A cruise liner or cruise ship is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where voyage itself and amenities of a ship are part of the experience along with different places on the way. Transportation is not the main purpose, as these cruise liners operate mainly on routes, which return passengers to their originating port. In contrast, dedicated transport oriented cruise ships do line voyages and usually transport passengers from place to another. Conventionally, these ships for transoceanic trade will be developed to higher standard as compared to usual cruise liner, including stronger plating and high freeboard for withstanding adverse conditions and rough seas encountered in Open Ocean like North Atlantic.
Cruise ships also typically have bigger fuel capacities, victuals and other stores for consumption on long journeys than dedicated cruise liners. Albeit often prestigious, cruise ships had characteristics, which made them unsuitable for cruising like high fuel consumption, deep draught that prevented them for entering shallow ports, enclosed weatherproof decks that were not appropriate for tropical weather and interior designed for maximizing number of passengers instead of comfort. The largest ships of the world include MS Oasis of the Seas of Royal Caribbean International and sister ship called MS Allure of the Seas. Following are the top 10 reasons for upgrading to luxury:
Celebrity Cruise Lines
Celebrity Cruise Lines fulfils dreams with remarkable vacations, builds memorable relationships with employees and guests, offer better returns for shareholders and instils their core value of carrying in everything they do. It was established by Greek Chandris Group in the year 1988 and in 1997 it merged with Royal Caribbean International for becoming Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited that operates CDF Croisieres de France, Celebrity, Pullmantur Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Azamara Club Cruises.
The headquarters of Celebrity Cruise Lines is situated in Miami, Florida and standard features include aft glass dining rooms, relaxation areas, formal foyer areas, stylish gyms and spas, alternate dining venues, signature lounges and bars, suite and balcony staterooms and large lounging areas and pools. Its current fleet consists of Celebrity Century, Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Xpedition, Celebrity Solistice, Celebrity Equinox and more.
Holland America Line
Holland America Line is a cruise shipping firm, which was established in the year 1873 as Netherlands America Steamship firm, a passenger and shipping line. Situated in Rotterdam and offering service to United States, it became famous as Holland America Line and is now located in Seattle, Washington. Its first cruise liners sailed between New York and Rotterdam in the year 1972 with New York remaining American terminal. In 1989, Holland America Line became a completely owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, the biggest cruise line and at present operates 15 cruise liners to seven continents and will carry more than 750,000 ships by 2012. Its current fleet comprises of MS Statendam, MS Maasdam, MS Ryndam and MS Veendam.
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International is an American and Norwegian cruise line situated in Miami, Florida and owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited. With 42 cruise liners in service under five different marques and one more under construction, it controls 24 percent share of world cruise market. The company was originally founded in the year 1968 as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line by Gotaas Larsen, Anders Wilhelmsen & Company and I.M. Skaugen & Company, Norwegian shipping firms. Its Voyager Class Ships include Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas.
Disney Cruise Lines
Disney Cruise Line is a United States cruise line firm operated and owned by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, division of The Walt Disney Company and is located in Celebration, Florida. President Karl Holz is the one who runs the business. It operates Disney Cruise Line Terminal, which homeports Disney Dream and Disney Magic. Disney Cruise Line was formed in the year 1995 when the firm commissioned its two cruise liners at Fincantieri, Italy. The executive management of Disney Cruise Line include Karl Holz, President, Tom Wolber, Senior Vice President of Operation, Ozer Balli, Vice President of Hotel Operations, Larry Stauffer, Manager of Island Recreation and Shore Excursions, Russel Daya, Director of Marine and Security Operations, Bert Swets, Vice President of Marine and Technical Operations and Tony Wills, Director of Purchasing and Logistics.
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is an American-British owned shipping firm situated at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. Its fleet includes Unicorn, Britannia, Acadia, Caledonia, Columbia, Hibernia, Cambria, America, Europa, Canada, Asia and more.
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned shipping firm located in Santa Clarita, California in United States. Originally a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, a company is now one of ten cruise ship marques operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19 percent share of its revenue. Being situated in America, executive control of Princess Cruises was transferred to American division of Carnival Corporation following the merger between P&O Princess and Carnival in the year 2002. However, Carnival UK is responsible for marketing and sales of the company in United Kingdom.
Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines is an American-British owned cruise line, situated in Doral, Florida, suburb of Miami in United States. Previously an independent company established in 1972 by Ted Arison, it is now one of eleven cruise ship brands operated and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It has the largest fleet in the group, with twenty three vessels at present in operation, which account for 21.1 percent of worldwide market share. Executive control the company is offered by Carnival Corporation’s North American division, headquartered in Doral, Florida
Norwegian Cruise Lines
Norwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It started operations in 1966 as Norwegian Caribbean Line and is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means there are seating arrangements or no set times for meals, nor is formal attire required. Norwegian Cruise Line has a sister company, NCL America, which itself is jointly owned by Star Cruises and Apollo Management with both companies owning 50 percent of NCL. NCL controls around eight percent of total worldwide share of the cruise market
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises is an American-British owned Italian cruise line situated in Genoa, Italy. Established in the year 1924, it originally operated cargo ships till the launch of passenger cruise liners in 1947 with regular services between South America and Italy.
MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises is a division of Mediterranean Shipping Company and was originally established by Achille Lauro as Lauro Lines in 1960s, operating two ships, MS Achille Lauro and Angelina Lauro. Its contemporary fleet consists of MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Linica and MSC Opera.
Further, because cruise ships tend to concentrate their activities in exact coastal regions and visit same ports repeatedly in California, Florida, Galveston, New York, waters of Alaska and Seattle, their cumulative impact on local scale could be significant, as can impacts of individual large-volume releases either intentional or accidental.