How Cruise Ships Got So Big?

In the realm of watercraft, there exist small and large vessels, and then there are the truly colossal ones. The MSC Meraviglia, a cruise ship constructed in Saint-Nazaire, France and launched in 2017, falls into the latter category. This ship was christened by the esteemed actress Sophia Loren and is currently the largest cruise ship to have ever docked in New York City, as evidenced by its resounding horn. The ship boasts an impressive array of amenities, including a water park, rope course, spa, mall, arcade, bowling alley, casino, gym, two theaters, five pools, nine restaurants, 23 bars, and 19 floors. It can accommodate up to 5,655 passengers and 1,536 crew members. Cruise ships represent the most substantial passenger vessels ever constructed by humans.

A single vehicle has the capacity to accommodate a population equivalent to that of a small town, albeit with a distinct appearance that deviates from the grandiose transatlantic ships of a century ago. The question arises as to how the largest ships we construct today came to adopt this particular design. Prior to the advent of cruise ships, ocean liners were the largest vessels in existence, constructed with the sole purpose of transporting passengers to their destination. During the golden age of ocean travel, before the advent of air travel, individuals had no alternative but to rely on ships for transportation. Peter Knego, a renowned cruise journalist and ocean liner historian, notes that advertisements from this era boasted of the ships' speed across the Atlantic and their luxurious amenities, which were not always easy to achieve given the harsh conditions of the open ocean. Crossing the Atlantic in February, for instance, would be an arduous and unpleasant experience, and the last thing one would want to realize is that they are on a ship.

At the turn of the 20th century, it was customary to fashion the first-class quarters of ships in the likeness of grand palatial hotels or even palaces themselves. The RMS Aquitania, an ocean liner of that era, endeavored to emulate all the amenities of life on land, including restaurants, smoking rooms, gardens, and a vast lounge adorned with painted ceilings. For the privileged first-class passengers, the vessel offered all the comforts of a city, albeit at sea. A photograph of the Aquitania juxtaposed against the Woolworth Building, which was then the world's tallest edifice, revealed the former to be longer and taller than the latter.

And that was their manner of expressing that this is essentially a floating city at sea, intended to instill confidence in passengers.

However, with the advent of air travel, ships were no longer the sole means of crossing oceans. By the 1960s, ocean liners were gradually becoming outdated. As ocean liner companies struggled to sell tickets, they attempted a new approach. "Liners no longer attempt to compete with air speed. Instead, the focus is on luxury and a vacation at sea." They continued to offer transatlantic service during the summer months in the northern hemisphere. However, during the winter months, more companies began offering leisure trips to warmer regions and began advertising ocean travel differently, shifting from selling transportation to selling a vacation. This gave rise to the cruise ship. However, they had a slow start and only gained popularity after the TV show The Love Boat, which popularized the idea of cruising and made it accessible to the mainstream. As cruises became more mainstream, ocean liners faced a challenge.

The vessels were designed with a focus on speed, resulting in a high consumption of fuel. Their low positioning in the water provided stability in turbulent seas, but limited their access to ports with shallow harbors. The ships were compartmentalized into first, second, and third class sections, which left many passengers without access to amenities and restricted movement throughout the vessel. Despite their immense size compared to contemporary cruise ships, ocean liners required a significant number of vacationers to be profitable. However, their design was not well-suited for leisurely travel through calm waters. As sea travel declined, even the largest ocean liner, the SS France, was unable to generate sufficient revenue and remained inactive until 1979 when Norwegian Caribbean Lines acquired it and announced plans to convert it into a full-time cruise ship. With speed no longer a priority, one engine room was shut down, and two of the four propellers were removed. Tenders were installed to transport passengers to islands with shallow ports. The barriers between class sections were removed to provide all passengers with access to amenities, and a vast array of entertainment options were added to attract vacationers. These included sporting facilities, shopping centers, cinemas, bars, a multi-confessional church, saunas, a kindergarten, party games, educational courses, a library, and charades.

In 1980, the vessel commenced its service under the new name of SS Norway. Unlike other ships that made three to four stops during a weeklong cruise, the Norway only made two. The ship was not advertising a cruise to a particular destination, as it was the destination itself. The Norway demonstrated that size was a crucial factor for cruise ships, which initiated a competition to build larger and larger ships, ultimately transforming the appearance of cruise ships forever. To accommodate more cabins and amenities, the superstructures, which refer to all structures rising above the deck, became taller, concealing the once prominent smokestacks. Due to the ships' towering height, the funnels became small and insignificant. To further increase the number of cabins and amenities, the superstructures became wider, resulting in a shorter bow, which is the forward part of the ship. The open deck space, where Jack and Rose could stand and declare themselves king of the world, no longer exists. The bow no longer needed to be long and pointed to cut through intense waves, as on transatlantic liners. Therefore, builders rounded them out, providing even more square footage for amenities. When the Norway began its service in 1980, it was the most extensive passenger ship in the world, with an internal volume of over 70,000 gross tons. However, the ships constructed in the following decades made the Norway appear minuscule.

The aforementioned vessels, once considered legendary ocean liners, now appear diminutive in comparison to contemporary ships. The Queen Elizabeth of 1940, which held the record for many years, boasted a weight of 83,000 tons. It was widely believed that no ship of such magnitude would ever be constructed again. However, the new Royal Caribbean ships are three times larger in size. The Icon of the Seas, set to launch in 2024, will have a volume exceeding 250,000 gross tons. Regrettably, the elegance of design that characterized earlier vessels is absent in many of the newer, larger ships. This is an inevitable consequence of progress, and we all yearn for the past. It is likely that future generations will also reminisce about the aesthetic appeal of ships from the 2020s. Presently, there are over 320 cruise ships in operation worldwide, but only one ocean liner remains - the Queen Mary 2. Constructed in Saint-Nazaire, France, and christened by Elizabeth II in 2004, it continues to provide regular service from Southampton to New York City.