cruise ships

Jim , it is to do with stability, the distribution of weight and centre of gravity.
Basically the weight of engines etc down below plus the bunkers down below and fresh water tanks and stores, ballast etc , far outwiegh the decks above. that keeps it upright.
The steel plates of the hull are far thicker than the steel or aluminium of the superstructure. so all that keeps the centre of gravity lower.
that is the simple explanation. Ship Stability is a complex subject but basically that is what it is.
Cheers
Brian.

i think my post has been misunderstood, am not saying it should be built as titanic was, quite plainly no steerage passengers, i was referring to the grace and beauty of such ships, would not have balcony cabins, but all the modern features of the new cruise liners could be incorporated, things such as rock climbing to my mind are not really shipboard activities, especially for elderly passengers, saga catered for the more mature of us and were successful, my point was to design a ship of graceful proportions , lets face it a 4 funnel ship at sea was an imposing sight, retro is becoming more popular, there is no reason why internally it could equal a modern block of flats. just my thoughts. :th_thth5952deef:

I have noticed that modern technology has invaded even the simplest of things Remember, as I am sure we all do, those days when we got the call to speak with HUEY. As you may recall this was always conducted on the big white telephone, very often late at night and with gusto in many cases. There was of course the obligatory serving of diced carrots for which HUEY had a ravenous appetite.
Well I can now tell you Huey has joined the modern age. He now has portable telephones cunning disguised as paper bags. I noticed many stratigicaly placed on companionways on the ship, and I observed a number of bloods makeing calls to him. though things may have changed a little as the calls now appear to only be mad in rough weather. Something to do with the INTERWET maybe?

---------- Post added at 09:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 AM ----------

On another note an argument has been going on here on radio as to what is the difference between a ship and a boat. My understanding, a ship has personnel, a boat does not. However one radio personality tells it that the dictionary says a boat is any vessel with oars, where as a ship is any vessel other than a submarine which he claims is only a boat.
What is the correct definition as I consider this guy to be a bit of a Richard Cranium at the best of times.

John, it used to be a ship was a 3 or 4 masted vessel square rigged on all. Somewhere over the years this has disappeared as many other other meanings of years ago. I cant remember the Oxford Dictionary ever advising people of this change of description of this and other words. Cheers John Sabourn

The Collins dictionary classes a ship as " a vessel propelled by engines or sails for navigating on the water, especially a large vessel that cannot be carried aboard another, as distinguished from a boat."

I was always taught a ship can carry a boat but a boat can never carry a ship.

The Titanic was not a cruise ship , she basically was closer to what is nowadays a ferry.Without a doubt she was beautifull to look at but poorly disigned and built on the cheap
I believe a boat is a vessel that is not competely decked, whilst a ship is a sailing vessel square rigged on all masts. Outdated definitions perhaps

HiAll.
The Titanic despite the tradegy that befell her was a lovely looking ship, and possibly if she had not struck that particular iceberg would have been sailing for years. I always thought a boat was something that had to be propeld by mans muscle; whereas a ship was propeld by wind or engine power. I don't want to jump the gun but something propeld the Italian Captain overboard. I know what the rest of the officers are doing right now :smashPC: :smashPC:
Cheers Des

in the days of sail to be classified as a ship it had to have 3 or more masts all square rigged, a brig had only two masts but was square rigged on both. :th_thth5952deef:

Try a study of this edifying revelation. Big Brother definitely watching!
http//www.navicondynamics.com/media/screen%20dumps/GroundingCostaConcordia.wmv
(If I entered it incorrectly, Vernon has copy!)