Cruising today has grown into one of the world's favourite forms of travel, with giant buoyant behemoths bearing thousands of passengers across the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and beyond. Many of these ships are like floating leisure centres, with multi-screen cinemas, sports courts and even sprawling waterparks on their top decks. But it wasn't always like this – to say the least.
Click through this gallery to see astonishing images of cruising through the ages, right from its earliest days...