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Steam ships introduced
Steam ships were made to carry mail and cargo across the globe. They were also used to tarnsport people for migration from Europe to North America. People could buy a one way ticket to North America to start a new life. The journey would take 10-14 days as the ships were heavy and slow. -
Cunard World's first cruise line
Cunard offered a regular scheduled service to America -
SS Great Britain
The SS Great Britain was built in Bristol and also sailed from there. It was the first ever ship with a propeller instead of a paddle wheel. this made it quicker to get across the Atlantic, taking 7 days instead of 10-14 days. It was also the first ship made of iron. -
First Advertised Cruise
P&O Cruises began advertising their cruises from Southampton to Gibraltar, Malta and Athens. -
Lights System
These lights were designed to help ships be seen during the night and/or bad weather. there was a white light on the mast, green on the starboard and red on the port side. -
Electricity on ships
Servia was the first ship to be made of steel. it was also the start of ships having electricity and even bathrooms in the rooms. -
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Luxury Ships
To cater for the super wealthy, cruise lines began making their cruises more exclusive. This meant that cruise ships became more luxurious. -
First wireless communication
This was introduced incase of an emergency at sea. This allowed captains to signal for help and improved safety on ships. -
Titanic
Titanic was built to be unsinkable. It was the biggest ship to have ever been built. It collided with an ice berg and sank. there was not enough lifeboats for all the passengers on the ship. after titanic sank, more lifeboats were added to ships. -
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Growth of package holidays
The cruise industry had to adapt to the new cheap holidays to Spain, Greece and Portugal. This meant that modern ships were made that carried more people. 40 cruise ships were made in the 1980s. -
QE2 Launched
QE2 was the first cruise ship to have all the private facilities needed in each room. It was the biggest Atlantic liner -
P&O
In 2003, P&O Princess Cruises merged with Carnival Cruises. Carnival are now the biggest cruise company in the world -
Ocean Village
They opened a cheap, relaxed cruise for "people who dont like cruises". this was to try and get more people on cruises. It was a dressed down cruise, taking the poshness out of it. -
Queen Mary 2
The Queen Mary 2 is a British ocean liner and the flagship of the Cunard Line. it is the only active ocean liner in service, serving regular translantic crossings between Southampton and New York City as well as short cruises and an annual world voyage. the ship has a gross tonnage of 149,215 tons, a length of 1132 feet, and a beam of 135 feet. the passenger capacity is 2,695 people. the facilities include king beds, smart HDTV, DVD players, Board games, and a PC gaming console. -
Oasis Class Ships Launched
These ships can hold up to 4000 people and go through lots of buoyancy testing because of the weight the ship will be. These cruises are more affordable and made cruises more appealing to the wider population. -
Disney Dream
this ship has 14 different decks with only 9 of these having cabins and has 10 different types of rooms for customers can pick from on all 9 decks there is 1250 rooms in total most of these rooms are for families because they are the main target audience for this type of cruise because Disney bring in a lot of family's who have children however is can also attract adults who are interested in Disney. they offer may different things to do from pools ,waterslides, games, shows and kid a club. -
Virgin Cruises launched
In 2014, Virgin Cruises was launched and in 2016 it was re branded as Virgin Voyages. They specialise in adult only cruises and are part of The Virgin Group -
Cost of living
The cost of living crisis has meant that cruise companies have has to make payment better for their customers. This includes things like payment plans, budget cruises and more cruises from Southampton. -
Post COVID
Cruise demand was high after Covid. companies were selling out straight away. P&O sold out within 6 hours. This meant that companies had to announce their 2023 itineraries early to capitalise on the demand for cruises. -
Icon of the seas
Icon of the seas was launched in 2024 and is operated by Royal Caribbean. It weighs up to 248,663GT and can have up to 7,600 passengers and 2,360 crew. It is an Icon-class ship, based in Nassau, Bahamas. It has 20 decks, 7 pools and 6 waterslides. The ship is split into different neighbourhoods for the different rooms. for example there is a family section of the ship, and entertainment section and a section for adults or couples.