Cruise ships and ocean liners have been a popular form of leisure travel for well over a century, with luxury seafaring still capturing the imagination of many a traveller to this day. Over the years, former transatlantic liners once reserved for the wealthiest morphed into today's 'floating palaces' filled with ordinary holidaymakers. These ships have, in some instances, played important roles in major historic events.

Scroll on to see incredible, sometimes surprising, images of cruise ships and ocean liners from the last 200 years. To enjoy them FULL SCREEN on a desktop, click the icon in the top right...