Sometimes I have used the word megabuque, or catamaran in this blog and maybe some of the readers they are not very clear when a ship goes from an ocean liner to a mega-ship, or that a catamaran is a sailboat. Actually I have to confess that sometimes I take a certain literary license, but so that everything is tied and as exact as possible I will give you the classification of the boats according to the European association.
Cruises are classified according to their category, size, duration, itinerary, age or on-board regime. If we talk about category, it would be luxury, 6 stars, 5-star premium, 4-star standard, 3-star classics.
In terms of size, we can talk about mega-ships, weighing more than 50.000 tons, and with a capacity of more than 2.000 passengers, the halflings they weigh between 25-50 thousand tons, and their capacity ranges from 1.000 to 2.000 passengers, the little ones they are those that weigh between 5.000 and 25.000 tons, with capacity for 300 to 1.000 passengers. And the so-called boutique boats they weigh up to 5.000 tons and do not carry more than 200 passengers. In the latter case, sailboats are included, but yachts are excluded.
This is the classification in terms of sizes, but We could also make a classification, or expand this if we take the type of cruise passenger, or rather, the type of cruise that it offers. So there would be conventional boats, which we normally identify as cruise ships, which include all kinds of services. The mega cruise ships, that accommodate more than 3.000 people, or even the last with capacity for more than 5.000 passengers. Luxury cruise ships they are looking for fewer passengers with high-quality features and luxury comforts above the standards, they are usually small in size, which also makes it easier for them to reach remote and exclusive places, away from the masses.
And then finally I would like to talk to you about ships designed for expedition and adventure cruises, of which for example in this article I told you. These vessels have an acceptable level of comfort and are very safe.
Keep in mind that River cruise ships are smaller in size than ocean cruise ships, and they are designed to navigate inland waters.