Travel

P&O first introduced passenger-cruising services in 1844, advertising sea tours to destinations such as Gibraltar, Malta and Athens, sailing from Southampton. The forerunner of modern cruise holidays, these voyages were the first of their kind. P O Cruises is the world's oldest cruise line. The company later introduced round trips to destinations such as Alexandria and Constantinople. It underwent a period of rapid expansion in the latter half of the 19th century, commissioning larger and more luxurious ships to serve the steadily expanding market. Notable ships of the era include SS Ravenna built in 1880, which became the first ship built with a total steel superstructure, and SS Valetta built in 1889.

Prinzessin Victoria Luise was the first purpose-built cruise ship.

The cruise of Augusta Victoria in the Mediterranean and the Near East from 22 January to 22 March 1891, with 241 passengers including Albert Ballin and wife themselves, is often stated to have been the first ever cruise. Christian Wilhelm Allers published an illustrated account of it as Backschisch.

The first vessel built exclusively for luxury cruising was Prinzessin Victoria Luise of the German Empire, designed by Albert Ballin, general manager of the Hamburg-America Line. The ship was completed in 1900.

The practice of luxury cruising made steady inroads into the more established market for transatlantic crossings. In the competition for passengers, ocean liners – Titanic being the most famous example – added luxuries such as fine dining, luxury services, and staterooms with finer appointments. In the late-19th century, Albert Ballin, director of the Hamburg-America Line, was the first to send his transatlantic ships out on long southern cruises during the worst of the North Atlantic winter seasons. Other companies followed suit. Some of them built specialized ships designed for easy transformation between summer crossings and winter cruising.

In 1897 three luxury liners, all European-owned, offered transportation between Europe and North America. In 1906 the number had increased to seven. The British Inman Line owned City of Paris, the Cunard Line had Campania and Lucania. The White Star Line owned Majestic and Teutonic. La Lorraine and La Savoie sailed for the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique.

Beginning in the late 19th century, the emphasis of the cruise ship industry gradually shifted from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. As more dedicated cruise ships were built in the coming decades, the Caribbean would become the global center of cruising.