The Anatomy
of a Cruise
Ship
Styles of Ships
1. The Classic Ocean Liner
2. The Contemporary Cruise Ship
3. Small ships
4. Masted Sailing Ships
5. River Vessels
6. Barges
7. Ferries
8. Multipurpose Ships
9. Miscellaneous
1. The Classic Ocean Liner
-epitomize the first Golden Age of
Cruising primarily used for
transatlantic crossing and mostly
built before 1970.
-they are sleek, steam-lined and
built to knife their way through
open ocean waves.
2. The Contemporary Cruise Ship
-a tapered, knife-like hulls gave
way to broader, boxier, still
attractive vessels built to
accommodate uniformly sized
staterooms and numerous activity
venues that the modern cruise
requires.
3. Small Ships
-most of which accommodate fewer
than 300 passengers.
-the emphasis is on an up-close and
more intimate cruise vacation.
-often look like cruise ship in
miniature or oversized yachts.
4. Masted Sailing Ships
-a cruise ship that have
masts and sails and are
partly or almost powered
by the wind.
-the ship have motors just in
case the wind dies down.
5. River Vessels
-this kind of vessels carry
passengers along the great
rivers of the world like Nile,
Danube, Rhine and
Mississippi.
-it a style of vessel memorialized
in the works of Mark Twain.
6. Barges
-passenger barges are
usually luxurious, affording
a pampered and leisurely
discovery of the
countryside.
7. Ferries
-many ferries provide an
overnight or even multi-day
cruise-like experience with
private staterooms, an
entertainment and bountiful
dining.
8. Multipurpose Ships
-some vessels serves many
functions. They carry cargo,
transport passengers between
close-by villages and serve as
cruise ships for leisure
travellers.
9. Miscellaneous
-it is possible for a leisure traveller
to book passage on a freighter.
-the itineraries are unpredictable
and the entertainment is non-
existent but food is usually
excellent and the staterooms are
large.
Sizing Ships
How does the cruise industry
measure its ship?
• By the number of staterooms
• By the number of passengers the
ship accommodates
• By Gross Registered Tonnage
(GRT)
Types of Ship according to Size
TYPES GRT CAPACITY
Very Small Under 10,000 GRT Under 200 pax
Small 10,000-20,000 GRT 200-500 pax
Medium 20,000-50,000 GRT 500-1,200 pax
Large 50,000-70,000 GRT 1,200-2,000 pax
Megaship 70,000 GRT or more 2,000 pax or more
Benefits Small and Large Ships
Larger Ships Smaller Ships
•Offer many more facilities, •Offer a more intimate
activities, choices and options atmosphere
•Often more dramatic-looking •Can sail into smaller places
•Able to serve a wider spectrum •Permit easier embarkation and
of guest types debarkation
•Easily accommodate groups •Make it simple for passengers
to get to know the ship and
•Generally quite stable in the others onboard
water
Space Ratio
-it is the space or “elbow room”
each person will have.
- Space ratio is determined by
dividing the GRT by passenger
capacity.
Space Ratio
Example:
If the vessel has a 30,000 GRT
and can carry 1,000 passenger,
what is the space ratio?
Space Ratio=30
Few things about Space Ratio
• Most ships have a space ratio
between 25-40. The lowest is 8;
the highest is about 70.
• The space doesn’t necessarily
correlate to size.
• A ship’s space ratio isn’t the only
thing that conveys roominess.
Few things about Space Ratio
• If a vessel with low space
ratio isn’t full, the passengers
will probably feel less
crowded than they would if it
were fully booked.
Few things about Space Ratio
• Space ratio doesn’t necessarily
correlate to stateroom size.
• The more expensive a cruise is
per day, the more likely the ship
will have a high space ratio.
Ship
Facilities
3 Types of Space on a Ship
1. Private Space
2. Public Space
3. Stateroom Space
Private Spaces
-this space is reserved for
the ship’s crew where
passengers are not
allowed although some
offers behind-the-scenes
tour.
1.Bridge – where the vessel
is controlled.
2. Galley – the ship’s kitchen or
where the food is being
prepared.
3. Engine room – mechanical
areas of a cruise ship.
Public Spaces
-an open-to-public space
where the passengers
mingle.
1. Reception Area – a lobby-
like area where the purser’s
office is located.
Purser’s office is equivalent
to hotel’s front desk.
On newer ships, the reception
may be in multi-storey space
called atrium.
2. Dining Room – this is
where the guests eat dinner,
and often, also breakfast and
lunch. Larger ships typically
feature several main dining
rooms.
3. Alternative Dining Areas –
informal, buffet-like dining
usually takes place on the
pool deck for some or all
meals. Guests can dine
indoor or, in good weather,
outdoors. This area is called
lido deck or café.
Many ships have alternative
restaurants that are open part or
even all of the day. Small
facilities dispensing fast food
are often located on the pool
deck. Outdoor dining is often
referred to as al fresco dining.
4. Showroom – entertainment
events usually take place
here each night. During the
day, the showroom may host
orientation meetings, port
lectures, games, movies or
other special events.
5. Pool Area – the majority of the
ships today have one or more
swimming pools, perhaps with
hot tubs nearby. However, these
pools aren’t usually very big.
On some ships, pools have
retractable glass skylight that
covers the pool area called
magrodome.
6. Health Club – an area for
guests to exercise, with an
aerobics area, stationary
bicycles, treadmills, and
weight machines. The health
club frequently adjoins spa
that offers massages, facials,
saunas, etc.
7. Children’s Area – facilities
for children supervised by
specially trained staff. This
area features activities
tailored to multiple age
groups.
8. Gift Shop – a little store
where you can buy sundries,
souvenirs and duty-free
goods. Some vessels feature
many places to buy things,
arranged in mini-mall
fashion.
9. Medical Facility – a small
hospital-like facility with
health care professionals.
Maritime law requires any
vessel that carries more than
100 passengers to have a
physician onboard.
10. Movie Theater – many ships
feature screenings of recent movies
in theater.
11. Photo Gallery – at key moments
and picturesque spots, professional
photographer takes photos of
passengers and then displayed in a
photo gallery on the ship where it is
available for purchase at reasonable
12. Casino - because gambling
is usually legal on the ships,
most cruise vessels boast
casino where clients can play
blackjack, roulette, slot
machine and other games.
13. Internet Center – here, for
a time-based fee, passengers
can send and receive emails
and surf the Web
Stateroom Space
-also called cabin, is
equivalent to a hotel guest
room, “hotel rooms in
miniature”
Types of Stateroom
• Outside Stateroom – also called
ocean-view stateroom have window.
• Inside Stateroom – located in the
ship’s interior, usually have no
window.
• Suites – the most expensive
accommodation on a ship.
On certain vessels, an
entire deck may be made
up of suites and be called a
concierge level.
A bed is often called berth.
It can also refer to the
docking space of a ship.
Reading a
Deck Plan
Every cruise brochure or
cruise line website
reproduce a Ship Plan. It
consists of 2 elements:
•Deck Plan
•Cross-section of the Ship
Deck Plan – the floor plan
of the ship
Cross-section of the Ship
– a plan showing
layer/deck of the ship that
are available to public.
•Deck plans are important.
•Color coding makes a
deck plan easy to read.
•The higher the deck is on
the ship, the higher the
category and price.
•Deck plans often note
certain special stateroom
circumstances.
•Deck plans are also posted
aboard ship.
More Thoughts
About Cruise
Ship
•A ship “registry usually has
nothing to do with where
the line is headquartered.
•On some ships, smoking is
permitted almost
everywhere onboard.
•A cruise ship also retired.
•Each year, CDC conducts
about 2 unannounced
inspections of any cruise
vessel.
