Carnival
'Carnival Cruise Lines' (NYSE: CCL) is a cruise line operating a large number of cruise ships. It originally was an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison. It is now a branded division within Carnival Corporation & plc, a publicly traded company with Micky Arison as the Chairman. Carnival Corporation & plc owns a number of different cruise lines and has become the largest corporation in the cruise industry. Carnival and its affiliates Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises and the Yachts of Seabourn; are branded by the company as the ''World's Leading Cruise Lines''.
Carnival was a pioneer in the concept of cheaper and shorter cruises. Its ships are known for their Las Vegas-style decor and entertainment. The line calls its ships ''The Fun Ships'' and there is a wide range of activities offered on board. Its trademark is the smoke stack, or funnel, which is red, white and blue and shaped like a whale's tail. The mascot for Carnival is "Fun Ship Freddy", a character in the shape of Carnival's distinctive funnel.
In 1996 the ''Carnival Destiny'' of 101,000 gross tons became the largest passenger ship in the world at the time. As of 2007, the latest and largest ship in the Carnival Fleet is the Carnival Freedom, a Conquest Class ship and Carnival's second ship to be based in Europe. The company announced three new ships in early 2007: the Carnival Splendor, to debut July 13, 2008, the Carnival Dream, set to debut in October 2009, and the Carnival Magic, set to debut in June 2011.
Celebrity
'Celebrity Cruises' is a cruise line founded in 1989 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997 Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity and the Royal Caribbean International line. It's signature "X" on the funnel is Greek for the letter C meaning Chandris. Common features onboard are aft-glass dining rooms, formal foyer areas, alternative restaurants, balcony and suite staterooms, large pools and lounging areas, signature bars and lounges, libraries, elegant spas and gyms, as well as relaxing areas.
Costa
'''Costa Croc''iere S.p.A.' is it Italian a leading cruise line in Europe. Costa Cruises boasts 12 ships. Its new flagship, Costa Concordia, started service in 2006 and has a capacity of 3700 passengers (double occupancy).
It has more than fifty years of tradition in Italian passenger navigation. The brands AIDA Cruises and Costa Crociere belong to Costa Crociere S.p.A. All ships fly the Italian flag and operate in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, and South America.
The company started as the Costa Line in 1924, but operated only freighters until 1947. The company was also known as Linea C during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally primarily providing passenger service between Italy and South America, the company later converted its fleet to full time cruising.
Costa Cruises is part of Carnival Corporation & plc, a world leader in the cruise industry. Costa is part of the "World's Leading Cruise Lines", Carnival's brand for its subsidiaries, which also include Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, Princess Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines
Crystal
'Crystal Cruise Lines', most commonly seen as 'Crystal Cruises', is a luxury cruise ship line founded in 1988 and notable for its two medium-sized, high-end ships. The line is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the large Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha.
The Crystal passenger mix is about 85% North American, with about half of those from California.
Crystal ships have been routinely voted as the best cruise ships by the readers of ''Conde Nast Traveler'' and other magazines; and guidebooks usually score the three ships among the top 20 of all cruise ships afloat.
Cunard
'Cunard Line', formerly 'Cunard White Star Line', is a British cruise line, operator of the ocean liners RMS ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') and RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (''QM2''), and cruise ship MS Queen Victoria (''QV'').
Cunard Line's present-day headquarters is located in Santa Clarita, California, USA, in the same building as Princess Cruises head office.
Disney
'Disney Cruise Line' is owned by The Walt Disney Company and headquartered in Celebration, Florida. The business is run by President Tom McAlpin as part of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division.
It operates two cruise ships, the ''Disney Magic'' and the ''Disney Wonder'', along with Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney's ships.
The ''Disney Magic'' began operation July 30, 1998. The ''Disney Wonder'' began operation August 15, 1999. The ''Disney Magic'' and ''Disney Wonder'' have 875 and 874 staterooms respectively. The ships are virtually identical in their design, with a few variations in restaurants and entertainment venues. Both contain areas designed exclusively for various age groups, including toddlers, young children, teens, and adults.
They are the first in the industry to be designed and built from the keel up as family cruise liners, with the goal of accommodating parents and children. In October 2006, additional family amenities were added to the ''Disney Wonder'' including features specifically geared toward toddlers, making the ship even more suitable for families with young children.
Disney Cruise Line was created in 1995 when the company commissioned its two ships at Fincantieri in Italy, ending an arrangement with Premier Cruises for the maritime segment of its vacation packages.
In February, 2007, Disney Cruise Line announced plans to build two new ocean ships. The ships are approximately 50% larger than the Magic and Wonder, and are scheduled to launch in 2011 and 2012. The company signed a letter of intent to negotiate a contract to build the 122,000-ton new cruise ship with Meyer Werft shipyard, based in Papenburg, Germany.
Disney Cruise Line offers three-, four- and seven-night cruises to various destinations in the Caribbean; a daytime stop at Castaway Cay is included in all itineraries. Cruises depart from Disney's Art Deco-themed terminal in Port Canaveral, Florida. Some "land and sea" packages include a stay at Walt Disney World Resort as well as transportation to the pier 50 miles away. See also the section below titled "Special Itineraries".
Holland America
Holland America was founded in 1873 as the Dutch-America Steamship Company, a shipping and Passenger line. Because it was headquartered in Rotterdam and provided service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line (HAL).
Within 25 years, HAL owned a fleet of six cargo and passenger ships, and operated between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies via the newly constructed Suez Canal. The line was a principal carrier of immigrants from Europe to the United States until well after the turn of the century, carrying 850,000 to new lives in the New World.
Though transportation and shipping were the primary sources of revenue, in 1895 the company offered its first vacation cruise, its second leisure cruise, from New York to the Holy Land, was in 1910. In 1971, HAL suspended its transatlantic passenger trade and, in 1973, the company sold its cargo shipping division.
In 1989, HAL became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corp., the largest cruise company in the world. Today, the premium cruise leader operates 13 ships to seven continents and carries nearly 700,000 cruise passengers a year.
Norwegian
'Norwegian America Line' (''Den Norske Amerikalinje''), was a cruise ship line, originally an operator of passenger and cargo ships.
Founded in 1910, the company ran regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and later to East Africa as well.
The establishment of the Norwegian America Line might be perceived as the statement of "maritime independence", following the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905.
Primarily due to competition from air travel, transatlantic passenger voyages were discontinued in 1971.
Princess
''Princess Cruises''' is an American cruise line, based out of Santa Clarita, California, that operates cruise ships also shares the same building with Cunard Line headquarters. It is one of the many cruise lines operated by the Carnival Corporation. The company was made famous by ''The Love Boat'' TV series, in which two of its ships, the ''Island Princess'' and ''Pacific Princess'' were featured.
Royal
'Royal Caribbean International' ( ) is a Norwegian-American cruise ship company based in Miami, Florida. It is a brand of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., with 21 ships in service and one more under construction. All the ships have names ending in "of the Seas." Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. also operates Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, Azamara Cruises and has a stake in Island Cruises.
