Cruiseferry
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.
![](../I/Pride_of_Bilbao.jpg.webp)
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
Australia
Canada
Croatia
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
Eckerö Line
Silja Line (operated by
Tallink)
(
) Viking Line
Finnlines
Wasa Line
Greece
Mexico
Norway
Poland
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
Japan
Gallery
- Pont-Aven, Brittany Ferries' flagship.
- M/S Silja Europa, the largest cruiseferry in the world 1993–2001.
- M/S Cinderella departing Helsinki.
- M/S Color Fantasy, the largest cruiseferry in the world 2004–2007.
- MS Cruise Roma in Civitavecchia, Italy.
- MS Galaxy in Helsinki West Harbour.
- MV Cap Finistère of Brittany Ferries sailing from Portsmouth International Port, UK for Bilbao, Spain.