Cruise Lines at your Service

When you and you family plan to have a cruise vacation, where do you get quotes that you will use in comparing different cruise packages available? Who is arranging your pre-departure tours?

Who will you deal with when you are already on-board, providing all of your needs and ensuring your safety for the rest of your vacation?

This is  the cruise lines and their staff.

What is a Cruise Line?

A company or corporation operates the cruise ships. Cruise lines are considered to have two purposes. The first is transportation, and second, the leisure entertainment business.

Aside from the administration officers and headquartered employees, cruise line personnel consists of the crew, which is headed by the ship’s captain. The ship's crew, perfprms the technical duties such as operating the ship, engineering,  etc., and then there is a hospitality staff, which is headed by the equivalent of a hotel manager.

Among the cruise lines presently operating, some of them are direct descendants of the traditional passenger shipping lines. Others were among the original cruising companies established in the early 1960’s.

List of Popular Cruise Lines

Currently, there are 52 cruise lines operating in the United States, Europe, Asia, and other places. Most of these cruise lines have headquarters based at the United States, and the rest in different countries around the world.

The following are the list of some of the cruise lines--

Birka Line

An Aldanian cruise line concentrates on cruising activities at the Baltic Sea with Stockholm as the starting point. It was founded in 1971 after the acquisition of the ship M/S Princessan which is turned later to Prinsessan. It made its first cruise between Stockholm and Mariehamn.

In 1972, the Birka Line bought the M/S Olav and renamed her Baronessan. The preceding years, they have acquired few more ships. They have also car and passenger ferries on the Stockholm-Helsinki route. One of the additions is the M/S Drottningen, which is a train ferry servicing the Stockholm-Helsinki/Leningrad route.

Carnival Cruise Lines

It is now one of the subsidiaries of the Carnival Corporation, which operates different cruise lines and has become the largest corporation in the cruise industry.

Carnival Cruise Lines were the pioneer of the cheaper and shorter cruise concept. They have been able to produce larger ships, one of which is the Carnival Destiny, which is 101,000 tons and became the largest passenger ship in the world.

Currently, the company announced in the first quarter of 2006 the latest two new ships to be incorporated in their fleet. These are the carnival Freedom, which sets its debut in 2007, and the Carnival Splendor, to be launched in the spring of 2008.

Crystal Cruise Lines

Most commonly known as Crystal Cruises, Crystal Cruise Lines debuted in 1988 with its three medium-sized, high-end ships. A large Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line owns it. Their ships are regularly placed in the list of Conde Nast Traveler magazine as one of the best cruise liners. Most guidebooks also score the three ships among the top 20 of all cruise ships presently running.

Disney Cruise Lines

As the name suggests, it is owned by the famous Walt Disney Company and headquartered in Celebration, Florida. It operates two cruise ships: the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder, along with Castaway Cay, an island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney’s ships.

The first ship, the Disney Magic, started its operation on July 30, 1998. The other one, the Disney Wonder, debuted in August 15, 1999. Each of the ships has 875 staterooms and a crew of 945.

Both are relatively identical in their design, with some variations in restaurants and in entertainment sections. Both ships have areas designed for different group ages, which include toddlers, young children, teens, and adults.

Norwegian Cruise Lines

The company is based in Miami, Florida and founded as the Norwegian Caribbean Lines in 1966. It started offering cruises in the Caribbean at a low cost.

The acquisition of the cruise ship France in 1979 that was later rebuilt and named Norway, paved the way for the new era of giant cruise ships.

There are other cruise lines out there, offering different travel packages to make your cruise vacation an experience to remember.

• Carnival Cruise: Experiencing a Cruise Vacation with the Most Popular Cruise Line
  
  The king of cruise, Carnival has been dishing up fun at sea since company patriarch Ted Arison launched the Mardi Gras way back in 1972.
• Have Fun On-Board with Carnival Cruise Line
  
  If you are looking for a fun cruise line, by all means, avail yourself of the services of the Carnival Cruise Lines.
• Carnival Cruise Lines: Traveling in Style
  
  Just try to imagine yourself waking up on a Carnival cruise ship with a freshly brewed coffee and delicious breakfast, waiting for you in your own breakfast table.
• Celebrity Cruise Line: Bring the City to Your Cruise
  
  Your night will never be boring because of the different nightspots in the Celebrity Cruise line.
• All-in-One Vacation Getaway through Celebrity Cruise Line
  
  Celebrity offers a refined experience, but isn’t stuffy.
• Disney Cruises: Taking Your Kids on a Vacation
  
  The Disney Cruise Lines are the first in the industry to build a ship from the keel up exclusively for family entertainment.
• Disney Cruise Line- Happy Kids
  
  The cruising line that specifically has programs for the children is the Disney cruise line.
• Exciting Cruise Travel with Norwegian Cruise Lines
  
  Norwegian Cruise Lines made the bold step of breaking free from the structured dining setting.
• Princess Cruise Lines: Ride Great Cruising Line
  
  Princess Cruise line provides the best cruise experience but is famous because of the reasonable price. This is why people choose to cruise with Princess Cruise line.
• Princess Cruises – Escape to Paradise
  
  Princess Cruise Lines is one of the leading cruise liners today. They offer a wide variety of cruises to a lot of destination worldwide.
• Sail to Different Destinations with Princess Cruises’ Fleet
  
  With so many major lines in cruise industry, Princess Cruises distinguishes itself by sailing more worldwide cruise destinations.
• Royal Caribbean Cruise: Having a Vacation of a Lifetime
  
  Royal Caribbean cruise lines offers all types of people fun and excitement. They also claim to have some of the best service in the vacation cruise industry.
• Costa Cruises The Med and More
  
  The origins of Costa are in Italy, and even though the company is now owned by Miami-based Carnival Corporation, its origins are demonstrated in nearly everything it offers.
• Holland America's Signature of Excellence Program
  
  Holland America's Signature of Excellence program is completed. What does this mean for vacationers who choose Holland as their cruise line?