Travel is essential for business. While plenty of local shops and freelancers do their work within a limited region, large businesses and corporations rely on reliable air and sea travel methods to deliver their products to an international audience. Not all ocean transport is built the same, however, and these minor differences are very apparent for worldwide marine spares. Whether it’s delivering lawn and garden equipment parts or food, marine services are a necessary part of everyday life. When it comes to worldwide marine spares and cruise vessel parts, learning the difference will go a long way in keeping your business afloat. Below is a comprehensive list as to the function of ships, cruises and ocean liners in relation to stateside and international business and travel ventures.
Ships
Let’s start off with the basics. The difference between a ship and a boat is primarily size, cargo and passenger capacity. While boats can be used for small businesses and independent workers alike, ships are a must for large goods ventures. Related tourism has latched onto the unique qualities of a sea voyage and added them as a unique feature to traditional pleasure voyages. Ships are designed to be accessible and diverse for many purposes, however, and both passengers and crew on ships can expect a central galley dedicated to quality food and services throughout each trip. Cruises have garnered a reputation for comfort and class over the past few decades, though this also has seen a few changes.
Cruises
Contrary to popular belief, transportation is not the prime purpose of a cruise. The idea to appeal to tourists is a fairly modern one and done out of economic necessity, sacrificing seaworthiness in the process. Cruise ships generally operate on routes that return passengers to their originating port, usually in specified regions of each continent. Nonetheless, cruises remain a popular tourist destination for people who want to travel in style while still enjoying the great outdoors. The world’s largest cruise ships, even now, are Royal Caribbean International’s ‘Oasis of the Seas’ as well as its sister ship ‘Allure of the Seas’. Cruise ships generally stock up at their home ports and create special arrangements with designated suppliers in the area — both passenger and crew on a single cruise ship can consume an average of 20,000 pounds of beef in a single week.
Liners
Over time the line between traditional ocean liners and cruise ships have blurred, from reasons ranging from respect to deployment to differences in construction. Some former ocean liners have even been converted into cruise ships, such as the ‘Marco Polo’ and ‘Mona Lisa’. As of 2010, the only continuing transatlantic ocean liner in operation is the ‘Queen Mary 2 of the Cunard Fleet’. While ocean liners are rather luxurious as a whole, they have characteristics that make them unsuitable for cruising — high fuel consumption and enclosed weatherproof decks, for example, make them inappropriate for tropical weather patterns. Ocean liner cabins are often designed with capacity rather than comfort in mind.
Worldwide Marine Spares
Ships are a more general term for boats concerned with large cargo or passenger capacity, while cruises operate on specific routes and liners achieve a similar function. Choosing the right ocean transportation method is essential to ensuring your livelihood maintains a solid reputation for quality. Offshore support vessel companies work around the clock to provide proper packaging equipment and parts for goods of all shapes and sizes. Consider this when searching for dependable, state-of-the-art worldwide marine spares and vessels.
