The North American cruise industry is the largest sector of the trade by a long way. Of the 2007 cruise market, which totalled over 16 million, US cruise vacationers alone represented over 70 per cent of the total. With stunning photographs, many of which are in colour, this general history looks at the companies and ships that are dedicated to this particular market.From the big players, the luxury market and niche cruising, to disasters and predictions, this illustrated book covers the whole industry, past, present and future. Authors, Roger Cartwright and Peter Rushton, consider why the taking of an ocean voyage for the pleasure of the journey itself, and not simply as a means of travelling from A to B, came to be so popular, and what the arrival of the mega-ships means for the new age in cruising, providing the perfect guide to cruising and its history across America.