As she steamed across the Atlantic last week, the majestic white passenger liner evoked memories of such grand old ships as the Queen Mary and the Normandie. Yet this $200 million craft, built at a French shipyard during the past 21 months, is very much a space-age creation. Cantilevered from her single smokestack, 14 stories above the waterline, is a flying cocktail lounge. Inside the ship, an atrium five decks high forms a main lobby, complete with glass elevators and towering fountains. There is nothing modest about the new ship, from her name, Sovereign of the Seas, freshly painted in bright blue letters across the bow, to her size. Sovereign ranks as the largest cruise liner in the world, capable of carrying 2,690 passengers and 750 crew members. The venerable Queen Elizabeth 2, by comparison, accommodates 1,909 passengers.
The Sovereign, scheduled to arrive in the Port of Miami this week to begin service for the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, is a glittering symbol of a new Golden Age for passenger ships. In the 1950s the onset of jet travel left the * cruise industry dead in the water. But through the '80s the business has been growing at flank speed. Roughly 1.5 million North Americans took cruises in 1982; by 1987 that figure had doubled.
Cruising has developed a new identity and allure. The ocean liner, no longer just a vehicle for getting from one continent to another and eating well along the way, has evolved into a floating amusement park, health spa and classroom. The ships, and the trips, are increasingly designed to suit the young and the restless.
Even October's stock-market crash and the cloudy economic outlook have so far failed to dampen the industry's robust bookings, which reached $5 billion in 1987. One reason is that travelers no longer view cruises as an extravagant expense. Because many passenger lines are trying to lure more first-time, middle-class customers, prices have moderated in comparison with other types of vacations. Besides the traditional luxury cruises that cost a daunting $400 to $600 a day, many lines offer so-called contemporary excursions that run about $140 to $220 (including meals and activities).
Cruising's routes have changed drastically from a few decades ago. Only one ship, the QE2, still makes the regular transatlantic run from New York City to Southampton, England. Instead of connecting distant cities, many ships now embark from home ports nearer to the scenic waters in which they will cruise. Today the world's most crowded port for cruise liners is Miami, where 24 major ships glide in and out of the harbor as they pick up passengers for excursions in the busy Caribbean and points beyond. Other booming ports are Los Angeles, where ships embark for the Mexican Riviera, and Vancouver, B.C., a departure point for Alaskan summer cruises.
While North America accounts for the vast majority of the world's cruising market, business is strong in other choice spots, from the Aegean Sea to the South Pacific. Even the Soviet Union has built a fleet of 27 ships, which carry mostly West European passengers on voyages in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Baltic regions. Few Soviets are allowed to travel on the ships because the purpose of the fleet is to earn Western currency.