A cruiseferry or cruise ferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax (roll-on/roll-off passenger) ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of transportation. Some operators prefer to refer to them as "cruise ships with car decks" Cruiseferries are most common in the seas of Northern Europe, especially the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. However, similar ships traffic across the English Channel as well as the Irish Sea, Mediterranean and even on the North Atlantic. Cruiseferries also operate from India, China and Australia.
Baltic Sea cruiseferries
In the northern Baltic Sea, two major rival companies, Viking Line and Silja Line, have for decades competed on the routes between Turku and Helsinki in Finland and Sweden's capital Stockholm. Since the 1990s Tallink has also risen as a major company in the area, culminating with the acquisition of Silja Line in 2006. While superficially resembling cruise ships that operate primarily in tropical climates, Baltic cruiseferries will have windows rather than balconies for cabins/suites, plus a higher hull and promenade deck with higher positioning of lifeboats (the height above water called the freeboard), a longer bow, and for additional strength they are often designed with thicker hull plating than is found on cruise ships, as well as a deeper draft for greater stability. Cruise ferries share the above attributes with ocean liners to protect against large waves and stormy weather, since cruise ferries are expected to ply the Baltic Sea year-round while cruise ships can only do so in the summer. The largest Baltic cruiseferries offer many of the amenities found on contemporary cruise ships, including a wide range of restaurants, entertainment options, and health and fitness facilities. However, on cruiseferries, many of these facilities such as the pool deck and shopping arcade are fully enclosed due to the cool Baltic climate. Cruiseferry cabins are typically smaller as voyages are only one or two nights, food is generally not included in cruise ferry fares, whereas cruise ships usually have itineraries lasting three nights or more and fares are all inclusive.
List of largest cruiseferries of their time
The term "cruiseferry" did not come into use until the 1980s, although it has been retroactively applied to earlier ferries that have large cabin capabilities and public spaces in addition to their car- and passenger-carrying capacity.
List of cruiseferry operators
Åland Eckerö Linjen () Viking Line
Australia Spirit of Tasmania
Canada BC Ferries Marine Atlantic
Croatia Jadrolinija
Denmark DFDS Seaways
Estonia Tallink
Faroe Islands Smyril Line
Finland Eckerö Line Silja Line (operated by Tallink) () Viking Line Finnlines Wasa Line () Helsinki Cruises Line
France Brittany Ferries Corsica Ferries - Sardinia Ferries Corsica Linea
Greece ANEK Lines Blue Star Ferries Hellenic Seaways LANE Lines Levante Ferries Minoan Lines NEL Lines Superfast Ferries Ventouris Ferries
Hong Kong Genting Hong Kong (defunct)
Ireland Brittany Ferries DFDS Seaways Irish Ferries P&O Ferries Stena Line
Italy Grandi Navi Veloci Grimaldi Lines Corsica Ferries Moby Lines Tirrenia di Navigazione
Japan Taiheiyō Ferry Shin Nihonkai Ferry Orange Ferry MOL Sunflower
Mexico Baja Ferries
Norway Color Line Fjord Line
Poland Polferries
Spain Trasmediterranea Baleària
Sweden Stena Line Tunisia
Tunisia ferries (COTUNAV)
United Kingdom P&O Ferries NorthLink Ferries Brittany Ferries Irish Ferries Stena Line
Gallery
See also
River cruise
References