What is a Cruise Liner or a Passenger Ship?

The types of ships which we have studied till now were classified based on the type of cargo they carry. So what do we call a ship that carries people instead of cargo? Passenger ships!! They are more popularly known as cruise liners or cruise ships. Learn more about these ships in this topic.

Introduction

The types of ships which we studied till now mainly carry cargo in some form or the other such as bulk cargo, containers, refrigerated products, DP Ships, Oil Tankers, FPSOs and Ro-Ro carriers. In this article we will talk about ships which carry people instead of cargo and are known popularly as passenger ships or cruise liners. If the term seems bit new to you, just remember the movie Titanic and you will understand in a flash what a cruise ship is all about but still I recommend you read the full article.

A Cruise Ship

A cruise ship may be likened to a floating 5-star restaurant having all the possible facilities and amenities which one would like to have during a vacation. Unlike other modes of transport the main purpose of people joining in for a cruise is enjoying the journey through the ocean. Of course this is often coupled with visit to beautiful places as well but the enjoyment and pleasure that one gains on a cruise ship does not match the journey in a jet plane where the distance might be covered in a few hours at the most. Most modern cruise liners can accommodate hundreds and even thousands of passengers at one time. Apart from the staff found on other types of commercial vessels such as engineering department, deck department and cooks, a cruise liner has lot more staff required to cater to the entertainment and other demands of the passengers on board.

Cruise Liners

The Engineering Aspect

Since this channel caters mainly to the engineering aspects of the marine industry and does not focus of hospitality or tourism we will the former in terms of a cruise liner. Basically the machineries and necessary equipment found on a cruise liner are same as that of other commercial vessels though the quantity might vary. For example the lifeboats and other safety equipment found on a cruise ship would be much greater that those found on a normal vessel having a complement of around two dozen people.

And yes I would also like to assure you that cruise liners are very safe and what happened to Titanic was an unfortunate incident. Regulations require cruise ships (infact this applies to all types of ships) the required fire fighting equipment, lifeboats, life-rafts, distress signaling equipment and so forth in accordance with local and international regulations governing the same. The pictures above show majestic cruise liners strolling across the waters carrying thousands of passengers who might be having some of the best times of their lives. The picture on the extreme right shows a futuristic project that goes by the name Project Genesis and the image shows an interior view of the proposed ship.