The worldwide cruise industry is booming--alone, there are some 56 new
cruise ships being built or planned (2016). Cruise ships visit ports
around the world. And the ships themselves are amenity-filled, moving
resorts. But when did it all begin? This book looks at the evolution of
cruising, from the mid-nineteenth century. It chronicles the growth of
long, luxury cruising in the Twenties and then, in the Depression-era
Thirties, cruising reaches the general public as a form of escape. By
the late Sixties, purposeful cruise ships were being built and these
spawned today's fleet, including the largest passenger ships ever built.