OCEAN CRUISES History and information

OCEAN CRUISES

Ocean liners were "the" mode of intercontinental travel for over a century, from the mid 19th century to the 1960s, when they were supplanted by airliners. In addition to passages, liners also carried intercontinental mail. Ship contracted to carry British Royal Mail used a designation RMS. Liners were also the preferred way to move gold and other high value cargos.

The name liner is derived from "ship of the line", a warship capable of taking its place in the Royal Navy's tactical line of battle of the Age of Sail.

In 1818, Black Ball Line, with a fleet of clipper ships, offered the first passenger service with, emphasis on passenger comfort, from Britain to USA. Since 1800, putting a steam engine in a ship was possible, but they were inefficient and offered little advantage to sailing ships.

The SS Great Western, designed by railway engineer Isambard Brunel, began its first Atlantic service in 1837. It took 29 days to cross the Atlantic compared to two months for sail powered ships. Unlike clippers, the steamers offer a consistent speed and ability to keep up schedules.

In 1840, Cunard Line’s Britannia began its first regular passenger and cargo service, by a steamship, with from Liverpool to Boston. Despite some advantages offered by the steamships, clippers remained dominant. In 1847, SS Great Britain became the first screw driven ship with an iron hull to cross the Atlantic ocean.

In 1870, White Star Line’s RMS Oceanic set a new standard for ocean travel by placing a first class cabin amid ships, adding large portholes and offering running water and electricity. The size of ocean liners increased from 1880 onward because of massive immigration to USA.

The period between the late 19th century and World War 2 is considered the golden ageof ocean liners. Driven by strong demand created by European immigration to the USA, international competition between passenger lines and a new emphasis on comfort; passenger lines built ever larger and faster ships.

In 1897 Germany took the Blue Riband, (In symbolism, blue ribbon is a term used to describe something of high quality. The usage came from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners.an award for the fastest transatlantic crossing) with a series of new ocean liners, starting with the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Große. In 1907, the British company Cunard Line introduced the Lusitania and Mauritania, the first liners powered by steam turbines. The Mauritania held the Blue Riband for 20 years.

The surge in ocean liner’s size outpaced shipping regulations. In 1912, RMS Titanic sunk claiming more than 1000 passengers because there weren’t enough lifeboats for everyone. After the Titanic disaster, the regulation was revised in requiring all ocean liners to carry lifeboats for all passengers and crew.

In 20s most shipping lines relied on immigration to USA for sales and they were hard hit when the USA Congress introduced a bill to limit the immigration. As the result, many of them became cruise ships. The least expensive cabins were renamed from third class to tourist class. To make matters worse, the great depression put many shipping lines to bankruptcy. Despite harsh economic conditions, a number of companies built large and fast ships. In late 30s French liner SS Normandie challenged the British supremacy in the Atlantic with a number of technical innovations such as bulbous bow and steam electric propulsion. Cunard Line countered with RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth.

The post Would War 2 era was a busy period. Notable liners included the SS USA, which was the last ocean liner to hold the Blue Riband, and the SS France.

Prior to WW2, aircraft weren’t a huge threat to ocean liners. Most of these aircraft were noisy, cramped and vulnerable to bad weather. However, World War II accelerated development of aircraft. Four engine bombers such as the Avro Lancasterand Boeing B-17, with their massive capacity were a natural prototype for a next generation airliner. Jet aircraft technology also accelerated after Germany developed jet aircraft for military use in WWII. In 53 De Haviland began its first trans-Atlantic flight, followed by Caravelle, Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. In the 1960s airlines gradually took over the business formally done by ocean liners. By the early 1970s passenger-ships were used almost exclusively for cruising.

After the end of the large scale passenger-ship business, ocean liners continued in use as cruise ships; as of 2003, a small number were still in service. A few more, such as RMS Queen Mary, are still afloat but permanently docked and used for other purposes; in the case of the Queen Mary, as a museum ship. The only large liner still used in scheduled line voyage service in 2006 is Cunard Line's RMS Queen Mary 2, which replaces the line's RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 on the transatlantic route. QE2 made its maiden voyage in 69 and was the world's sole operational ocean liner for a several decades, but is now given over to cruising.

The Blue Riband is an award held by the ship with the record for a transatlantic crossing. The first steam powered crossing of the Atlantic was in 1833. The Blue Riband was a creation of the transatlantic shipping companies in the 1860s, for the publicity opportunities of possessing the fastest ship.

The debut winner of the trophy was Sirius in 1838 Cork - Sandy Hook

In 2004 The number of Britons taking sea cruises each year broke the one million mark, it was been revealed. Britons are now taking more cruise holidays than anyone else in Europe. A total of 1,028,937 people went on ocean cruises in 2004, an increase of 7% on the 2003 total, the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) said. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said the increase was due to greater variety and a reduction in fares in recent years. The total number of people who took cruise trips in 2004 - including 110,957 who went on river cruises - was 1,139,893, up 8% on 2003. The Mediterranean and the Caribbean had been the top destinations for cruises for British holidaymakers for a number of years, but there are lots of emerging markets like South America and Asia will see a big growth in the next few years.

Alaskan cruises had proved particularly popular last year with passenger numbers rising by nearly 70%, she said.

Once the cutting edge of cruise ship design, the celebrated QE2 is having to make way for a more voluptuous younger sister. Cunard has made no secret of the fact that the £550m Queen Mary two - its first major liner for more than three decades - is the tallest, longest, widest, heaviest and most expensive passenger ship yet built. The QM2 is as tall as a 23-storey building On Thursday champagne corks will be popping as the Queen names the vessel - as she did in 1967 for the QE2 - before its inaugural voyage on 12 January.

The RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) is a Cunard Line ocean liner named after an earlier Cunard liner Queen Mary, which was named after Mary of Teck. At the time of her construction in 2003, the QM2 was the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built, and at 151,400 gross tons, was also the largest. She lost the distinction to Royal Caribbean International's 158,000 gross ton Freedom of the Seas in April 2006, but QM2 remains the largest ocean liner ever built, and her height, length, and waterline breadth are unsurpassed by any other passenger ship. QM2's luxuries include 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, and a planetarium. Her keel was laid down on 4 July 2002, in Saint-Nazaire, France.

M/S Freedom of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship. The 18 deck ship is the largest cruise and passenger ship in existence. She is 2.4 meters narrower than Queen Mary 2, 6 meters shorter, and has 1.5 meters less draft. At 160,000 tons, Freedom of the Seas has more gross tonnage than QM2's 151,400; Freedom has the highest gross tonnage of any passenger ship built. She likely will keep the title until construction of her owner's Genesis class ships. The Freedom of the Seas was built at the Aker Finnyards drydock in Turku, Finland which is also building her sister ship, Liberty of the Seas (scheduled for launch in 2007).

Royal Caribbean International is a Norwegian-American cruise ship company based in Miami, Florida. It is brand of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., with 20 ships in service and one more under construction. All the ships have names ending in "of the Seas." Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. also operates Celebrity Cruises.

The Cunard Line formerly Cunard White Star Line is the British cruise line operating the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) and RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) ocean liners. In 1840 the company's first steamship, the Britannia, sailed from Liverpool to Boston, marking the beginning of the first ever regular passenger and cargo service by steamship

Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1989 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 97 Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity and the Royal Caribbean International line, and RCL(UK) Ltd.

Imperial Majesty Line is a cruise line. Imperial Majesty goes to Nassau, Paradise Island, and the Bahamas. Currently, they operate only 1 ship, the Regal Empress, a vintage liner from the 1950's that has changed ownership several times over the decades.

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. The Princess Cruise Line distinguishes itself by sailing to more worldwide cruise destinations than any other major line.

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