Traveling by ship-what does it mean?

Ship is a vehicle that carries goods and people across the seas, oceans, rivers or canals. Ship and boat have been used by human since ancient time. Although most of inter-continental trips have been replaced by jet planes, there as still significant number of people who like to travel by ships especially the cruise ones. Cruise ships are similar to passenger ships in many aspects but offer more pleasure activities and round-trip itinerary which most passenger ships do not provide. So, what does it mean to travel by ship?

KM Doloronda

Longer trip duration
Because ship is slower than airplane, traveling by ship to certain destination will take longer time than by airplane. For example, for reaching Numfor island in the Geelvink bay of New Guinea, a ferry boat needs around 5 hours whereas a single propelled airplane needs only 20 minutes.
More Activities
To cater for the needs of passengers during a sea voyage from one harbor to another, operators of cruise ships have to build facilities and arrange activities that passengers can enjoy on board. Passengers will not feel bored because they can watch dolphins, sea scapes in the middle of the sea and watch latest movies or even swim and drink with other passengers.
More Goods and Passengers
The capacity of a big passenger ship or cruise ship can reach up to 5000 people or even more whereas the carrying capacity of the largest airplane is around 500 people. In other words, if we travel by ship, we will see more people on board and be able to carry more luggages. The largest cruise ships in the world such as the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas can be considered as floating towns because inside the cruise ships we can find a lot of facilities that most small towns need to serve their inhabitants such as hospitals, recreational areas (cinemas, gaming, swimming pools, theatres, etc.), sport and fitness centers, shopping centers, restaurants and even libraries.
More Wastes and Threats to Marine Environment
Ships that carry large number of passengers will definitely produce more wastes both organic and inorganic. They have to be properly handled to prevent them from harming the environment especially the coral reefs that are homes to large number of marine animals. In addition to installing wastes processing machines on board cruise and passenger ships, the passengers have to be informed to not not throwing wastes into the sea. They must dispose their wastes in garbage bins that have been provided on every deck of the ships.
Safety of Life At Sea
I already said that a ship can carry thousands of people across deep sea. The weather at sea is always changing. Today's ship has been equipped with radars, GPS devices and telecommunication equipment that will help him traveling at sea to its desired destination. Big waves often cause a cruise ship to roll on tranverse direction. This makes a lot of people suffer from sea sick. To handle people with this temporary sickness, ship operator hire doctors or health works who will work in the clinic helping passengers dealing with their health problems.
Faster Ship with Better Stability
Naval architects now have been able to design ships and boats that can travel faster across the seas with improved stability. Innovations on the hull forms have led shipbuilding industry to twin hull boats called catamaran or three hulls (trimaran) or even pentamaran. Twin hull boat with small waterplane areas called swath is now seen as a great marine vehicle that can carry large number of passengers with relatively better stability than conventional monohul boat with the same passenger carrying capacity. by Charles Roring
Related articles:
Traveling by passenger ship
Traveling with passenger ships to remote islands in Indonesia

The real Oasis of the seas - the coral reef of Manem island and some snorkeling photographs

Only coral reef that should be considered as the real oasis of the seas. Coral reef is the source of food for various species of marine animals. The biodiversity of coral reef makes it richer than the biodiversity of tropical rainforest. We must know that marine tourism is not only about traveling aboard a luxurious cruise ship but also about how we can explore the beauty of the underwater world of coral reef that is home to thousands of species of marine wildlife.  In recent years, coral reefs are suffering massive damages caused by global warming, wastes and destructive fishing. To stop the destruction of coral reef, all ships have to stop throwing wastes into the sea. They also have to avoid sailing over coral reefs that cover the sea bed of shallow waters. 

On July 1 2011, I accompanied two tourists from Finland on a snorkeling trip to Manem island. This small tropical island is located in the Geelvink bay New Guinea. Coral reef that thrive along the shallow waters of the islet is rich of ornamental fish. Some of them were the Orange-Finned Anemonefish (Amphiprion Chrysopterus). These tropical fish would chase the snorkelers if they moved to close to the anemone where the fish lived. 

I used to see dolphins near the waters of the island. They have been the source of food for the islanders. Now, with the coming of tourists who want to snorkel around the island, the preservation of the coral reef should be carried out more seriously. As oasis of the seas, coral reef of Manem island can improve the living condition of the villagers who live along the eastern coast of the Numfor island. It provides food and also additional income to fishermen through eco-tourism scheme.

Also read: Snorkeling in tropical island of Manem in Indonesia

Is the Oasis of the Seas Cruise Ship safe for the marine environment?

The Oasis of the Seas and many other cruise ships have often been accused by environmentalists of polluting the ocean. It is understandable that the sea and the beautiful coral reef is a fragile marine environment. Organic and inorganic wastes can cause harmful impact to fish and animals that live in the coral reef areas.
Passengers traveling on Oasis of the Seas and other cruise ships should be well informed that they must not throw plastic wastes into the sea. Naval architects who designed ships know that they need to add sewage water processing plant inside the shipboard systems so that the sewage water can easily be decomposed by tiny marine animals that do the job.

As a matter of fact, cruise industries and other merchant ship operators are not the only ones that should be accused of polluting the environment. Most of the plastic wastes that are now drifting on the open seas come from coastal cities and towns in all continents of the earth. To stop marine pollution is to teach city and town dwellers to stop throwing their garbage to the sea.

Everyday millions of tons of domestic and industrial wastes are flowing to the sea from coastal cities around the globe. If these wastes can be recycled into other useful products then the marine environment especially the coral reefs will be in better condition.
Naval architects, marine engineers and operators of cruise ships have done their best to preserve the coral reef and marine environment. We earn money from exploiting the sea, so we know we must not destroy it.
It is also the responsibility of authorities of coastal cities and towns to stop wastes from flowing into the sea. They have to build recycling plants to process the wastes so that the burden which tiny marine animals have to do to neutralize the pollutants will be lighter.  by Charles Roring