Module 1 - The Cruise Industry

Question 1

It is usually a very large passenger ship that makes a round trip with several en route stops and takes on passengers only at the port where the trip begins and ends.

Answer 1

Cruise Ship

Question 2

In the 19th century some companies began offering pleasure cruises. P&O Cruises claims that co-founder Arthur Anderson invented the idea of the cruise holiday when he placed a dummy ad to fill space in his newspaper, The Shetland Times, advertising an imaginary cruise of the Scottish Isles. This was in 1835 and it wasn’t too long after this that companies began offering cruises to the public aboard ships that were primarily built for the transportation of mail. P&O then made the decision in 1881 to convert their liner Ceylon into what is regarded as the first cruise ship and embarked on a round-the-world cruise from Liverpool, heralding the real beginning of cruising as we know it.

Answer 2

1800s

Question 3

The early 20th century saw the likes of Cunard and White Star becoming the big names in cruising, as larger and more luxurious ships were launched. Journeys that had been purely functional were now marketed as being for pleasure as cruise companies introduced new facilities the first swimming pool came in 1907 alongside à la carte restaurants and lifts between decks. In these days, ships were still very much divided on a class system, where opulence in the interiors for those travelling in first class contrasted greatly with the facilities and conditions in the cheapest accommodation, or ‘steerage’. Back then, passengers in steerage were even expected to bring their own food and were certainly cruising from A to B rather than for pleasure!

Answer 3

1900s

Question 4

On long journeys, particularly those between the UK and India, wealthier passengers would demand cabins that were shadier in the afternoon so they would be cooler by bedtime, which would be the port side going out and the starboard side coming back, or Port Out Starboard Home, which was stamped on the ticket. It’s a great story but no one can actually find reliable evidence that these tickets ever existed!

Answer 4

Port Out Starboard Home (POSH)

Question 5

In 1900, the Hamburg America Line created the first purpose-built pleasure cruise ship. It was a very exclusive affair, offering entirely first-class cabins. Competitors P&O, Cunard, and White Star Line then began offering more pleasure cruises, in a range of destinations. 1912 saw the devastating Titanic disaster, which occurred just four days after the White Star Line ship left Southampton. Cunard’s Carpathian was deployed to rescue just over 700 survivors.

This half century saw some significant disruption to the cruise industry, with World Wars 1 and 2 claiming a number of cruise ships in service. Fred. Olsen alone lost 23 ships in WWI, and 28 in WWII. Between these devastating wars, shipping lines were able to prosper to a degree, in particular what is now Costa Cruises that thrived in producing and shipping olive oil to America. Also, in 1922, Cunard sent their ship Laconia on the very first world cruise. By 1948, Costa also broached passenger cruising, and ran a 16 day trip from Genoa to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.

Answer 5

1900 - 1950

Question 6

_____ saw what many people refer to as the Golden Age of cruising.

Answer 6

1950s

Question 7

____ saw the devastating Titanic disaster, which occurred just four days after the White Star Line ship left Southampton.

Answer 7

1912

Question 8

Is the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, providing a unified voice and leading authority of the global cruise community.

Answer 8

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)

Question 9

CLIA works with the _____ _____ _____ _____ to help port cities analyze how to manage tourism flows and map out a road map for a sustainable future.

Answer 9

Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)

Question 10

In good weather, crews’ mess was a warm meal served on square wooden platters.

Answer 10

A Square Meal

Question 11

Anything on or above the open deck. If something is open and in plain view, it is _____ _____.

Answer 11

Above Board

Question 12

When lost or unsure of their position in coastal waters, ships would release a caged crow. The crow would fly straight towards the nearest land thus giving the vessel some sort of a navigational fix. The tallest lookout platform on a ship came to be known as the crow’s nest.

Answer 12

As The Crows Flies

Question 13

An iron ball attached to a long handle was a loggerhead. When heated it was used to seal the pitch in deck seams. It was sometimes a handy weapon for quarrelling crewmen.

Answer 13

At Loggerheads

Question 14

A technique of tacking when the tide is with the ship but the wind is against it.

Answer 14

Back and Fill

Question 15

The devil seam was the curved seam in the deck planking closest to the side of the ship and next to the scupper gutters. If a sailor slipped on the deck, he could find himself _______ ___ _____ ___ ___ ____ ____ ___.

Answer 15

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Question 16

To sail downwind rapidly towards another ship or landmark.

Answer 16

Bear Down

Question 17

Aboard ship, a booby hatch is a sliding cover or hatch that must be pushed away to allow access or passage.

Answer 17

Bobby Hatch

Question 18

Using a buoy to raise the bight of an anchor cable to prevent it from chafing on a rough bottom.

Answer 18

Buoyed Up

Question 19

Currently means in all cases or in any case. From the nautical: by meaning into the wind and large meaning with the wind: as in, “___ ___ _____ the ship handled very well.”

Answer 19

By and Large

Question 20

Meaning something is filled to capacity or overloaded. If two blocks of rigging tackle were so hard together they couldn’t be tightened further, it was said they were _____ _ _____

Answer 20

Chock-a-block

Question 21

If a captain of a smaller ship encountered a larger enemy vessel, he might decide that discretion is the better part of valor, and so he would order the crew to cut the lashings on all the sails and run away before the wind. Other sources indicate “_____ ___ _____ meant to cut the anchor cable and sail off in a hurry.

Answer 21

Cut and Run

Question 22

Warships many times had their foresails or jib sails cut thinly so that they could maintain point and not be blown off course. Upon sighting thin foresails on a distant ship a captain might not like the cut of his jib and would then have an opportunity to escape.

Answer 22

Cut of His Jib

Question 23

Thin and worn sails were often treated with oil or wax to renew their effectiveness. An officer or sailor who was reprimanded or scolded received a _____ _____

Answer 23

Dressing Down

Question 24

Implies excellence. From the 16th century until steam powered ships took over, british naval ships were rated as to the number of heavy cannons they carried. A ship of 100 or more guns was a First Rate line-of-battleship. Second rates carried 90 to 98 guns; Third Rates, 64 to 89 guns; Fourth Rates, 50 to 60 guns. Frigates carrying 20 to 48 guns were fifth and sixth rated.

Answer 24

First Rate

Question 25

A large sail used only for sailing downwind and requiring rather little attention.

Answer 25

Fly-by-Night

Question 26

The bottom portion of a sail is called the foot. If it is not secured, it is __________ and it dances randomly in the wind.

Answer 26

Footloose

Question 27

To anchor a ship far enough away from another ship so that they did not hit each other when they swung with the wind or tide.

Answer 27

Give (someone) a Wide Berth

Question 28

Anything seen to have gone overboard or spotted floating past the ship (by the board) was considered lost at sea.

Answer 28

Gone By the Board

Question 29

In 1740, British Admiral Vernon (whose nickname was “Old Grogram” for the cloak of grogram which he wore) ordered that the sailors’ daily ration of rum be diluted with water. The men called the mixture “grog”. A sailor who drank too much grog was _____.

Answer 29

Groggy

Question 30

Currently means something is about to happen, as in – “There is a reorganization in the offing.” From the 16th century usage meaning a good distance from shore, barely visible from land, as in – “We sighted a ship __ ___ ______.”

Answer 30

In the Offing

Question 31

The weather side of a ship is the side from which the wind is blowing. The Lee side is the side of the ship sheltered from the wind. A lee shore is a shore that is downwind of a ship. If a ship does not have enough “______” it is in danger of being driven onto the shore.

Answer 31

Leeway

Question 32

In the Royal Navy the punishment prescribed for most serious crimes was flogging. This was administered by the Boson’s Mate using a whip called a cat o’ nine tails. The “cat” was kept in a leather or baize bag. It was considered bad news indeed when the cat was let out of the bag. Other sources attribute the expression to the old English market scam of selling someone a pig in a poke (bag) when the pig turned out to be a cat instead.

Answer 32

Let the Cat Out of the Bag

Question 33

When casks became empty they were “shaken” (taken apart) so the pieces, called shakes, could be stored in a small space. Shakes had very little value.

Answer 33

No Great Shakes

Question 34

The entire ship’s company was required to witness flogging at close hand. The crew might crowd around so that the Bosun’s Mate might not have enough room to swing his cat o’ nine tails.

Answer 34

No Room to Swing a Cat

Question 35

The most common method of punishment aboard ships was flogging. The unfortunate sailor was tied to a grating, mast or over the barrel of a deck cannon.

Answer 35

Over the Barrel

Question 36

To sail downwind directly at another ship thus “stealing” or diverting the wind from his sails.

Answer 36

Overbearing

Question 37

To prevent the buntline ropes from chaffing the sails, crew were sent aloft to haul them over the sails.

Answer 37

Overhaul

Question 38

If a ship holds a tack course too long, it has ________ its turning point and the distance it must travel to reach it’s next tack point is increased.

Answer 38

Overreach

Question 39

Old English for capsize or founder.

Answer 39

Overwhelm

Question 40

Means stop talking and be quiet. The ____ ____ was the last signal from the Bosun’s pipe each day which meant “lights out” and “silence”.

Answer 40

Pipe Down

Question 41

The ____ is the stern section of a ship. To be ______ is to be swamped by a high, following sea.

Answer 41

Pooped

Question 42

The British navy filled their ships’ crew quotas by kidnapping men off the streets and forcing them into service. This was called Impressment and was done by Press Gangs.

Answer 42

Press Into Service

Question 43

From the French “arrimage” meaning ship’s cargo. Damaged cargo was sold at a _______ ____.

Answer 43

Rummage Sale

Question 44

A butt was a barrel. Scuttle meant to chop a hole in something. The scuttlebutt was a water barrel with a hole cut into it so that sailors could reach in and dip out drinking water. The scuttlebutt was the place where the ship’s gossip was exchanged.

Answer 44

Scuttlebutt

Question 45

A small triangular sail set above the skysail in order to maximize effect in a light wind.

Answer 45

Skyscraper

Question 46

A slushy slurry of fat was obtained by boiling or scraping the empty salted meat storage barrels. This stuff called “slush” was often sold ashore by the ship’s cook for the benefit of himself or the crew. The money so derived became known as a slush fund.

Answer 46

Slush Fund

Question 47

When in port, and with the crew restricted to the ship for any extended period of time, wives and ladies of easy virtue often were allowed to live aboard along with the crew. Infrequently, but not uncommonly, children were born aboard, and a convenient place for this was between guns on the gun deck. If the child’s father was unknown, they were entered in the ship’s log as ___ __ _ ___.

Answer 47

Son of a Gun

Question 48

A slate tablet was kept near the helm on which the watch keeper would record the speeds, distances, headings and tacks during the watch. If there were no problems during the watch, the slate would be wiped clean so that the new watch could start over with a clean slate.

Answer 48

Start Over with a Clean Slate

Question 49

A dangerous situation where the wind is on the wrong side of the sails pressing them back against the mast and forcing the ship astern. Most often this was caused by an inattentive helmsman who had allowed the ship to head up into the wind.

Answer 49

Taken Aback

Question 50

Sailing in a manner so as to steal or divert wind from another ship’s sails.

Answer 50

Taking the wind out of his sails

Question 51

The end of an anchor cable is fastened to the bitts at the ship’s bow. If all of the anchor cable has been played out you have come to ___ ______ ___.

Answer 51

The Bitter End

Question 52

To pay the deck seams meant to seal them with tar. The devil seam was the most difficult to pay because it was curved and intersected with the straight deck planking. Some sources define the “devil” as the below-the-waterline-seam between the keel and the adjoining planking. Paying the Devil was considered to be a most difficult and unpleasant task.

Answer 52

The Devil to Pay

Question 53

A sheet is a rope line which controls the tension on the downwind side of a square sail. If, on a three masted fully rigged ship, the sheets of the three lower course sails are loose, the sails will flap and flutter and are said to be “in the wind”. A ship in this condition would stagger and wander aimlessly downwind.

Answer 53

Three Sheets to the Wind

Question 54

There were miles and miles of cordage in the rigging of a square rigged ship. The only way of keeping track of and knowing the function of all of these lines was to know where they were located. It took an experienced seaman __ ____ ___ _____.

Answer 54

To Know the Ropes

Question 55

When called to line up at attention, the ship’s crew would form up with their toes touching a seam in the deck planking.

Answer 55

Toe the Line

Question 56

This referred to a ship’s keel touching the bottom and getting right off again.

Answer 56

Touch and Go

Question 57

If a crewman is standing watch on the weather side of the bow, he will be subject to the constant beating of the sea and the ocean spray. He will be _____ ___ _______.

Answer 57

Under the Weather

Question 58

A sudden unexpected rush of wind from a mountainous shore which allowed a ship more leeway.

Answer 58

Windfall