and among the largest passenger ships in the world. ...

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. A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. ... A livery is a uniform worn by a civilian person. ... HAL logo Holland America Line, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is a cruise ship line, originally an operator of passenger and cargo ships. ... The MS Statendam is a cruise ship of the Holland America Line. ...

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. The 2004 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, were held in Athens, Greece, over a period of 17 days from August 13 to August 29, 2004. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... New FEMA seal The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is an agency of the United States government dedicated to swift response in the event of disasters, both natural and man-made. ... Carnival Cruise Lines is a cruise line operating a large number of cruise ships. ... Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cruise ships

• List of cruise ships
• List of cruise lines
• Cruiseferry

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... This is a list of cruise ships, both those in service and those that have since ceased to operate. ... This is a list of cruise lines, companies that operate cruise ships. ... Pride of Bilbao, a cruise ferry operated by P&O Ferries. ...

Reference

• Douglas Ward, Berlitz Ocean Cruising and Cruise Ships, published annually, with extensive background in addition to ship descriptions and ratings
• Monarchs of the Sea: The Great Ocean Liners; Ulrich, Kurt; Tausir Parke; 1999; ISBN: 1860643736

External links

• CruiseJournals.com - Cruise Community Pages
• Extensive list of cruise ships with photos & information
• Cruise Lines / Ships / Roll Calls
• Types of Cruiselines
• Cruise News
• Database of more than 120 Cruise Ships (descriptions, photos, ...)
• Cruise Bruise - List of articles about incidents taking place on cruise ships.

Extensive list of cruise ships with photos & information]

• Cruise ships travel guide from Wikitravel