Cruise Liner

This is a term I have come to dislike. It was made popular in 2004 when the Queen Mary 2 came into service. The reason: The QM2 is an ocean liner but she is also a cruise ship. But the media have now grasped this concept and every new ship seems to be a cruise liner.

Let me tell you the different...

An ocean liner is tends to do line voyages. That is going from one place to another on a distinct commercial voyage. A good example of this is the transatlantic route where a liner goes from Southampton to New York. Most ocean liners have a specially reinforced hull to cope with the bad weather because unless it is a REALLY big storm, they will not divert from their course, such as when the QE2 was hit by the 90ft wave.

A cruise ship goes from A to B via C on a predestined route for the enjoyment of her passengers. Therefore she will avoid storms as it is not good for business if all her passengers are seasick! Also cruise ships tend to follow the sun. Most cruise ships are very well built but ocean liners have the slight edge because they are built to go into bad weather.

There are other differences such as ocean liners are designed to go faster than cruise ships (QE2 over 30 knots, Sea Princess 23 knots), but I won't go into that.

Anyway, wish me luck as I have my Wines and Spirits exam tomorrow - I've spent the last 10 weeks getting sloshed!

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