superliner

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A superliner is an ocean liner or cruise liner of over 10,000 gross tons. The term was coined in the late 19th century, when ocean liners were rapidly increasing in size and speed. Superliners were the primary means of intercontinental travel in the first half of the twentieth century, as passengers favoured large, fast ships.

Some famous superliners include the RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, RMS Mauretania, Ile de France, Normandie, SS France, RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth and SS United States.

For several decades, the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) operated as the world's largest superliner. In 2004 Cunard commissioned the RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2), which took over the transatlantic routes and relegated the QE2 to cruise ship duty, thereby making the QM2 the largest superliner in service. At 148,528 gross tons, she is almost fifteen times larger than the first superliners. She has all the attributes required for cruise ship operations, and engages in them in addition to the regular transatlantic crossings typical of the historical superliners.

Royal Caribbean International's Freedom of the Seas has replaced QM2 as the largest operating passenger ship in the world; she and other cruise liners have surpassed the traditional transoceanic ocean liners in size.