The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely surrounded by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. It covers around 2.5 million km² (965 000 mi²).
It was a superhighway of transport in ancient times, allowing for trade and cultural exchange between peoples of the region — Phoenicians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, and the Middle East (Arab/Persian/Semitic) cultures. The history of the Mediterranean is important in understanding the origin and development of Western Civilization.
A cruise ship is a passenger ship. It is also known as a cruise liner. Cruise ships are used for pleasure voyages. Hundreds of thousands of passengers are cruising on the cruise ships each year because of the attraction of the voyage as well as the beautiful big ships.The cruise industry grew gradually out of the transatlantic crossing tradition. In the competition for passengers, ocean liners added many luxuries -fine dining, well-appointed staterooms, and so forth.
In the late 19th century, the Hamburg-America Line was the first company to do the transatlantic cruises regularly during the worst of the winter season. Other companies followed suit. Some of them built specialized ships for easy transformation between summer crossings and winter cruising.
With the advent of large passenger jet aircraft in the 1960s, nearly all travelers switched from ships to planes, but there were some who actually enjoyed the few days of enforced idleness, so while the ocean liner transport business crashed, the cruising voyages never stopped altogether.
Later other cruises were introduced, such as to the islands of the Caribbean, and through the Mediterranean, and new ships were built to accommodate the growing demand.
The 1970s television show The Love Boat did much to raise awareness of cruises as a vacation option for ordinary people in the United States.
As of 2004, several hundred cruise ships are sailing all over the world. Some carry over 3,000 passengers, and displacing over 100,000 tons. These are among the largest ships ever built. For certain destinations, such as Antarctica, cruise ships are very nearly the only way for tourists to visit.
Present-day cruise ships are much like floating hotels, with a complete "hospitality staff" in addition to the usual ship's crew. The most luxurious ships often have more crew/staff than passengers.
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