Life on the Ocean Wave

BALLROOM dancing, a game of deck tennis and a dickie bow tie –cruises were once the preserve of genteel people approaching the autumn of their years.



Today, cruising is popular holiday among young and old and passenger steriotypes have changed as the industry has grown. The arrival of the Jumbo jet in the Seventies sounded the death knell of passenger shipping to North America, South Africa and Australia, and it looked as if it would also kill-off the cruise business too.

But while the old-style passenger shipping took a knock, Americans welcomed the concept of leisure cruising with open arms. Visitng exotic destinations without staying there, continous on-board cuisine and a casino to boot - made a seven-day sojourn out of Miami to the Caribbean a firm holiday favourite in the US.

The cruise industry burgeoned in America. And what happened across the pond, predictably took off in the UK and Europe too. The Mediterranean cruise quickly became a booming industry, hop on a flight to Palma, Barcelona or Venice and you could board your luxury liner there.

Today, there are an abundance of ocean liners available, with something for all: singles, couples, families, single parents, grandparents with children are all catered for.