Over the past half-century cruising has evolved from floating palaces crossing the Atlantic to floating resorts that roam the world's waters, providing comforts, amenities and activities unimaginable a few decades ago.
It's a huge leap from still-earlier times when passengers were defined in a handbook of the day as "all those who ought to pay freight for their persons apart from their merchandise." No swimming pools, plush lounges or health clubs or gourmet restaurants for those poor souls traveling in steerage.
Today's cruising experience, especially on the rapidly growing number of 100,000-ton-plus mega-ships, blends a mix designed to please all tastes. These behemoths that carry upwards of 3,000 passengers are locked in highly competitive combat to fill all their cabins.
It's a competition whose theme might well be: "Can you top this?"
There was a time when golfers could practice their swing at sea into a machine. Today, you can putt your way through a miniature golf course. That's if you're not busy using the skating rink, rock-climbing wall, and water slides or surfing on-board waves. Let's not forget 10 or more restaurants, an equal number of bars, and, of course, the grand theatre that can be three stories high.
No one knows where it will all end, but the editors at CruiseCritic.com are among those betting that the next entertainment device will be a roller coaster.
Let's look at a few of the newest vessels designed to embrace the concept that "Your ship is Your Destination."
Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas, second in the line's Freedom Class, shares the title "world's largest cruise ship" with her sister vessel, Freedom of the Seas, launched in 2006. The 160,000-ton floating resorts, which can carry more than 3,600 passengers each plus about a third that number in crew, emphasize the current resort business mantra: health and wellness.
Activities range from a wellness program to promoting balanced vacations through fitness in the spa, shore excursions, and even dining room cuisine, complemented by tai chi classes, acupuncture, seminars, and a soothing signature scent.
Those who still harbour some left-over feelings of aggression can step into the full-size boxing ring.
Did we mention the water park with its interactive sculpture garden, or the soothing adults-only hot tub cantilevered out more than 10 stories above the ocean?
For those wishing to impress their relatives, the ship's Presidential Suite can sleep 14.
Other arrivals this year with over-the-top amenities include Carnival's Carnival Freedom (110,000 tons, 2,974 passengers); Princess Line's Emerald Princess (113,00 tons, 3,080 passengers) with 14 eateries; and Costa Cruises' Costa Serena (112,000 tons, 3,000 passengers) boasting 17 decks, five restaurants and 13 bars and lounges.
Cunard's latest monarch, the Queen Victoria, is small enough, at a mere 90,000 tons, to squeeze through the Panama Canal, something her sister ships Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Mary II can't manage. Victoria's 2,014 passengers can raise a glass in 20 bars, dine in eight venues, and ride outside glass-walled elevators that rise 10 decks.
Norwegian Cruise Lines' latest is the 93,530-ton Norwegian Pearl. Its 2,394 passengers can take on a 30-foot rock climbing wall that has five levels of difficulty. There are three pools, a water slide and, reportedly, the first regulation-size bowling alley on the high seas.
At day's end, one can chooses from 13 bars and lounges to sip a cool one before dinner in one of 10 restaurants.
If you're among the more-well-to-do on board, you may choose to relax in one of the pair of garden-villa suites.
Echoing the cruise industry's push for more family travellers, some ships cater to the younger generation. For example, Royal Caribbean's Liberty carries a famed New York-based children's theatre group that folds in folktales, music and dance, plus cultural elements. Teens get a chance to be their own disk jockey in sessions hosted by professionals.
The bigger-is-better crowd has a lot going for it. The deck-upon-deck rows of cabins can work to the advantage of some passengers.
Say you booked one of the least expensive ones. You might just arrive on board to find you have been given a free upgrade. That's because, with so many staterooms to fill as the sailing date approaches, cruise companies find it makes more sense to boost an already-booked lowest-cost-cabin passenger up a few decks into unsold more expensive quarters to free up less a expensive cabin that is easier to sell.
