Anatomy of a

Cruise Ship
After this chapter, you will be able to…
• Classify ships according to their style
• Compare older ship styles to newer
ones
• Explain how ship size and space are
measured
• List the facilities found on most cruise
vessels
• Interpret a deck plan
 Styles of Ships
• The classic ocean liner
– First Golden Age of cruising
– Used for transatlantic crossings or world voyages
– Mostly built before 1970
 Styles of Ships
• The Contemporary Cruise Ship
– Speed was no longer a prime consideration
– Broader, boxier, still attractive vessels
– “Megaships” – 2000 passengers or more and have
12 or more decks
– Deck: Equivalent of a story in a building
 Styles of Ships
• Small ships
– Fewer than 200 passengers
– Up-close, more intimate cruise vacation
– Stress education, soft adventure and luxury
experience
 Styles of Ships
• Masted sailing ships
– Powered by the wind, technologically
sophisticated
 Styles of Ships
• Riverboats
– “Paddlewheeler”
– Rhine, Danube and the Nile
 Styles of Ships
• Barges
– Usually luxurious, leisurely discovery of the
countryside
 Styles of Ships
• Multipurpose ships
– Carry cargo, transport passengers between close-
by villages and serve as cruise ships
 Styles of Ships
• Miscellaneous
– Unusual forms of water transportation
– Itineraries are unpredictable and the
entertainment nonexistent, but the food is usualy
excellent and the staterooms are large
– Bare boat charter
 Sizing the ships
• By number of staterooms
 Sizing the ships
• How many passengers the ship accommodates
 Sizing the ships
• Gross registered tonnage (GRT)
– Formula that gauges the volume of the public
spaces on a ship
– It measures only enclosed space available to
passengers
 Sizing the ships
• Space ratio
– Determined by dividing the GRT by passenger
capacity
– 30,000 GRT; 1,000 passengers – space ratio is 30
– Conveys the “space” or “elbow room” each person
will have
– “Roominess”
 Larger ships…
• Offer many more facilities, activities, choices
and options
• Are often more dramatic looking
• Are able to serve a wide spectrum of guest
type
• Easily accommodate groups
• Are generally quite stable
 Smaller ships…
• Offer a more intimate atmosphere
• Can sail into smaller places
• Permit easier embarkation and debarkation
• Make it simple for passengers to get to know
the ship and others onboard
 Ship Facilities
• Space on a ship can be divided into 3 types:
– Stateroom space
– Private (or crew) space
• Usually on decks below those of the passengers
• Bridge – where the vessel is controlled
• Galley or kitchen – where food is prepared
• Mechanical areas – the engine room
– Public space
 Public Spaces
• Reception area
– Purser’s office: front desk, hotel desk, reception
desk, information desk
– Shore excursion office or tour desk
 Public Spaces
• Dining area
 Public Spaces
• Alternate dining areas
– Lido deck or café
– Pizzerias and special dining facilities
– Outdoor dining: Al fresco dining
 Public Spaces
• Pool area
– Usually on an upper deck
– Magrodome
 Public Spaces
• Health club
– Frequently adjoins a spa
– Jogging tracks, basketball courts and other
exercise-related facilities
 Public Spaces
• Children’s area
– Supervised by specially trained staff
 Public Spaces
• Medical facility
– Maritime law: Vessel that carries more than 100
passengers to have a physician onboard, often
assisted by one or more nurses
 Public Spaces
• Movie theater
– Sometimes as meeting spaces
– In-cabin video
 Public Spaces
• Photo gallery
– Passengers can purchase the ones they like for a
reasonable price
 Public Spaces
• Internet center
– Reasonable time-based fee
 Public Spaces
• Casino
– Prohibited on ships calling only on U.S. ports
– Usually closed when the ship is in port
 Other possible shipboard facilities
• Conference/ business • Tuxedo rental shop
center
 Other possible shipboard facilities
• Card rooms • Cigar/smoking lounges
Other possible shipboard facilities
• ATMs • Laundrette
 Other possible shipboard facilities
• Chapel • Drugstore
 Other possible shipboard facilities
• Tennis courts • Function rooms
Other possible shipboard facilities
• Game/videogame • Gold simulation areas
rooms
 Other possible shipboard facilities
• Libraries • Miniature golf course
 Other possible shipboard facilities
• Florist shop • Climbing wall
 Other possible shipboard facilities
• Art auction gallery • Water slide
 Other possible shipboard facilities
• Watersport platforms • Ice skating rink
 Cruise
Staterooms
• Stateroom – also called as cabin, as small as
100 square feet and few exceed 250 square
feet
– Outside
– Inside
– Suites
Outside Staterooms
Inside Staterooms
Suites
 What is in a typical stateroom?
• Two single lower beds, • Upper beds – can
either parallel to each accommodate three or
other or at right angles four passengers
 What is in a typical stateroom?
• Bedstand between the • Vanity, often with a
beds or on each side chair, along with built-in
drawers, cabinets and
the like
 What is in a typical stateroom?
• Closet, perhaps with • Television that feeds
multiple levels and live or repeated
storage places broadcasts of shipboard
events, movies, port
talks, and satellite
transmission of regular
TV programming
 What is in a typical stateroom?
• Extensive lighting, wall-to-wall carpeting, and
everything else you’d associate with a hotel
Reading a Deck
Plan
 Ship Plan
• Deck plan (floor plan) • Cross section of the
ship (“layer”)
• Deck plans are important
– Can select the exact stateroom that they want
when the cruise is booked
• In brochures, color coding makes a deck plan
easy to read.
– Stateroom category: the price that a certain kind
or level of stateroom represents
• Usually, the higher the deck is on the ship, the
higher the category and price
• Deck plans often note certain special
stateroom circumstances
– Obstructed views from windows, for physically
challenged, for three or more passengers, etc.
• Deck plans are posted aboard ship
– Elevator/staircase areas
– Front: Bow
– Back: Stern
– Facing forward the left side: Port side
– The right side: Starboard
Miscellaneous
Considerations
 Ship’s “registry”
• Painted on the exterior of the vessel’s stern
and the ship flies that country’s flag (flag of
convenience)
– Financial, legal, labor, and routing concerns tend
to dictate the ship’s registry
Where do ships go when they “retire”?
• Scrap metal
• Parked at ports with the hopes that someone
will buy, refurbish and return them to active
cruising
 CDC conducts two unannounced
inspections of any cruise vessel
• 13 or more passengers that calls on U.S. ports
– Potentially hazardous conditions
• Improperly stored food
• Poor food preparation and display procedures, etc.
• 85 or below is failed