Cruising

Chapter 3
The Anatomy of a Cruise Ship

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Objectives
• After reading 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.

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Classic vs Modern ship
Newer or More Modern Ships
• Synthetic materials more common
• Large public areas
• Travel at 20-25 knots
• Modern appearance
• Larger windows
• Fewer obstructed stateroom views
• Easy pedestrian flow through ship
• Stateroom verandahs more likely
• Larger swimming pools
• Promenade decks less common
• More standardized stateroom size;
some staterooms may be small
Styles of Ships
• Class Ocean liner • Ferries
• Contemporary Cruise Ship • Multipurpose ships
• Small Ships • Miscellaneous
• Masted Sailing Ships • Riverboats
• Barges
Older or Classic Ships
• Much use of wood, brass, and other natural
materials
• Modest-sized public areas
• Can travel up to 30 knots
• Nostalgic appearance
• More obstructed stateroom views
• Pedestrian flow through ship sometimes
awkward
• Stateroom verandahs more rare
• Smaller swimming pools
• Promenade decks common
• Many different sized staterooms; staterooms
are relatively large
Terms
• GRT – Gross Registered Tonnage; this is determined by a formula that
gauges the volume of the public spaces on a ship. It measures only
enclosed space available to passengers.

• Pax – is an industry abbreviation for passengers

Ship Size
• Very small: Under 10,000 GRT; under 200 pax

• Small: 10,000 – 10,000 – 20,000 GRT; 200-500 pax

• Medium – 20,000-50 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

Small vs. Larger Ships

Pros and Cons

Styles of Ships
The Classic Ocean liner
Primarily used for
transatlantic crossings or
world voyages, and mostly
built before 1970, they’re
sleek, streamlined, and built
to knife their way through
open ocean waves.

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The contemporary cruise
ship.
The industry generally calls
these giant-sized ships
megaships. They
accommodate 2,000
passengers or more and
have 12 or more decks
(the equivalent of a story
in a building).

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• Small Ships
Accommodate fewer than 200
passengers.

These ships often stress

education, soft adventure,
and/or luxury experiences.

They often look like cruise

Ships in miniature or
oversized yachts.

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Masted Sailing Ships
Powered by the wind.
They have motors
incase the wind dies
down.
People who sail on
such ships want an
experience rooted in
other times, when
billowing cloth and the
romance of the sea were
what sailing was all about.

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Riverboats
Great steamboats of the
nineteenth century.

Modern-style riverboats,
too, are popular vehicles
for experiencing such
legendary rivers s the
Rhine, the Danube, and
the Nile.

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Barge

• Barges
a large boat whose
underside is flat that is
used for hauling goods
on waterways and in
harbors. A flatboat is an
example of a barge.

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 • Multipurpose Ships
They carry cargo, transport
passengers between close-by
villages and yes- serve as
• Ferries cruise ships for leisure
travelers too.
carries people,
cars and other things
across a body of water.
An example of a ferry
is a boat that carries
people in their cars
from an island to a
mainland.
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What factors do we consider
to determine the size
classification of a cruise ship?

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1. By the number of staterooms.

2. How many passengers the ship accommodate.

3. Measure the gross registered tonnage or GRT. GRT

is determined by a formula that gauges the volume of
the public space on a ship.

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 Private: Crew

Ship Facilities
Public: Pool Deck

Stateroom Space

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Space is divided into 3 types.
a. Stateroom space
b. Private (crew) space
c. Public space

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• Passengers almost never see the spaces that serves
the ship’s crew. (They are usually on decks below
those of the passengers).

• These include crew cabins, dining areas, and

recreation facilities.

• The Bridge (where the vessel is controlled). The galley

or kitchen (where food is prepared), & mechanical
areas (engine room).

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Public Spaces
(where passengers mingle)

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The Reception Area:
• Purser’s office (guest relations, front desk, hotel desk, reception desk
or information desk).

• This is equivalent of a hotel’s front desk.

• Nearby is the shore excursion office where passengers can inquire

about and/or book port tours and activities.

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 Lido Deck
(buffet like dining) inside
or outside.
• Examples:
The Dining Room a. Pizzerias
b. Fast Food
• Guest eat here
c. Ice Cream Bar
(breakfast, lunch,
dinner).
• Larger ships feature
several main dining
rooms.

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 The Pool Area
• Deck w/ many lounge
Theatre chairs & tables.
• Entertainment events usually
take place here each night.

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Fitness Center The Children’s Area
• Exercise with an aerobic • Their features and
areas, stationary activities often are
bicycles, treadmills, and tailored to multiple age
weight machines. groups (e.g. young
children, older children
,and teens.

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Gift Shop
• Purchase souvenirs, duty-free goods, tee-shirts, and
the like.

Medical Facility
• Maritime law requires any vessel that carries more
than 100 passengers to have a physical onboard and
often one or more nurses. Small hospital like facility.
Photo Gallery
• At key moments and picturesque spots, professional
photographers take phots of passengers.

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The Movie Theater
• Many ships feature screenings of recent movies in a
theater. These rooms also serve as meeting spaces.

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The Internet Café
• Time-based fee, passengers can
send and receive e-mail.

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Casino
• Since gambling is usually legal on ships, most cruise vessels boast
casinos where clients can play blackjack, roulette, slot machines and
other games.

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• A stateroom—also called a cabin—is to a ship what a
guest room is to a hotel.

• The average American hotel room is 350 to 450 sq.

feet.

• Cruise ships staterooms are 100 sq. ft. to 250 sq. ft.

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Cruise Staterooms

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Cabins – by location
• Lower deck cabins. Cabins located at the lower decks are the cheapest and guarantee a
smooth ride for the ship passenger across the waters. However, lower deck cabins are
often the farthest ones from the common areas of the ship and are beset with engine
noise and anchor noise.

• Higher deck cabins. The cabins located at higher decks are the closest to the pool and
the sun decks of the ship. They cost a little more than lower deck cabins, but passengers
staying in higher deck cabins are apt to experience more rocking motion there. It is not
recommended for people prone to seasickness.

• Midship cabins. Midship cabins are found at the central area of the ship. Their location is
good for accessibility. However, this also means that the passenger staying there will be
more liable to be disturbed by passing traffic. The view from midship cabins is also often
limited by the lifeboats.

• Bow cabins. Bow cabins are right smack at the front of the ship and passengers staying
there get the most in motion, wind and sea spray. Suites are usually located here and
they have large balconies.

• Aft cabins. Aft cabins are found at the rear of the ship and always offer lovely views from
the balconies. The balconies are also larger. However, aft cabins are usually located a few
decks below restaurants and lounges, so they offer less privacy and more litter blown
from the establishments above.
Inside Stateroom
No windows, but often use mirrors,
pastel colors, bright lighting, and even
false window drapes to make the
room feel more open.

Many cruisers prefer

inside staterooms
because these rooms
usually are the least
expensive on the sip.
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Outside Stateroom
• These have windows.

• They’re ideal for clients who worry about

feeling cramped.

• Some staterooms feature a full-wall sliding

glass door that leads to a verandah, which
enables to go outside and experience the
environment in a direct and private way.

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 Suites Stateroom

• Most expensive. Feature a

sitting area and a sleeping
area, often divided by a
curtain and featuring just
under 300 sq. ft. of living
area.

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The stateroom normally has:
• 2 single lower beds.
• Upper beds can accommodate 3 or 4 ppl.
• Bedstand
• Vanity
• Closet
• Television
• Extensive lighting

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Reading a Deck Plan

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• A ship plan usually consists of two elements: The
deck plan (floorplan) and a cross section of the ship,
with each “layer” shown (only those decks that are
“public” are indicated.

• Sometimes accompanying the deck plan are floor

plans of various kinds of staterooms.

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• Deck plans are important. Guest can often select the
exact staterooms they want when they cruise is
booked.

• In brochures, color coding makes a deck plan easy to

read. Colors help indicate which price categories
apply to which staterooms.

• A stateroom category is the price that a certain kind

of level of stateroom represents.

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• Usually the higher the deck the higher the price.

• Deck plans often note certain special stateroom circumstances.

• Deck plans are also posted aboard ship. Usually located in the
elevator/staircase areas.

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