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Before passenger aircraft the only way to travel over the ocean was by ship. Then when aircraft became available cruise line travel fell off because aircraft were faster and cheaper. That began with the introduction of the Boeing 707 in the late 1950's as Boeing manufactured 1010 of them and they were the lead passenger plane for twenty years in the 60's and 70's. In the 70's Boeing began building over 1409 of the 747 model a much larger aircraft which dominated the skies in the 70's and 80's.
Two basic types of ships exist the cruise liner and the cruise ship. The cruise ship which normally returns it's passengers to the same port predominates and at this time there is only one ship the Cunard Queen Mary2 that is designated as a Cruise Liner which runs between New York and the UK. Prior to air transportation the cruise liner was the predominate ship.
When you think about it a cruise has some very interesting components. Basically you are selling beds on a ship and then providing these people with food and some activities. They buy their own booze. The passengers basically want a place to sleep and eat and relax and have some fun. If you look at it from a financial viewpoint the more people you get on the ship the more money you make. The passengers want to eat whenever they are hungry, they want a window to be able to look at the sea and they want to be entertained and treated with respect. Oh and yes they want all this at a very inexpensive rate. There is an expectation that the ship will go someplace interesting and also stop occasionally so that they can get off and visit. The cruise lines want the passengers to come back so they offer special perks to returning passengers.
The main selling point for a cruise is it's almost all inclusive nature. You are wined and dined and entertained and you get to travel too. You do pay for the wine and for side trips and gambling and the cruise lines make a good portion of their profit on these activites. In a very real sense it is a floating hotel. You often may get off to visit ports but you spend the majority of your time on the ship. In 2005 over 14 million people traveled on cruise ships with 70% in North American primarily in the Caribbean and Alaska. 13% went to continental Europe.
One of the reasons for the popularity of cruising is the cost of hotel rooms these days. I recently checked out some prices in Hawaii and was frankly horrified at the costs as my recollection of room rates were based on a visit there back in the early 1990's. The cheapest rate I found was $189 a night (plus taxes) and while I am sure there are cheaper spots if one looked I also found several rates in the $250-$550 range for a good but not luxury grade room. Then you need to add food and transportation and you end up paying several hundred dollars a day for your hotel room vacation. In most cases a cruise is not only all inclusive it is also cheaper.
There was a time when cruise ships were designed by naval architects who wished to build a safe, economical ship to carry passengers. Then over time Accountants got into program areas and they called for more and more passenger accommodation. I respect Accountants. In our book Your Very First Billion we point out that an Accountant is best at keeping Accounts and as a CFO but not at providing company leadership as a CEO. The two functions really need to be separate. As a result we now have huge cruise ships with deck upon deck upon deck to the point where a sailor's eye sets a warning. These modern ships are top heavy. They are not as stable as they should be. Now we have a situation where 4,000 or more passengers and crew are on one vessel. This is a disaster just waiting to happen.
Your best bet is to research cruise ships to obtain a better understanding of the industry and ideas of where to cruise and on which cruise line. We have selected some books which will help. And as time permits we will be adding additional links and information on Cruising.
LINKS
Cruise Ships wikipedia a good article on the background of cruise ships the main markets and the larger companies providing the service.
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