Emigration to the USA slowed with new entry restrictions after 1918. Following the Second World War other destinations such as Canada and Australia became increasingly popular, encouraged by governments. People from the Commonwealth, already a presence in Britain's cities, began their own mass migrations. In the sphere of holiday travel, air transport gradually seized the largest share of the market. Now, at the turn of the century mass 'liner' travel by sea has ended, except for a much smaller number of ships which continue in the cruise trade.
Luxury is still the selling point, along with the romance of the sea.
People have travelled by sea for thousands of years, yet mass migration by ship only began in the early 19th century. After the long French wars in Europe, people left war-weary lands for a better life elsewhere. But while it was the need for work that drove most people to travel, others began to make long sea journeys purely for pleasure. Since then, millions of people have made ocean voyages. This gallery explores the reasons why people have done so in the 19th and 20th centuries and the ships that transported them.