hile this was always the philosophy of cruising, the driving force behind the public's demand was not at first catered for in this way. Early cruising involved people with sufficient funds finding a means to escape the winter weather of Britain, Europe and North America. The Royal Mail Steam Packet Co's (RMSP) South America and West Indies routes provided perfect outlets for that - ships heading for tropical climates, but with short enough voyages to make the cost reasonable. Thus a round-voyage passenger became the first cruise passenger.

The cruise concept, though, can arguably be taken back further still. In August 1853, RMSP's Thames carried passengers for a pleasure trip to attend the Spithead Royal Naval Review, and this happened regularly at subsequent Reviews. In 1902, for instance, it was decided 'to send Elbe to the Review for a three-day trip with passengers at £21 per head, victualling, light wines and railway return tickets included'.

Before the 19th century ended, Royal Mail hit on a potential gold mine through the combination of the round voyage concept and the use of intercolonial steamers based in the Caribbean. Passengers travelled from England in a transatlantic ship, then transferred to an intercolonial steamer for a leisurely journey among the islands. By the 1890s RMSP had a range of tour packages on offer. The major option was marketed as the Special West India Tour - £65 for 65 days.

In 1895: 'Eden, Esk and Solent are now performing the intercolonial mail service in the West Indies. These fine ships, in addition to the Company's large transatlantic mail steamers from Southampton, form an unequalled means by which passengers can visit or make passages among the West India islands at the best season, and avoid the winter of this country at a very moderate expense'.

So far that was a means of gaining extra passengers on scheduled line services, but in August 1904 the directors agreed that 'the Solent should be placed ìintercoloniallyî at the disposal of tourists during the coming season'. This, then, was the commencement for RMSP of specialist cruising operations. In 1905 it was decided to expand the potential market for cruise passengers to North America.

The idea was that the transatlantic steamers would bring passengers from New York to Kingston, Jamaica, where a variety of options were available. The main one was to join the Solent for a cruise among the islands:

The cruising yacht Solent, so well and favourably known to English tourists in the tropics, will be equally popular with Americans. She is a beautiful yacht-like passenger steamship, of over 2,000 tons, specially built for the tropics, and regularly employed in West Indian tours. She does not carry any cargo. Her commander has discretion to vary the ports of call and the schedule of itinerary, in order that passengers' wishes may be considered whenever possible, and many interesting places are frequently visited, at which ordinary steamers do not call'.

From that it appears there was an element of 'choose your own itinerary' - an extraordinary state of affairs.

he inter-island cruising concept was boosted in 1909 with the arrival of the Berbice to replace the 31-year-old Solent. A Company publication issued when the ship entered service described her thus:

'On a ship intended primarily for traffic in the tropics, ventilation is of great importance, and in this respect the Berbice is admirably equipped. All her cabins are furnished with electric fans. The dining saloon, a spacious apartment which extends the whole width of the ship on the main deck, is similarly fitted, whilst the ports are arranged in pairs and provided with jalousie shutters as protection from the sun.
 

'On the deck above - the Bridge Deck, reserved exclusively for first saloon passengers - is a very fine promenade, the length and breadth of which affords ample scope for the many open air recreations by means of which modern ocean voyagers beguile away the time. There is also further promenading space on the boat deck above. . .

'The state rooms and their furnishing and decoration touch the high-water mark of tropical comfort; their exceptional spaciousness would by itself suffice to keep them cool, even without their electric fans, and the coolness is further emphasised by the exquisite decoration scheme in white satinette enamel. On the main deck aft is a large swimming pool. . .'
 

The top-line itinerary - Berbice Yachting Tour - was 54 days at a cost of $350. It began with a voyage from New York. Passengers then spent eight days based in a Barbados hotel before joining Berbice for a fortnight, calling at nine West Indian ports before returning to New York.

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