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People have been using cruise ships for vacations since the 19th century, and while it may sound like a luxurious way of traveling the world, sometimes, it's not as idyllic as it may seem. From bedbug infestations to overflowing sewage, a cruise can be the vacation from hell.
Keen to discover more facts about cruises that will keep you firmly on dry land? Click through this gallery today.
The Prinzessin Victoria Luise was the world's first purpose-built cruise ship. She was launched in 1890 and most of her cruises were from Hoboken, New Jersey to the Caribbean.
The target market for the Prinzessin Victoria Luise was those who were rich but not rich enough to own their own leisure yachts.
In the 1930s, the largest cruise operation in existence was run by the Nazi Party to advertise its apparent care for the German middle and working classes. Once on board, they were a captive audience for indoctrination.
The television show 'The Love Boat,' which was set aboard a ship called the MS Pacific Princess, is credited for the explosion of the cruising industry in the 1980s.
Today, the Icon of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world. It weighs 248,663 gross tonnes and is 365 meters (1,1967 feet) long.
Amenities on the Icon of the Seas include a mini-golf course, rock-climbing wall, surf simulator, and seven swimming pools.
If you set sail on a cruise around the Southern Caribbean, there's a good chance you'll spot Freewinds, a cruise ship that belongs to the Church of Scientology.
Cruise ships travel at an average speed of 20 knots—that's the equivalent of 23 miles per hour or 37 kilometers per hour.
The average cruise length is seven days, but if that's not long enough, you can make yourself at home on MS The World, a private residential cruise ship home with 165 luxe apartments.
When you're relaxing on a cruise, it's easy to overindulge. The average cruiser gains a pound a day during their trip.
Crew members on board cruise ships have secret codewords they use to communicate. A "Bravo" is a fire, and a "PVI" is a public vomiting incident.
While rare, cruise ships do sink on occasion. In 2012, the Costa Concordia hit rocks off Giglio Island, partially sinking and killing 32 people.
One of the deadliest cruise ship accidents occurred in 1994 when 800 people died on the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea. Part of a bow ramp from the wreck was recovered in 2023 as part of the investigations into the sinking.
In March 2019, over 1,300 passengers were left stranded when the Viking Sky luxury cruise ship ran into engine problems off the coast of Norway.
According to a study published in the International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health, 623 deaths were reported on cruise ships between 2000 and 2019.
The study also found that for passengers, falls were the leading cause of death on cruises, followed by cardiac arrests and suicides. For crew members, suicide, murder, and falls were the most common causes of death.
It's a legal requirement for cruise ships to carry body bags and maintain a morgue. The size of the morgue depends on the size of the ship.
Toilets can overflow on cruise ships. Often, it can be due to guests attempting to flush no flushable items down the toilet.
In 2013, one Carnival cruise ship experienced complications, including overflowing toilets. One passenger reported "human waste" all over some of the ship's bathroom floors.
According to a 2022 report, the US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that a 3,000-person cruise ship produces 150,000 gallons (567,811 liters) of sewage each week, which is around 1 billion gallons (3.7 billion liters) of sewage a year across the cruise industry.
A 2016 report by NABU, a German environmental association, said European cruise ships emitted 3,500 times more sulfur dioxide than land vehicles.
In 2005, a fire broke out on the Italian cruise ship Costa Classica. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries on board.
Cruise ships feed people with food stored on board for the duration of the cruise. In 2017, nearly 200 passengers on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship contracted a gastrointestinal illness after enjoying a "bottomless brunch."
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates around 129,678 cruise-ship guests contracted a gastrointestinal illness between the years 2008 to 2014.
From 2009 to 2019, there were 212 overboard incidents. In 2023, at least ten people went overboard, and only two survived.
Since 2015, sexual assault is the most reported crime on cruise ships, with more than 450 cases reported between 2015 and 2022.
While rare, pirate attacks do happen. In 2009, pirates along the coast of Somalia attacked 214 vessels, resulting in 47 hijackings. In 2017, passengers on the Sea Princess departing from Sydney were subjected to a 10-day dusk-til-dawn blackout to avoid a pirate threat.
Bedbugs are often brought onboard through passengers' luggage. Due to the tightly spaced cabins and close quarters, an isolated incident can quickly escalate into an infestation.
With thousands of people living in close quarters, contagious illnesses can quickly spread on a cruise. In February 2020, Carnival's Diamond Princess ship became a hotbed for COVID-19, with over 700 passengers testing positive for the virus.
Sources: (Business Insider) (Britannica)
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People have been using cruise ships for vacations since the 19th century, and while it may sound like a luxurious way of traveling the world, sometimes, it's not as idyllic as it may seem. From bedbug infestations to overflowing sewage, a cruise can be the vacation from hell. Keen to discover more facts about cruises that will keep you firmly on dry land? Click through this gallery today.