Cruiseferry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page. |
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship with a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of transportation.
Cruiseferry traffic is mainly concentrated in the seas of Northern Europe, especially the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. However, similar ships traffic across the English Channel as well as the Irish Sea, Mediterranean and even on the North Atlantic. Cruiseferries also operate from China and Australia.
Contents |
[edit] Baltic Sea cruiseferries
In the northern Baltic Sea, two major rival companies, Viking Line and Silja Line, have for decades competed on the routes between Turku and Helsinki in Finland and Sweden's capital Stockholm. Since the 1990's Tallink has also risen as a notable company in the area, culminating with acquisition of Silja Line in 2006.
[edit] List of largest cruiseferries of their time
The term "cruiseferry" did not come into use until the 1980s, although it has been retroactively applied to earlier ferries that have large cabin capabilities and public spaces in addition to their car- and passenger-carrying capacity.[citation needed]
| Year | Name | Tonnage1 | Company | Traffic area | Flag | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | MS Belorussiya | 16,331 GRT | Black Sea Shipping Company | Black Sea |  Soviet Union |
Alongside five identical sisters build 1975-76 |
| 1977 | GTS Finnjet | 24,605 GRT | Finnlines | Baltic Sea |  Finland |
|
| 1981 | MS Finlandia | 25,905 GRT | Effoa (for Silja Line traffic) | Baltic Sea | Finland |
Alongside identical sister M/S Silvia Regina |
| 1982 | MS Scandinavia | 26,474 GRT | Scandinavian World Cruises, later DFDS Seaways |
New York—Bahamas Copenhagen—Oslo |
 Bahamas |
|
| 1985 | MS Svea | 33,829 GRT | Johnson Line (for Silja Line traffic) | Baltic Sea |  Sweden |
|
| 1985 | MS Mariella | 37,799 GRT | SF Line (for Viking Line traffic) | Baltic Sea | Finland |
|
| 1989 | MS Athena | 40,012 GRT | Rederi AB Slite (for Viking Line traffic) | Baltic Sea | Sweden |
|
| 1989 | MS Cinderella | 46,398 GRT | SF Line (for Viking Line traffic) | Baltic Sea | Finland |
|
| 1990 | MS Silja Serenade | 58,376 GRT | Silja Line | Baltic Sea | Finland |
|
| 1991 | MS Silja Symphony | 58,377 GRT | Silja Line | Baltic Sea | Sweden |
|
| 1993 | MS Silja Europa | 59,914 GT | Silja Line | Baltic Sea | Finland |
Ordered by Rederi AB Slite for Viking Line traffic |
| 2001 | MS Pride of Rotterdam | 59,925 GT | P&O Ferries | North Sea |  Netherlands |
|
| 2004 | MS Color Fantasy | 75,027 GT | Color Line | Kattegat, Skagerrak |  Norway |
|
| 2007 | MS Color Magic | 75,100 GT | Color Line | Kattegat, Skagerrak | Norway |
|
| 1May be specified in gross tonnage (GT) or gross register tons (GRT). | ||||||
[edit] List of cruiseferry operators
- ANEK Lines
- Brittany Ferries
- Color Line
- Corsica Ferries
- Cruise Ferries
- DFDS Seaways
- Eckerö Line
- Grandi Navi Veloci
- Grimaldi Ferries
- Irish Ferries
- Moby Lines
- P&O Ferries
- Polferries
- Silja Line
- SNCM
- Stena Line
- Superfast Ferries
- Tallink
- Tirrenia
- Viking Line
[edit] See also
[edit] Gallery
 M/S Silja Europa, the largest cruiseferry in the world 1993-2001. |
 M/S Cinderella departing Helsinki. |
 M/S Mariella at the Kustaanmiekka strait |
 M/S Color Fantasy, the largest cruiseferry in the world 2004—2007. |
 MS Galaxy in Helsinki West Harbour. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
