28 Facts About Cruise ships

1.

Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing.

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2.

On "cruises to nowhere" or "nowhere voyages", cruise ships make two- to three-night round trips without visiting any ports of call.

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3.

The industry's rapid growth saw nine or more newly built Cruise ships catering to a North American clientele added every year since 2001, as well as others servicing European clientele until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw the entire industry all but shut down.

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4.

Cruise ships later introduced round trips to destinations such as Alexandria and Constantinople.

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5.

Some of them built specialized Cruise ships designed for easy transformation between summer crossings and winter cruising.

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6.

The Sovereign-class ships were the first "megaships" to be built for the mass cruising market, they were the first series of cruise ships to include a multi-story atrium with glass elevators.

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7.

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

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8.

Also, the "megaCruise ships" went from a single deck with verandas to all decks with verandas.

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9.

Operators of cruise ships are known as cruise lines, which are companies that sell cruises to the public.

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10.

The Cruise ships are large capital investments with high operating costs.

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11.

Several specialty lines offer "expedition cruising" or only operate small Cruise ships, visiting certain destinations such as the Arctic and Antarctica, or the Galapagos Islands.

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12.

Cruise ships are organized much like floating hotels, with a complete hospitality staff in addition to the usual ship's crew.

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13.

Cunard Line ships maintain the class tradition of ocean liners and have separate dining rooms for different types of suites, while Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises have a standard dining room and "upgrade" specialty restaurants that require pre-booking and cover charges.

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14.

Some Cruise ships have bowling alleys, ice skating rinks, rock climbing walls, sky-diving simulators, miniature golf courses, video arcades, ziplines, surfing simulators, water slides, basketball courts, tennis courts, chain restaurants, ropes obstacle courses, and even roller coasters.

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15.

The base fare on Regent Seven Seas Cruise ships includes most alcoholic beverages on board ship and most shore excursions in ports of call, as well as all gratuities that would normally be paid to hotel staff on the ship.

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16.

Cruise ships have been used to accommodate displaced persons during hurricanes.

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17.

In 2017, cruise ships were used to help transport residents from some Caribbean islands destroyed by Hurricane Irma, as well as Puerto Rico residents displaced by Hurricane Maria.

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18.

Construction market for cruise ships is dominated by three European companies and one Asian company:.

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19.

Large number of cruise ships have been built by other shipyards, but no other individual yard has reached the large numbers of built ships achieved by the four above.

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20.

Since 2000, more than 300 people have fallen off cruise ships or large ferries, which is an average of about 1.

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21.

Furthermore, large cruise ships tend to be very wide, which considerably increases their initial stability by increasing the metacentric height.

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22.

The Cruise ships must fulfill all stability requirements even with the stabilizer fins retracted.

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23.

In 2009, Cruise ships that underwent unannounced inspections by the CDC received an average CDC Vessel Sanitation Program score of approximately 97 out of a total possible 100 points.

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24.

Since 2008 there has been at least one reported incident each year of E coli on international cruise ships reported to the Vessel Sanitation Program of the Centers for Disease Control, though there were none in 2015.

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25.

People aboard cruise ships played a role in spreading the disease in some countries.

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26.

Cruise ships generate a number of waste streams that can result in discharges to the marine environment, including sewage, graywater, hazardous wastes, oily bilge water, ballast water, and solid waste.

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27.

Cruise ships require electrical power, normally provided by diesel generators, although an increasing number of new ships are fueled by liquified natural gas .

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28.

When docked, Cruise ships must run their generators continuously to power on-board facilities, unless they are capable of using onshore power, where available.

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