CRUISE INDUSTRY SUCCESSES SINCE 1839

Major Cruise ship companies are financially sound, some publicly traded with decades of experience. Perhaps the best way to demonstrate the growth and financial power of the cruiseline industry is a synopsis of the growth of two industry giants.

In 1839 Samuel Cunard establishes the British and North American Steam Packet Company – known as the Cunard Line – principally to carry the Royal Mail to Canada and the U.S. Since that time, Cunard Line has operated the most famous ocean liners in the world. Cunard vessels have a classic British heritage and include the legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2. Queen Victoria joins the fleet in 2007.

By  2007, Carnival Cruise Lines, the largest and most successful cruise line in the world, owns Cunard, and carried more passengers than any other.

"Today’s Carnival" is a vastly different company than the one started from humble beginnings more than three decades ago. Carnival was launched with a converted transatlantic ocean liner and a dream of entrepreneur Ted Arison, a pioneer in the modern-day cruise industry who set out to realize his vision of making a vacation experience, once reserved for the very rich, accessible to the average person. 

Carnival Cruise Lines is a proud member of the exclusive World’s Leading Cruise Lines. That  exclusive alliance also includes Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises, and The Yachts of Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest, and a commitment to quality and value, our member lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. Together,they offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world’s most desirable destinations.

A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE CRUISE INDUSTRY

1839 - Samuel Cunard establishes the British and North American Steam Packet Company – known as the Cunard Line – principally to carry the Royal Mail to Canada and the U.S.

1840 -  The 1,154-ton paddle steamer Britannia, and three near sister ships, Acadia, Caledonia and Columbia, enter service. These vessels make the Atlantic voyage in 14 days at 8.5 knots and maintain weekly departures from Liverpool.

1852 -  Cunard’s first iron-hulled, screw-driven vessel, Andes, introduced, but not used in the transatlantic service.

1854 -  Eleven Cunard ships requisitioned for the Crimean War.

1856 -  The famous Persia is built, the company’s first iron-hulled transatlantic vessel. The largest ship in the world at the time, she was 390 feet long and 3,330 gross registered tons.

1859 -  Samuel Cunard created a Baronet in recognition of the Company’s service in the Crimean War.

1862 -   China enters service – the company’s first propeller-driven ship. It is necessary for Admiralty to grant permission to use the ship to carry the Royal Mail because the contract stipulates “paddle steamers.”

1865 -  Sir Samuel Cunard dies on April 28 at the age of 78.

1881 -   Servia enters service; Cunard’s first steel vessel, the first ship in the world to have electricity, and the first vessel Cunard intended to rely solely on passenger revenue.

1893 -  The 12,950-ton Campania, the first twin-screw Cunarder, enters service.

1905 -  The first steam turbine Cunard ship, Carmania, opening a new era in sea

propulsion.

1906/07 -  The liners Lusitania and Mauretania are launched. The latter holds the coveted “Blue Riband” for the fastest Atlantic crossing for 22 years.

1912 -  On April 15 Carpathia rescues all the survivors from White Star Line’s Titanic.  

1913 -   Aquitania launched; the first Cunarder with an indoor swimming pool.

1914 -  World War I interrupts Cunard’s fleet development as Cunard vessels are called into active service. Cunard carries over one million troops and 10 million tons of cargo for the war cause. 22 ships – including Lusitania – are lost.

1917 -  The Cunard Building in Liverpool, England, is completed and serves as company headquarters until the 1960s.

1919 -  Cunard awarded the German liner, Imperator, by the British government to compensate for the loss of Lusitania. The vessel renamed Berengaria.

1920s/1930s -  The heyday of transatlantic shipping, when Cunard’s slogan “Getting there is half the fun!” becomes a household phrase.

1922 -   Laconia is deployed on the first-ever World Cruise.

1934 -  The 80,744-ton Queen Mary launched and after entering service in 1936 soon is awarded the “Blue Riband.” Queen Mary is the first merchant vessel to be launched by a member of the British Royal family: Her Majesty Queen Mary.

1938 -   Queen Elizabeth – the largest liner ever built – is launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

1939 -   Mauretania (2) launched. Cunard vessels requisitioned once more for war. The Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth carry between them over 1.5 million troops; Winston Churchill credits them with shortening World War II by at least a year.

1940s -  The Queens begin their transatlantic shuttle, carrying tens of thousands of passengers, from film stars and diplomats to businessmen and tourists.

1949 -  Cunard’s first cruise ship, Caronia, enters service. She is known as the “Green Goddess” because of the color of her hull.

1950s -  Cunard has12 liners in service, carrying one third of all passengers crossing the Atlantic.

1959 -  The first jet crosses the Atlantic. Air crossings continue to gain passengers at the expense of the great liners. It is in this year when, for the first time, more people cross the Atlantic by air than by sea.

1967 -   Queen Elizabeth 2 launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Cunard relocates its global headquarters to New York City after being based in England for more than 50 years.

1969 -  Maiden transatlantic crossing of QE2, May 1-7.

1971 -  Cunard Steamship Company taken over by Trafalgar House PLC after an

independent existence of 131 years.

1972 – Maiden voyage of Carnival’s first ship, the TSS Mardi Gras, which runs aground on sandbar outside the Port of Miami

1975 -   QE2 embarks on her first World Cruise.

1975 – Carnival purchases Empress of Britain, enters service as the TSS Carnivale

1978 – The Festivale, formerly theS.A. Vaal, undergoes $30 million refurbishment, begins service for Carnival as the largest and fastest vessel sailing from Miami to the Caribbean (the ship has since been retired from the fleet)

1982 -   QE2 requisitioned by the British government for the Falkland Islands campaign. The Queen Mother welcomes the ship home. (Cunard Countess also chartered for use in the conflict.)

1982 – Debut of the Tropicale, the first new cruise ship the cruise industry has seen in many years; ship marks the beginning of an industry-wide multi-billion-dollar shipbuilding boom (the ship has since been retired from the fleet)

1983 -  Cunard purchases top-rated Vistafjord, from Norwegian America Cruises.

1984 -  Cunard charters British Airways’ Concorde for the first time, thus combining two splendid ways to cross the Atlantic. Cunard becomes the biggest charter customer of Concorde in the world.

1984 – Carnival becomes first cruise line to advertise on network television with the premiere of new advertising campaign starring company spokesperson Kathie Lee Gifford (then Johnson)

London’s famous Harrods department store opens on board QE2.

1985 – Carnival launches 46,052-ton Holiday.

1986 -  A six-month refit and refurbishment programme on QE2, the largest such refit in the history of the British merchant marine, undertaken and successfully completed in 1987. This project converted the ship from steam to diesel electric power. HRH Diana, the Princess of Wales, boards on the ship’s return to Southampton.

In May, the Queen Mother boards QE2 to commemorate the 50 ^th anniversary of the maiden voyage of Queen Mary.

1986 – Launch of 47,262-ton Jubilee (the ship has since been retired from the fleet)

1987 – The 47,262-ton Celebration enters service

Carnival earns distinction as “Most Popular Cruise Line in the World,” carrying more passengers than any other

Carnival Cruise Lines undertakes its initial public offering on Wall Street, raising approximately $400 million to fuel future expansion; entity later becomes Carnival Corporation, a multi-line worldwide cruise conglomerate

1988 -  The Queen Mother boards QE2 for the third time… this time to celebrate the launch of Queen Elizabeth 50 years earlier.

1990 -  Cunard celebrates its 150 ^th anniversary. QE2 deployed on special “Round Britain” cruise, including her first call at Liverpool and her first return to the Clyde River since her launch. Festivities culminate in a rare Spithead Review with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Prince Philip, going on board.

1990 – Carnival introduces the 70,367-ton Fantasy – the first and namesake vessel in the highly successful “Fantasy-class” -- enters service as first new ship ever placed on three- and four-day Bahamas cruise program from Miami. Eventually, Carnival would construct eight “Fantasy-class” vessels, the most cruise ships in a single class.

1991 – Carnival launches 70,367-ton Ecstasy

1992 -  Margaret Thatcher boards QE2 to attend a ceremony held to commemorate the 10 ^th anniversary of the Falklands War.

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH Prince Edward attend an overnight gala aboard QE2 to raise money for a British charity.

1993 – Carnival introduces its third 70,367-ton SuperLiner, Sensation

1994 -   QE2 and Vistafjord take part in the ‘D’ Day Flotilla.

QE2 completes a $45 million refurbishment. Vistafjord undergoes a $15 million refit and refurbishment programme.

1994 – Carnival debut of 70,367-ton Fascination

1995 -   QE2 completes 1000 voyages. QE2 embarks on her 20 ^th World Cruise.

1995 – Carnival puts 70,367-ton Imagination into service

1996 -  The Norwegian conglomerate Kvaerner/ASA acquires Trafalgar House and assumes control of Cunard Line; this is the second major ownership change for Cunard in its 156-year history.

New $13 million integrated global marketing campaign launched that includes television and print advertising, CD-ROM capabilities and a Cunard website.

QE2 completes an $18 million refit in Southampton, the first time a UK yard had been used for 13 years.

1996 – Carnival’s launches sixth “Fantasy-class” vessel, the SuperLiner Inspiration

1997 - QE2 commences six-day (instead of five-day) Atlantic crossings allowing the ship to take the more leisurely route between Europe and America.