Even taking into account the extraordinarily prosperous economic climate of the late twentieth century, the number of people who now choose a cruise ship vacation is phenomenal. The number of passengers leaving from North American ports leaped from 330,000 in 1965 to nearly 7 million at the turn of the century, placing the cruise ship industry in the enviable position of enjoying burgeoning expansion in their business.This book gives the reader a sense of the scope of the cruise ship industry, tracing the backgrounds of various cruise lines and providing information about the time, money, and effort that go into the myriad details encountered between building plan and cruising itinerary. From shipbuilders to cruise operators and the peripheral businesses of airlines, hotels, and land-based transportation and tour companies, cruise ships have spawned a far-reaching network that affects millions of passengers and involves billions of dollars.As an added bonus, a wealth of information is presented in a detailed appendix that gives readers an instant history of the ships, including notes on specifications, builders, registry, and passenger capacity.