INTRODUCTION The origins of the cruise industry can be traced back to 1818 when Black Ball Line began transporting its customers between America and Europe, taking note of the comfort of its passengers . (Boyd, n.d.) The introduction of air travel as a cheaper transportation alternative forced ocean liners, which transported people to destinations in comfort, to innovate in a new product for survival. (Boyd, n.d.) Ocean liners eventually gradually came to an end as air transportation improved and had evolved into modern cruise ships (Rodrigue and Notteboom, n.d.) that positioned themselves as a destination, instead of a transportation alternative. (Royal Caribbean International, 2013) According to Cruise Market Watch (nd) the revenues generated by cruise tourism are estimated at $36.2 billion with approximately 20.9 million passengers transported in 2013. This shows that the cruise industry is without doubtless a profitable industry with a pool of like-minded tourists, where cruise lines are the one-stop shop offering a complete holiday package. DEFINITION/CHARACTERISTIC Cruise tourism is a niche tourism and constitutes a small part of the global tourism industry, according to Dowling (2006). By cruise we mean a journey by sea to take a holiday and not for transport or movement of goods reasons. (Mancini, 2004) A vacation undertaken through cruising would allow tourists to relax, enjoy the floating paradise of restaurants, casino, swimming pool, indoor gym and other facilities on the cruise ship. The cruise ship in this case would be the holiday destination, since tourists would spend all their time on board, except when the ship reaches the port and optional activities can be carried out in the port. Although cruises between... . ... middle of paper ...... from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/27/titanic-ii-cruise-ship-lifeboats-blue-star-line_n_2771356.htmlKlein, R., A. (2001). Death by Chocolate: what you need to know before going on a cruise. St John's, Canada: Breakwater Books.Newman, A. (2013, August 1). Major cruise lines publish data on crime on board. CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/big-cruise-lines-post-onboard-crime-data/Klein, R., A. (2008). Paradise lost at sea: rethinking the cruise holiday. Manitoba, Canada: FernwoodBrown, G.S. (2013, March 8). Royal Caribbean cruisers sick with apparent norovirus. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/royal-caribbean-passengers-sick-apparent-norovirus/story?id=18687875Klein, R., A. (2002). Cruise ship blues. British Columbia, Canada: New SocietyMarine Bio (n.d.). Ocean pollution. Retrieved from http://marinebio.org/oceans/ocean-dumping.asp