- The “tonnage” of a cruise ship does not refer to its weight or displacement, but to its size – 1 “ton” equals 100 cubic feet of enclosed space
- The first regularly scheduled transatlantic cruise ship was small enough to fit inside the Grand Lounge of the QE2 and took 14 days to cross the Atlantic
- During WWII all of Holland America’s ocean liners were chartered by the British, Dutch, and U.S. governments, and only 9 vessels survived to return to civilian service
- There are more than 2,000 ports of call around the world, but about half of all cruises leave from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, or Port Canaveral
- Ocean liners are built for the open sea and travel point to point (i.e. New York to Southhampton) whereas cruise ships have no final destination and are often a destination in themselves
- In July 1840, when the Britannia, the first ship to operate under the Cunard Line name, embarked on a 14-day trans-Atlantic voyage it had a cow on board to supply passengers with fresh milk
