Introduction to Cruiseline Management

 A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships and markets cruises to the public.

 Cruise lines have 4 characters:

- they are partly in the transportation business,

- partly in the leisure entertainment business;

- have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,

and a hospitality staff headed by the equivalent of a hotel manager.

Difference of Cruise lines

 Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation
of their passengers.

 A cruise ferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship with a Ro-Pax ferry .

Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the
destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of transportation.

History of Cruiseships

• The birth of leisure cruising began with the formation of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam
Navigation Company in 1822.

• The company started out as a shipping lines with routes between England and the Iberian
Peninsula, , adopting the name Peninsular Steam Navigation Company.

• It won its first contract to deliver mail in 1837.

• In 1840, it began mail delivery to Alexandria, Egypt, via Gibraltar and Malta..

• The company was incorporated by Royal Charter the same year, becoming the Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Navigation Company.

• The forerunner of modern cruise holidays, these voyages were the first of their kind, and P&O
Cruises has been recognized as the world's oldest cruise line.

• The company later introduced round trips to destinations such as Alexandria and
Constantinople.

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 • It underwent a period of rapid expansion in the latter half of the 19th century, commissioning
larger and more luxurious ships to serve the steadily expanding market.

• SS Ravenna built in 1880, became the first ship to be built with a total steel superstructure, and
the SS Valetta built in 1889, was the first ship to use electric lights.

• Francesco I, flying the flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Italy), was the first cruise ship. She
was built in 1831 and sailed from Naples in early June 1833, preceded by an advertising
campaign.

• The cruise ship was boarded by nobles, authorities, and royal princes from all over Europe.

• In just over three months, the ship sailed to Taormina, Catania, Syracuse, Malta, Corfu, Patras,
Delphi, Zante, Athens, Smyrna, Constantinople, delighting passengers with excursions and
guided tours, dancing, card tables on the deck and parties on board.

• However, it was restricted to the aristocracy of Europe and was not for commercial enterprise.

• Prinzessin Victoria Luise (Germany) was the first purpose-built cruise ship (1900)

• The first vessel built exclusively for luxury cruising

• Designed by Albert Ballin - was the first to send his transatlantic ships out on long southern
cruises during the worst of the winter season of the North Atlantic

• In 1897, there were three luxury liners for transportation, for the Europe to North America trip.
These were European-owned. In 1906, the number had increased to seven.

 The British Inman Line owned City of Paris,

 the Cunard Line had Compania and Lucania.
 The White Star Line owned Majestic and Teutonic.
 La Lorraine and La Savoie were owned by the French Compagnie Générale
Transatlantique.

• With the advent of large passenger jet aircraft in the 1960s, intercontinental travelers switched
from ships to planes sending the ocean liner trade into a terminal decline. Certain characteristics
of older ocean liners made them unsuitable for cruising duties.

• Ocean liner services stopped operation in 1986, with the notable exception of transatlantic
crossings operated by the British shipping company Cunard Line, catering to a niche market of
those who appreciated the several days at sea.

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 In an attempt to shift the focus of the market from passenger travel to cruising with
entertainment value, Cunard Line pioneered the luxury cruise transatlantic service on board the
Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner. International celebrities were hired to perform cabaret acts
onboard and the crossing was advertised as a vacation in itself.

• The 1970s television series Love Boat, helped to popularize the concept as a romantic
opportunity for couples. Another ship to make this transition was SS Norway, originally the
ocean liner SS France and later converted to cruising duties as the Caribbean's first "super-ship."

• The Sovereign-class ships were the first "megaships" to be built for the mass cruising market.
They also were the first series of cruise ships to include a multi-story atrium with glass elevators.
They also had a single deck devoted entirely to cabins with private balconies instead of ocean
view cabins

• Queen Mary 2 was for a time the largest passenger ship before being surpassed by Royal
Carribean International's (RCI) Freedon -class vessels in 2006.

• The Freedom-class ships were in turn overtaken by RCI's Oasis -class vessels which entered
service in 2009 and 2010.

• A distinctive feature of Oasis-class ships is the split "open-atrium" structure, made possible by
the hull's extraordinary width, with the 6-deck high "Central Park" and "Boardwalk" outdoor
areas running down the middle of the ship and verandas on all decks.

• Some cruise lines have specialties; for example,

Saga Cruises only allows passengers over 50 years old aboard their ships,
Star Clippers and Windstar Cruises only operate tall ships.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises operates medium-sized vessels—smaller than the
"megaships" of Carnival and Royal Caribbean which are designed such that 90% of their
suites are balconies.

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