Since the earliest commercial cruises offered in the 1840s, cruise ships have changed beyond recognition and evolved into one of the world's most sophisticated, specialised, complex, and expensive types of vessel. This astonishing development is the subject of this book. While the origins of the story can be traced back in part to the nineteenth century, the author takes up the story in detail with the large, modern, purpose-built cruise ships of the 1930s. The prototypes for a mass-market clientele emerged in the German KdF ships Wilhelm Gustloff and Robert Ley. At the other end of the scale, the exquisite 1927 Norwegian-built cruise yacht Stella Polaris represents the prototype of a smaller vessel offering the ultimate in luxury. In the post-war years both ends of the industry have expanded dramatically, and the myriad of ships which have been built, and are being built, are described in detail. Philip Dawson developed an interest in merchant and passenger ships in early childhood. He started writing on shipping and ship design in the early 1980s. He is author of British Superliners of the Sixties: A Design Appreciation of Oriana, Canberra and QE2 and the highly successful tribute to the P&O cruise liner Canberra: In the Wake of a Legend. Philip Dawson lives in Canada.