Cruiseferries

A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of transportation.

Cruiseferry traffic is mainly concentrated in the seas of Northern Europe, especially the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. However, similar ships traffic across the English Channel as well as the Irish Sea, Mediterranean and even on the North Atlantic. Cruiseferries also operate from India, China and Australia.

Baltic Sea cruiseferries

In the northern Baltic Sea, two major rival companies, Viking Line and Silja Line, have for decades competed on the routes between Turku and Helsinki in Finland and Sweden's capital Stockholm. Since the 1990s Tallink has also risen as a major company in the area, culminating with acquisition of Silja Line in 2006.

List of largest cruiseferries of their time

The term "cruiseferry" did not come into use until the 1980s, although it has been retroactively applied to earlier ferries that have large cabin capabilities and public spaces in addition to their car- and passenger-carrying capacity.

List of cruiseferry operators

Åland

* Eckerö Linjen
* () Viking Line

Australia

* Spirit of Tasmania

Canada

* BC Ferries
* Marine Atlantic

Croatia

* Jadrolinija

Denmark

* DFDS Seaways

Estonia

* Tallink

Faroe Islands

* Smyril Line

Finland

* Eckerö Line
* Silja Line (operated by Tallink)
* () Viking Line
* Finnlines
* Wasa Line

France

* Brittany Ferries
* Corsica Ferries - Sardinia Ferries
* Corsica Linea

Greece

* ANEK Lines
* Blue Star Ferries
* Hellenic Seaways
* LANE Lines
* Levante Ferries
* Minoan Lines
* NEL Lines
* Superfast Ferries
* Ventouris Ferries

Ireland

* Brittany Ferries
* DFDS Seaways
* Irish Ferries
* P&O Ferries
* Stena Line

Italy

* Grandi Navi Veloci
* Grimaldi Lines
* Corsica Ferries
* Moby Lines
* Tirrenia di Navigazione

Mexico

* Baja Ferries

Norway

* Color Line
* Fjord Line

Poland

*Polferries

Spain

* Trasmediterranea
* Baleària

Sweden

* Stena Line

United Kingdom

* P&O Ferries
* NorthLink Ferries
* Condor Ferries
* Irish Ferries
* Stena Line

Gallery

Image:PontAven0419.jpg, , Brittany Ferries' flagship.
Image:Silja Europa 2005.jpg, M/S ''Silja Europa'', the largest cruiseferry in the world 1993–2001.
Image:Cinderella-vintern-2003.jpg, M/S ''Cinderella'' departing Helsinki.
Image:Bateau Mega Regina Entrant Port - L'Île-Rousse (FR2B) - 2021-09-05 - 6 (cropped).jpg, M/S ''Mega Regina'' at Ile Rousse
Image:Color Fantasy Heck.JPG, M/S ''Color Fantasy'', the largest cruiseferry in the world 2004–2007.
Image:Cruise Roma Civitavecchia.jpg, ''MS Cruise Roma'' in Civitavecchia, Italy.
Image:Casa BIA.jpg, M/S ''Danielle Casanova'' in Bastia, Corsica, France.
Image:PrideofRotterdam.png, M/S ''Pride of Rotterdam''
Image:Tallink_Galaxy.jpg, MS ''Galaxy'' in Helsinki West Harbour.
Image:Brosen_gdansk_polferries_scandinavia2.jpg, MS ''Scandinavia'' in Gdańsk, Poland.
Image:Pearl of Scandinavia.jpg, M/S ''Pearl of Scandinavia'' in Oslo, Norway
File:Cap_Finistère.jpg, MV ''Cap Finistère'' of Brittany Ferries sailing from Portsmouth International Port, UK for Bilbao, Spain.

See also

* River cruise

{{ModernMerchantShipTypes

*
Ship types