Photos of sail powered cruise ships; the first cruise ship; and a cat at sea

There is something graceful and attractive about a sailing ship. In addition, the notion of plowing through the waves under sail at sunset on a tropical evening has a great romantic appeal. Not surprisingly, therefore, a number of smaller cruise lines offer voyages on cruise ships that are primarily sailing ships.

Within the sailing ship category, there are a variety of ship styles ranging from very traditional ships such as Sea Cloud, first built as a yacht in 1931, to more high tech ships such as Wind Surf, which has computer operated sails. There is also a difference in the number of passengers ranging from 68 on Sea Cloud to over 300 on Wind Surf. Along the same lines, there is a difference in the number of contemporary cruise ship features, which roughly corresponds to the size of the ship.

Of course, none of the sailing cruise ships are anywhere near the size of the cruise ships operated by the major cruise lines. Accordingly, they market themselves on such things as informality and luxury. They also point out that the uniqueness of the sail experience and their off-the-beaten track itineraries.

Our new sailing ship galleries present exterior photos of six sailing cruise ships: Sea Cloud and Sea Cloud II http://www.beyondships2.com/sailing-ship-gallery-1.html; Royal Clipper and Star Clipper http://www.beyondships2.com/sailing-ship-gallery-2.html;Wind Surf and Club Med 2 http://www.beyondships2.com/sailing-ship-gallery-3.html.

We've also added two new FAQs. The first deals with the question of what is the biggest cruise ship. http://www.beyondships2.com/faq-what-is-the-largest-cruise-ship.html We answer the question and explain why it is so. We compare the size of these ships to some of the great ships of the past. There is also a chart of the top ten largest passenger ships now in service.

The second answers the question what was the first cruise ship? http://www.beyondships2.com/faq-what-was-the-first-cruise-ship.html Of course, ships have been transporting passengers since the dawn of history. But what was the first ship to be built for the purpose of taking passengers on recreational cruises? The answer is somewhat surprising.

Finally, we have added our first book review. All At Sea With Truffles was written by Sheila Collins, who is a frequent cruiser on Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. She is also the author of a popular series of humorous books about a cat named Truffles. In this volume, Truffles goes to sea on a ship that is clearly drawn from Celebrity Eclipse and Independence of the Seas (Eclipse of the Seas?). It is a witty and perceptive look at cruising and human nature. Our review is at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-book-review-truffles.html