While the differences between cargo ships and cruise ships may seem obvious, they go far beyond their differing primary functions of transporting goods versus providing luxury travel experiences.
Although they may be similar in physical scale, these vessels have very different designs, onboard amenities, and safety features. Plus, the challenges they face at sea differ drastically. Read this guide to see what sets these two types of mega-ships apart.
In This Article:
Purpose and Function
One of the most apparent differences between the two types of vessels is that they were designed for very different purposes. Where cruise ships are a type of luxury passenger ship or ocean liner that ferries passengers in comfort, a cargo ship’s primary function is to transport goods and materials from one destination to another.
For a more detailed breakdown of how the two types of vessels differ in purpose and function, let’s look at each individually.
Cargo Ships
Cargo ships, often referred to as freighters or container ships, are large-scale ships that transport manufactured goods, raw materials, and even fuels across waterways. Given their essential role in transporting materials worldwide, they are considered the real backbone of global trade.
Their primary purpose is relatively simple: to transport large volumes of goods and raw materials across the world’s oceans and seas. Depending on the demands of a specific assignment, cargo ships can handle a near-limitless variety of items.
Where container ships tend to transport manufactured goods in standardized metal containers, bulk carriers move large quantities of raw materials like grains, coal, timber, chemicals, plastics, and metal ores.
There are also cargo ships known as tankers designed to carry liquid cargo, like refined and crude oil, liquid chemicals, and liquefied natural gas, which is used as fuel by some modern cruise ships, like the Icon of the Seas.
Like transport trucks on the world’s highways, most cargo ships operate on rigid schedules. By transporting goods quickly and efficiently around the globe, they are a critical component of the international supply chain system. Their schedules are meticulously planned, and each cargo ship’s crew must be trained to handle challenges.
Not only are the ships themselves designed for durability and efficiency, but everything must be coordinated with the ports they depart from and arrive at to optimize the loading and unloading of their cargo.
Cruise Ships
In contrast to cargo ships, cruise ships serve a far less utilitarian purpose. This is because their main focus is the leisure and tourism industry, offering their paying guests an immersive vacation experience at sea.
Instead of transporting goods as quickly and efficiently as possible, they are leisure vessels that carry passengers, sometimes in the thousands, in a way that delivers comfort, relaxation, entertainment, and indulgence.
In a way, a cruise ship should almost provide a similar experience as a land-based resort, but it has the advantage of offering its guests ever-changing views and the opportunity to visit multiple locations during port-of-call visits.
Basically, passengers book travel on modern cruise ships in order to explore exciting destinations and enjoy onboard amenities, like restaurants, theaters, casinos, gyms, spas, swimming pools, and other venues that cater to leisure activities.
To accomplish their dual purpose of combining scenic travel with a luxury onboard experience, cruise itineraries are planned with scenic routes that allow guests to visit multiple locations. The ships themselves are outfitted with a variety of luxurious passenger accommodations and an incredible array of entertainment amenities and dining establishments.
As for the crew, the onboard experience is far more simplistic. With shared cabins that feature bunk beds, break areas with TVs and lounging space, plus a dedicated area, it certainly feels more like work than pleasure.
With that said, crew members can now access Wi-Fi on most ships and enjoy some of the amenities, like the gyms and pools when they are not working, so the experience tends to be far more enjoyable than it is for cargo ship crews.
Design and Structure
To fulfill their differing functions, the two types of ships need to have different designs. To make things easy, let’s look at the two separately, starting with cargo ships.
Cargo Ship Designs
Since cargo ships need to be engineered for utility and durability, they tend to have a far more boxy profile than cruise ships.
With extremely wide hulls and a flat top deck, they are designed to maximize storage space while maintaining their stability while carrying extremely heavy loads. This immense width also helps them secure their cargo as they traverse through heavy seas and high waves.
To give them the flexibility to traverse through some of the world’s roughest waters and even remain safe in the event of a storm, their thick steel reinforced hulls are incredibly strong.
Cargo ships are also designed with a bulbous bow, which is necessary to reduce water resistance, given their wide profile. Doing so allows their propulsion system to work more efficiently, helping to reduce fuel consumption by as much as 15% to 20%.
The navigation bridge is elevated and often located at the stern of the ship to guarantee visibility for the ship’s navigation and communications crew.
This placement also helps maximize space for the cargo and ensure visibility for the crew manning the ship’s controls and navigation equipment. Positioning the bridge towards the back of the ship also provides the crew with a good view of the cargo being stored on the deck.
Cargo ship design can also vary drastically in terms of size, with cargo ships ranging from small coastal ships and vessels designed to navigate small seas to mega ships, often classed as ultra-large container ships (ULCS), like the world’s largest, the MSC Irina.
With MSC Irina having a gross tonnage of 236,184 GT and the world’s largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, having a gross tonnage of 248,663 GT, you can see they’re actually not too far apart when you talk about the giants of either type of ship.
Most cargo ships are constructed in Asia, with China, Korea, and Japan alone being responsible for over 90% of the world’s ships. While the United States and the United Kingdom used to make the vast majority of cargo ships in their shipyards, this changed in the 1970s, with the two countries now making less than 8% between them.
Regardless of size, a cargo ship’s design prioritizes space efficiency and reduces operational costs through fuel efficiency. Typically, they travel at a relatively slow speed of around 15 to 25 knots, which helps them find a balance between stability, fuel efficiency, and meeting reasonable delivery deadlines for their goods.
Cruise Ship Designs
Since cruise ships must prioritize passenger comfort and safety, they have a very different design from typical cargo ships. For starters, they feature multi-deck profiles with plenty of open areas, window and balcony-lined outer walls, sun decks, and open-air amenities like water parks and pools.
Modern cruise ships are built with sleek, hydrodynamic hulls that reduce drag to provide passengers with a comfortable experience and complete their itineraries in a timely manner. This narrowing profile allows them to fit all of the passenger accommodations and amenities while also enabling efficient and stable voyages.
To help improve passenger comfort and minimize the noticeable effects of roll, the side to side motion caused as ships navigate the water, cruise ships tend to have propulsion systems that can sustain a standard speed of 21 to 23 knots. As well as additional features, like active stabilizers.
While the exact size and layout of a cruise ship will depend on the demands of the destinations it will travel to, the desired passenger capacity, and the specific cruise line’s preferences for amenities, they tend to have a standard profile, with the bridge located at the front of the ship.
The amenities that a cruise ship will be outfitted with are usually decided early in the design phase, as fitting all of the accommodations, expansive public areas, and luxury features, like roller coasters and restaurants, takes significant planning.
Since cruise ships have so many variations in design, they can weigh anywhere from a few hundred gross tons, such as the Celebrity Xploration, to nearly 250,000 gross tons, like the world’s largest cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas.
The Onboard Experience
As you can probably imagine, the onboard experience differs substantially between cargo and cruise ships. While one type of vessel can carry thousands of paying passengers, it must prioritize the onboard experience above all else; the other only has to consider a limited crew who are there to do a job. Here’s a basic overview of the onboard experience for either type of vessel.
Onboard Experience for Cargo Ship Crews
Life aboard a cargo ship is unglamorous for the crew, as the ships themselves are extremely utilitarian and purpose-driven. That said, crew accommodations and shared spaces tend to be reasonable, especially for long-haul cargo ships, which can be at sea for up to 50 days at a time.
The average crew size on a cargo ship is 20 to 30 people, although the smaller vessels can have less than ten crew members.
When crew members aren’t working, they can spend time in their private or shared cabins, which tend to be located beneath the bridge, or in the galley or mess room, which is a shared space.
Larger cargo ships also have laundry rooms, a hospital room, and even a day room, which could feature gym equipment, movie theater-like viewing areas, and other things that help pass the time, like ping pong and foosball tables.
With that said, dining rooms and recreation areas are minimal, with only a small section of the ship dedicated to crew comforts. Life on a cargo ship can be repetitive and somewhat isolating, which is why most crew members tend to work split shifts, where they will take time off between voyages.
Still, conditions on cargo ships are improving, with satellite internet connections allowing crew members to stay connected to loved ones by accessing Wi-Fi in shared spaces.
The majority of the onboard experience revolves around work, with the crew meeting the demands of keeping a major shipping vessel on schedule.
Cruise Ship Passenger Onboard Experience
In stark contrast, those traveling on a cruise ship tend to enjoy a far more comfortable and luxurious onboard experience. Like visiting a high-end resort, passengers can enjoy a wide range of entertainment venues, from spas and casinos to concert venues and restaurants.
While each cruise ship is different, most offer a diverse range of entertainment and dining options designed to keep passengers entertained and relaxed throughout the journey.
Regarding accommodations, passenger quarters can range from modest cabins to opulent penthouse-style suites that feature balconies, wraparound views, hot tubs, and more.
Most cruise lines also pack their daily schedules with fun activities, like live performances, group cooking classes, co-ed sports, and more. Plus, passengers can explore the ship and enjoy amenities and dining venues at their leisure. This helps to create an immersive environment for all guests, which can be personalized to the exact tastes of the individual.
Safety Features
While the two types of ships face different challenges, both are designed to be incredibly safe for everyone and everything being transported. Let’s examine the different safety features each type of ship uses to protect itself from potential dangers.
Cargo Ship Safety Features
Safety is a priority for all vessels, but cargo ships face unique challenges due to their immense weight, the cost of the ships, and the high value of goods they carry.
Since they must be capable of traveling around the world, they must be constructed to withstand exposure to rough seas, potential collisions with ice and other objects, and, in some regions, even piracy and hijacking attempts.
To ensure stability in rough seas, cargo ships are designed to be wide, which stops them from being overly top-heavy and rolling dangerously in high winds and waves. Reinforced hulls also prevent collision-related capsizing events.
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Modern cargo ships are also outfitted with advanced navigation and communication technology, including radar, GPS, satellite communications systems, and automatic identification systems (AIS).
For cargo ships that are required to travel through dangerous regions, security teams that are given anti-piracy training, barbed wire, and even weaponry keep the crew and cargo safe.
Cargo ships also have lifeboats and other life-preserving features to ensure the crew can evacuate safely in an emergency. An average cargo ship will carry two lifeboats on the side of the ship, as well as additional life rafts within the vessel. More inflatable life rafts can be added for journeys that require a larger crew.
All crew are also given standard training, which must be updated regularly with various drills and courses.
Cruise Ship Safety Features
Since it is essential to the entire cruise industry that cruise travel be perceived as being incredibly safe, cruise ships follow strict safety protocols, which can be mandated by external bodies as well as the cruise line itself.
Like cargo ships, modern cruise ships are also equipped with enough quick-deploy lifeboats for everyone on the ship to evacuate safely in an emergency. Each passenger is also required to participate in muster drills, where they are taught evacuation routes and procedures, as well as the location of life jackets, lifeboats, and more.
Life rafts and lifeboats need to be adequate for the number of passengers and crew members traveling on the ship. Naturally, this will vary according to the size of a cruise ship and its capacity, but as an example, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class ships, like Oasis of the Seas, have 18 lifeboats that can carry 370 people, along with over 100 inflatable life rafts, which can be deployed when necessary.
Other safety features include onboard medical facilities, which feature full-time doctors and other medical professionals, extensive fire detection and suppression systems throughout the entire ship, and CCTV monitoring for added security and the prevention of overboard situations.
Every single member of the crew is also extensively trained to handle emergency situations. To guarantee these high safety standards, international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO), regulate the industry to ensure that every cruise line and cruise ship adheres to strict passenger and crew safety protocols.
Challenges
While all large-scale vessels that navigate the world’s oceans and seas face similar challenges, cruise ships and cargo ships face their own unique sets of obstacles. Here’s a basic breakdown.
Cargo Ship Challenges
As mentioned earlier, piracy is a unique and serious concern for cargo ships voyaging through troubled regions, like the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, South China Sea, Gulf of Oman, and more. This requires cargo shipping companies to take unique preventative measures to keep their cargo and crew safe.
Severe weather conditions can also present significant risks, with storms and rough seas potentially endangering the crew and unsecured cargo and delaying schedules, which can impact a voyage’s profitability. This is why cargo shipping companies invest so heavily in the latest weather detection and communications systems.
In addition, cargo ships can face unique challenges when they arrive at crowded ports. From navigating local customs procedures to arriving on time to avoid delayed unloading and loading procedures, the entire industry needs to function like clockwork to remain viable.
Cruise Ship Challenges
For cruise ships, ensuring that thousands of guests are satisfied while also remaining safe and comfortable is incredibly challenging. Even the basic logistics of providing that many passengers with enough food and other perishables are incredibly challenging, especially when you also consider the need to balance out less glamorous concerns, like waste disposal and carrying enough fuel.
Just as an example of the logistical complexities, even a small cruise ship, like the Viking Orion, which only carries 930 passengers, goes through 5,000 eggs and 4,000 cups of coffee per day! For larger ships, with over 6,000 passengers, each needing three meals per day, the food and drink supplies are enormous. Roughly 30,000 meals are made per day just on Symphony of the Seas.
In addition, complex itineraries that involve visiting numerous ports in different countries require exact timing and careful planning. Essentially, the cruise ship’s crew has to ensure that all passengers enjoy a comfortable and memorable vacation while also ensuring that they get where they need to be on time and safely.
Recently, stricter environmental regulations have posed unique challenges to the industry, where cruise lines must constantly innovate to minimize waste, emissions, and other issues that could impact the carbon footprint an enormous cruise ship could generate.
Given that a single daily cruise trip averages between 700 and 1,000 pounds worth of carbon emissions, the industry is under immense scrutiny, forcing it to innovate and develop new eco-friendly technologies.
Plus, having thousands of people in one self-contained space also has health consequences, which we saw play out publicly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cruising on a Cargo Ship
While taking a cruise on a cargo ship might sound far-fetched, there has been a recent increase in the popularity of this niche form of travel. To access untapped revenue streams, certain cargo ships have begun adding more elaborate passenger quarters and amenities to attract leisure passengers hoping to enjoy a scaled-down version of a cruise experience on a tighter budget.
Sometimes called “freighter travel” or “cargo ship voyaging,” it is a unique and budget-friendly way to explore the world. Guests are usually given small and very basic cabins, which are sometimes shared, and meals are taken in a single mess hall that is shared with the ship’s crew.
Some ships that have begun allowing this even have basic passenger facilities, like rec rooms and sun decks, but this varies from ship to ship.
Not only does this form of cruising appeal to those looking to travel the world’s waterways more affordable but it is also seen as an eco-friendly alternative to a standard cruise, as the ships are already traveling along those same routes.
If you are interested in this type of travel, just be aware that you will be experiencing a more simplified form of travel, where simplicity and utility are the themes rather than luxury and entertainment. Still, they can offer a unique and affordable way to see the world.
Conclusion
Cargo ships and cruise ships may serve very different purposes and be designed differently, but they are both essential components of the global maritime world.
Read Also: Seawise Giant vs Titanic – Comparing the Maritime Titans
Where cargo ships are dedicated to transporting goods in a stable and efficient way, cruise ships provide leisure passengers with more of a vacation-style experience. Each type of ship has grown to meet the unique demands of its own industry, reflecting how far passenger and transport ships have come since the days of their humble beginnings.
