A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is secondary to the carriage of freight. The type does however include many classes of ships designed to transport substantial numbers of passengers as well as freight. Indeed, until recently virtually all ocean liners were able to transport mail, package freight and express, and other cargo in addition to passenger luggage, and were equipped with cargo holds and derricks, kingposts, or other cargo-handling gear for that purpose. Only in more recent ocean liners and in virtually all cruise ships has this cargo capacity been eliminated.
28-510: SS Valdivia was a passenger ship that was built in England and launched in 1886 as Tijuca . She was renamed Valdivia in 1896, Tom G Corpi in 1908 and Flandre in 1909. She had a succession of German owners until 1909, when she was bought by a French shipping company. She was scrapped in 1927. Valdivia is notable as the ship in which the German marine biologist Carl Chun undertook
56-552: A damaged bearing in one of the three Azipod propulsion units and some minor modifications prior to her official handover to Royal Caribbean International on 24 April 2006. She then visited Oslo , Norway before sailing for Southampton , England . The ship sailed on its first transatlantic crossing on 3 May 2006. Freedom of the Seas arrived in New York Harbor , United States , for her official naming ceremony on May 12, 2006 which
84-487: A given hull size. Passenger ships are subject to two major International Maritime Organization requirements : to perform musters of the passengers (...) within 24 hours after their embarkation and to be able to perform full abandonment within a period of 30 minutes from the time the abandon-ship signal is given . Transportation Research Board research from 2019 reported passenger vessels, much more than freight vessels, are subject to degradations in stability as
112-408: A result of increases in lightship weight. Passenger vessels appear to be more pressing candidates for lightship weight-tracking programs than freight vessels. Passengers on ships without backup generators suffer substantial distress due to lack of water, refrigeration, and sewage systems in the event of loss of the main engines or generators due to fire or other emergency. Power is also unavailable to
140-502: A ship's GRT and displacement were somewhat similar in number. For example, Titanic , put in service in 1912, had a GRT of 46,328 and a displacement reported at over 52,000 tons. Similarly, Cunard Line's mid-1930s RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth were of approximately 81,000 – 83,000 GRT and had displacements of over 80,000 tons. Today, due to changes in construction, engineering, function, architecture, and, crucially, measurement system – which measures functionally all of
168-475: A ship's internal volume, not just part of it – modern passenger ships' GT values are much higher than their displacements. The Cunard Queens' current successor, the 148,528 GT Queen Mary 2 , has been estimated to only displace approximately 76,000 tons. With the completion in 2009 of the first of the over 225,000 GT Oasis -class cruise ships, Oasis of the Seas , passenger ships' displacements rose to 100,000 tons, well less than half their GT. This new class
196-424: Is 8.3 metres (27 ft 3 in) less tall and 8 knots (15 km/h) slower. Freedom of the Seas however is the larger ship in terms of gross tonnage . Its gross tonnage as verified by Det Norske Veritas , a Norwegian marine classification society , was 154,407 GT , compared with QM2 ' s 148,528 GT . Freedom of the Seas had the highest gross tonnage of any passenger ship yet built until
224-408: Is calculated based on "the moulded volume of all enclosed spaces of the ship", and is used to determine things such as a ship's manning regulations, safety rules, registration fees, and port dues. It is produced by a mathematical formula, and does not distinguish between mechanical and passenger spaces, and thus is not directly comparable to historic GRT measurements. Displacement , a measure of mass,
252-425: Is characteristic of an explosive growth in gross tonnage, which has more than doubled from the largest cruise ships of the late 1990s. This reflects the much lower relative weight of enclosed space in the comparatively light superstructure of a ship versus its heavily reinforced and machinery-laden hull space, as cruise ships have grown slab-sided vertically from their maximum beam to accommodate more passengers within
280-498: Is not commonly used for passenger vessels. While a high displacement can indicate better sea keeping abilities, gross tonnage is promoted as the most important measure of size for passenger vessels, as the ratio of gross tonnage per passenger – the Passenger/Space Ratio – gives a sense of the spaciousness of a ship, an important consideration in cruise liners where the onboard amenities are of high importance. Historically,
308-523: Is the namesake of Royal Caribbean's Freedom class , and can accommodate 3,634 passengers and 1,300 crew on fifteen passenger decks. The vessel also has 4 crew decks below the waterline. Freedom of the Seas was the largest passenger ship ever built (by gross tonnage ) from 2006 until construction of her sister ship, Liberty of the Seas in 2007. Freedom of the Seas was built at the Aker Yards Turku Shipyard , Finland , which built
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#1732901907047336-653: The Atlantic Ocean between Europe and the United States or travel even further to South America or Asia while cruise ships typically serve shorter routes with more stops along coastlines or among various islands. Both the Queen Elizabeth 2 ( QE2 ) (1969) and her successor as Cunard's flagship RMS Queen Mary 2 ( QM2 ), which entered service in 2004, are of hybrid construction. Like transatlantic ocean liners, they are fast ships and strongly built to withstand
364-546: The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requires passenger ships operating in international waters must either be constructed or upgraded to exclude combustible materials. It is believed some owners and operators of ships built before 1980, which are required to upgrade or retire their vessels, will be unable to conform to the regulations. Fred. Olsen Cruise Line 's Black Prince , built in 1966
392-678: The Valdivia Expedition in 1898–99. Armstrong, Mitchell & Co built Tijuca in its shipyard at Low Walker as yard number 496 for Hamburg Südamerikanische DG. She was launched in 28 August 1886 and completed that October. Her registered length was 309.1 ft (94.2 m), her beam was 36.8 ft (11.2 m) and her depth was 24.0 ft (7.3 m). She had berths for 40 first class and 280 steerage class passengers, and her tonnages were 2,179 GRT and 1,372 NRT . The Wallsend Slipway & Engineering Company built her three-cylinder triple-expansion engine , which
420-661: The "Royal Promenade". The ship has three swimming areas : an interactive water park , a dedicated adult pool , and the main pool. Deck 13 has a sports area with a rock climbing wall, the FlowRider surf simulator, a miniature golf course and a full size basketball court . Other items include an ice skating rink, a casino and a three-deck-high broadway-style theater. Many of the ship's interiors were extensively decorated by muralist Clarissa Parish. The ship docked at Blohm und Voss in Hamburg , Germany on 17 April 2006 to repair
448-467: The 2007 completion of Liberty of the Seas . The ship has four bow thrusters . When at sea Freedom of the Seas consumes approximately 12,800 kg (28,200 lb) of fuel per hour. On July 22, 2015, a fire started in a mechanical area of the ship around 9:15 AM when the ship was en route from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Falmouth, Jamaica. All passengers were sent to their muster stations , and one crew member sustained first degree burns. The fire
476-488: The Seas in October 2009. Because of changes in historic measurement systems, it is difficult to make meaningful and accurate comparisons of ship sizes. Historically, gross register tonnage (GRT) was a measure of the internal volume of certain enclosed areas of a ship divided into "tons" equivalent to 100 cubic feet (2.8 m ) of space. Gross tonnage (GT) is a comparatively new measure, adopted in 1982 to replace GRT. It
504-640: The Seas moved her home port from the Port of Miami-Dade to Port Canaveral . The ship underwent her first dry dock refurbishment in March 2011. In January 2015, the ship underwent another 24-day dry dock. During the dry dock some new interior passenger cabins were added. In winter 2016, Freedom of the Seas repositioned to Port Everglades , from where she undertook cruises in the Caribbean. After homeporting in Barcelona in
532-472: The crew of the ship to operate electrically powered mechanisms. Lack of an adequate backup system to propel the ship can, in rough seas, render it dead in the water and result in loss of the ship. The 2006 Revised Passenger Ship Safety Standards address these issues, and others, requiring that ships ordered after July, 2010 conform to safe return to port regulations; however, as of 2013 many ships remain in service which lack this capacity. After October 1, 2010,
560-618: The rigors of the North Atlantic in line voyage service, but both ships are also designed to operate as cruise ships, with the amenities expected in that trade. QM2 was superseded by the Freedom of the Seas of the Royal Caribbean line as the largest passenger ship ever built; however, QM2 still hold the record for the largest ocean liner. The Freedom of the Seas was superseded by the Oasis of
588-521: The ships of the Voyager class as well as the other ships of the Freedom class. Upon her completion in 2006, she became the largest passenger ship ever built, taking the record from Queen Mary 2 ( QM2 ), an ocean liner . Freedom of the Seas is 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) narrower than QM2 at the waterline, 6 metres (19 ft 8 in) shorter, has 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) less draft,
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#1732901907047616-508: The trip itself and the attractions of the ship and ports visited are the principal draw. There are several main types: Although some ships have characteristics of both types, the design priorities of the two forms are different: ocean liners value speed and traditional luxury while cruise ships value amenities (swimming pools, theaters, ball rooms, casinos, sports facilities, etc.) rather than speed. These priorities produce different designs. In addition, ocean liners typically were built to cross
644-538: The window was open, but the cruise line released security camera footage that they claim shows Anello leaning out the window shortly before lifting the toddler up to it. On December 11, 2019, Chloe's parents sued Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. over the death of their daughter, alleging that the company was negligent for not properly securing the windows. Anello pled guilty to a charge of negligent homicide on February 25, and will be placed on probation. The ship has an interior promenade 136 m (445 ft) long called
672-520: Was broadcast live on NBC's The Today Show from Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey (the ship's official New York berth), and thereafter traveled to Boston for the weekend of May 19–22. The ship's godmother was selected as Katherine Louise Calder, a Portland, Oregon foster care provider. She began operations out of Miami with her first cruise and maiden voyage on 4 June, sailing to western Caribbean locations. On 4 May 2009, Freedom of
700-485: Was extinguished after an hour and a half, and the ship was able to continue on its planned itinerary. On July 7, 2019, 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand died after falling through an open window on the 11th deck while the ship was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her 51-year-old grandfather, Salvatore Anello, had placed her on a railing and lost his grip while holding her. Anello claimed that he was colorblind and didn't notice that
728-675: Was one such ship, but was reported to be headed for inter-island service in Venezuelan waters. The International Ice Patrol was formed in 1914 after the sinking of the Titanic to address the long-outstanding issue of iceberg collision. Passengers and their luggage at sea are covered by the Athens Convention . MS Freedom of the Seas MS Freedom of the Seas is a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International . She
756-561: Was rated at 265 NHP . Throughout her German ownership, the ship was registered in Hamburg . In 1896 Hamburg America Line bought Tijuca and renamed her Valdivia , after the Chilean city of Valdivia , which had a German emigré community . In 1908 Peter R Hinsch of Hamburg bought Valdivia and renamed her Tom G Corpi . In 1909 the Société Générale de Transports Maritimes à Vapeur bought Tom G Corpi and renamed her Flandre . She
784-799: Was registered in Marseille and her French code letters were JGMW. In January 1927 Flandre was scrapped at La Seyne-sur-Mer . Passenger ship While typically passenger ships are part of the merchant marine , passenger ships have also been used as troopships and often are commissioned as naval ships when used as for that purpose. Passenger Ship Types: Passenger ships include ferries , which are vessels for day to day or overnight short-sea trips moving passengers and vehicles (whether road or rail); ocean liners , which typically are passenger or passenger-cargo vessels transporting passengers and often cargo on longer line voyages; and cruise ships , which often transport passengers on round-trips, in which
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