A cruise ship is a ship (usually a ship) that specializes in transporting passengers, whose goal is not as liners for transporting passengers from one port to another, but to offer a tourist in general at sea the ship will dock many interesting tourist destinations, enabling passengers to each new stop, to discover new cultural impressions.
The cruise has become an important tourism industry, whose market is growing every year more. This growing market allows some shipyards to survive.
Cruise ships can be grouped into several categories. On the one hand by size, the other depending on the level of comfort classified by stars. Theoretically, each shipping company may assign its own stars, but most companies use the classification of Douglas Ward, who publishes an annual book (Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships); somehow a Guide Michelin floating hotels.
Like any merchant vessel, a cruise ship before being operational, must meet the SOLAS international certificate concerning the rules for protection of cargo and passenger safety.
Generally, we differentiate between cruises into two sectors:
According to the character, age of passengers and their interests, themes cruises can be quite diverse, luxury cruise, cruise adventure, cultural cruise, cruise entertainment, or cruise off. The size and equipment of the ship fit for the intended audience. Cruise ships can be very different: the sailboat or yacht for small groups up to cruise ship with hundreds of passengers.
The country of origin of passengers can also affect the organization of cruises. The German passengers, for example, prefer cruises with stops in many interesting ports. For British passengers, stay at sea is a prime factor. As for North American passengers, they prefer short cruises with lots of entertainment on board. In recent years, it was observed a tendency, first for the luxury and the other for the light atmosphere of the clubs. The age structure of the passengers is therefore modified. Previously, you could say it was a paradise for the elderly and wealthy seeking a pleasant and comfortable way to travel. Today it has been democratized up with offers for low budget with minimum service (eg. Of the firm easyCruise EasyGroup).