A Look Back at the Last 70 Years of Cruising
Beccy Miller
The Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee over the weekend. We thought we would take a look at how the cruise industry has developed and grown in the last 70 years and appreciate how it's become the holiday choice we know and love today.
The 1950s
Cruising in the post-war era began to boom as the economy began to settle. In 1950, Cunard held an all-American star cruise with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth, Judy Garland and Walt Disney onboard to entertain passengers. As air travel was yet to become mainstream, it was still about ocean liners needing to be fast, rather than being luxurious, though some offered both.
In the 1950s, Cunard’s Queen Mary held the Blue Riband at the turn of the decade, which was an accolade to celebrate the fastest ship at sea. In 1952, the SS United States claimed this award with an Atlantic crossing of 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes. P&O ships were used to transport Brits seeking a new life in Australia for the sum of £10 – giving them the nickname in Australia ‘Ten Pound Poms’
The 1960s
The 60s came and saw the aviation industry kick-off and the ocean liner industry struggled with this fast mode of transport. Sea travel wasn’t needed anymore – so existing companies needed to make the journey the holiday, rather than the transportation. Modern cruising began to blossom and many of the big names in cruise were founded in the 1960s, including Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. The 60s also saw the emergence of the growing middle class and many ships ditched the three-tier class system which had dominated on board up until then.
The 1970s
More cruise lines began to pop up, like MSC in 1970 and Carnival in 1972. The TV programme Love Boat, which was set on the Princess ship, Pacific Princess, ran from 1977 to 1990 and helped accelerate the popularity of taking a cruise holiday to the mass market.
The 1980s
By the 1980s, Ocean Liner services aimed at passengers quietly disappeared, apart from Cunard, who carried on flying the flag for this iconic mode of transport. The 80s also saw the ship become the destination and what was on board for guests became as important to the destinations they sailed to. The era of the mega-ship blossomed.
The 1990s
Celebrity Cruises were formed in 1990, coming on to the scene with their first ship, Meridian and a second followed the same year, Horizon. The 90s was when Royal Caribbean decided to add ‘of the Seas’ to all their ship names – the first being Monarch of the Seas and when she was launched she was one of the largest ships in the world, carrying 2,744 passengers. Disney Cruise Line also began operating in the 90s.
The 00s and Beyond…
Cruising has exploded in the last twenty years, with more people choosing to take a cruise holiday. The ships are getting bigger and the hardware more innovative than ever before. Surf simulators, escape rooms, Broadway theatre-style shows, high ropes courses, you name it, there is probably a ship you can find it on. The dining offers more choices than you can often do in one sailing, with celebrity chefs partnering with cruise lines to offer their signature restaurants onboard. We are an industry that is still expanding and constantly innovating too, so who knows what cruisers in the next 70 years will be able to experience?
