World's Top 50 Largest Cruise Ships and Ocean Liners

"Sunsets are always better on a cruise." - Anonymous.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain.

CRUISING by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.

Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, accounting for U.S.$29.4 billion with over 19 million passengers carried worldwide in 2011. The industry's rapid growth has seen nine or more newly built ships catering to a North American clientele added every year since 2001, as well as others servicing European clientele. Smaller markets, such as the Asia-Pacific region, are generally serviced by older ships. These are displaced by new ships in the high growth areas.

A CRUISE SAHIP or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way. Transportation is not the prime purpose, as cruise ships operate mostly on routes that return passengers to their originating port, so the ports of call are usually in a specified region of a continent. There are even "cruises to nowhere" or "nowhere voyages" where the ship makes 2-3 day round trips without any ports of call.

By contrast, dedicated transport oriented OCEAN LINERS do "line voyages" and typically transport passengers from one point to another, rather than on round trips. Traditionally, an ocean liner for the transoceanic trade will be built to a higher standard than a typical cruise ship, including high freeboard and stronger plating to withstand rough seas and adverse conditions encountered in the open ocean, such as the North Atlantic. Ocean liners also usually have larger capacities for fuel, victuals, and other stores for consumption on long voyages, compared to dedicated cruise ships.

Although often luxurious, ocean liners had characteristics that made them unsuitable for cruising, such as high fuel consumption, deep draught that prevented them from entering shallow ports, enclosed weatherproof decks that were not appropriate for tropical weather, and cabins designed to maximize passenger numbers rather than comfort (such as a high proportion of windowless suites). The gradual evolution of passenger ship design from ocean liners to cruise ships has seen passenger cabins shifted from inside the hull to the superstructure with private verandas. The modern cruise ships, while sacrificing qualities of seaworthiness, have added amenities to cater to tourists, and recent vessels have been described as "balcony-laden floating condominiums".

The lines between ocean liners and cruise ships have blurred, particularly with respect to deployment, although the differences in construction remain. Larger cruise ships have also engaged in longer trips such as transocean voyages which may not lead back to the same port for months (longer round trips). Some former ocean liners operate as cruise ships, such as Marco Polo and Mona Lisa. This number is diminishing. The only dedicated transatlantic ocean liner in operation as a liner, as of February 2010, is the Queen Mary 2 of the Cunard fleet. She also has the amenities of contemporary cruise ships and sees significant service on cruises.

Cruise Ship News, Reviews & Resources

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• 1st round-the-world passenger cruise took place 100 years ago. Here’s what it was like on board - "On March 30, 1923, exactly 100 years ago, the world’s first continuous passenger cruise ship arrived back in New York City after completing a 130-day voyage. This six-month trip was the first of its kind, paving the way for the world cruises of today, taking in destinations including Japan, Singapore, Egypt and India and traversing the Suez and Panama Canals. The voyage took place aboard the SS Laconia, a Cunard passenger liner chartered by the American Express Company for the occasion."
• 3-year-cruise becomes ‘the cruise that never ends’ - "If the idea of spending three years on a cruise ship made you claustrophobic, it’s time to look away now."
• 3-year cruise: The saga of the three-year cruise gets a new twist - "The three-year cruise is going ahead - with a bigger ship. The project appears to be back on, with a bigger ship confirmed for those three years of exploration. The launch date is still set for November 1, 2023."
• 7 Safety Tips for Your Cruise Vacation - The New York Times.
• 10 amazing facts you never knew about the Titanic - The Irish Sun.
• 10 lessons for skeptical first-time cruisers - CNN travel.
• 10 things I wish I knew before going on my first cruise - The Telegraph.
• 12 incredible cruise ship world records - The Telegraph.
• 15 biggest cruise ships in the world - CNN travel.
• 20 cruises to the world's most beautiful gardens - The Telegraph.
• 2,000 People Are Stranded on a U.S. Cruise Ship After 4 Countries Reject Entry Over Coronavirus Fears - "Roughly 2,000 passengers and crew aboard the Holland America Line Westerdam are stranded on the open seas. Fears of the novel coronavirus (now officially known as COVID-19) has prompted four different nations and the U.S. territory of Guam to deny them entry despite no one on board being diagnosed with the illness that has caused global panic."
• 2018 unbelievable cruise ships setting sail - The Telegraph.
• 2020 List Of The World’s Best Cruises Is Out Now - "U.S. News & World Report has released its annual list of the world’s best cruises. The report evaluated 176 ships in 17 of the top cruise lines to determine the rankings in six categories including best cruise lines for the money and best luxury cruise lines."
• A City-Size Cruise, With 4,200 Friends - The New York Times.
• A First Look At Orient Express’ New Sailing Yacht - "Luxury travel brand Orient Express unveils new details about their sailing yacht, Orient Express Corinthian, slated to hit the seas in the summer of 2026."
• Amazing facts about Queen Mary 2, the world's last serving ocean liner - The Telegraph.
• Amsterdam bans cruise ships to limit visitors & curb pollution - "It comes months after young British men were urged not to hold bachelor parties in the Dutch capital."
• Antarctic tourism is booming - but can the continent cope? - "In tourist hotspots cruise ships must at times queue to disembark passengers and fragile ecosystems may be at risk from visitors. But who gets to decide on who can come?"
• Around the world in 245 days - at just £67k for cruise of a lifetime - "You’ll get to visit six continents and 51 countries (if you don’t mind ballooning your carbon footprint)."
• Australian billionaire revives dream to set sail on Titanic II - "'It's a lot more fun to do the Titanic than it is to sit at home and count my money,' Palmer reportedly told local media with the blunt honesty of man who earns almost half a billion dollars in mining royalties every year. For Palmer the question is not how to earn money, but where to spend it."
• Avoid cruises even if vaccinated, CDC tells Americans - "It has elevated its travel warning for cruise ships from level three to four - the agency's highest. The CDC is currently monitoring over 90 cruise ships for Covid-19."
• Berlitz Cruise Guide - since 1984. "The unique 'bible' of cruising."
• Carnival to resume cruises in August despite infections and deaths on ships - "Eight cruise ships to resume operations from 1 August, sailing from Texas and Florida."
• Carnival to sell six cruise ships as bookings dry up - "Holiday company loses $4.4bn in three months during coronavirus crisis."
• Casino de Monte-Carlo sets sail with Crystal Luxury Cruises - "This collaboration aims to redefine onboard entertainment by bringing the renowned Monte-Carlo gaming experience to Crystal cruise passengers."
• Celebrity Edge: 'Futuristic' cruise ship completes maiden voyage - "Celebrity Cruises is premiering a new cruise liner, Celebrity Edge, with a new design that it hopes will revolutionize the cruise ship industry."
• Celebrity Edge: Is this the future of cruise ships? - "Celebrity Cruises is premiering a new cruise liner, Celebrity Edge, with a new design that it hopes will revolutionize the cruise ship industry."
• Coronavirus journey: The 'last cruise ship on Earth' finally comes home - "The three last cruise ships still sailing will dock today. One of them has had an odyssey like no other."
• countries where living on a cruise ship is cheaper than staying on land - The Telegraph.
• Cruise Critic - "Cruise Critic Message Board Forums."
• Cruise Industry Is On a Course For Climate Disaster - "The cruise industry has an enormous environmental footprint. But customers don't seem concerned about climate change."
• CRUISE SHIP - Wikipedia.
• Cruise ship visits restricted to less than eight months - "As part of Monaco’s new policy on cruise ships, the embargo on visits has been extended to more than four months, from mid-November until the end of March. Previously, it was only in January and February that cruise ship visits were banned. In 2019, there were 165 port calls by cruise ships, and this is expected to fall to 137 this year."
• Cruise ships & COVID-19 - "Giant ships beached at scrapyard in Turkey, set to be broken up."
• ‘Cruisezilla’ passenger ships have doubled in size since 2000, environmental group warns - "'Today’s cruisezillas make the Titanic look like a small fishing boat,' Inesa Ulichina, sustainable shipping officer at T&E, said in a statement."
• Cruising the Rhone River in High Style - "On a first-time luxury river cruise in France, our reporter learns why this all-inclusive trip, despite its expense, was worth it."
• Cruising was a Covid disaster. Now it claims to be the 'safest vacation available' - "The world's cruise ships were once titans of the oceans, raking in billions in profit as their city-sized passenger populations traveled across the globe. There's a lot riding on cruise ships remaining virus-free, navigating the red tape, restoring their reputation and returning safely to the seas."
• Cunard's Queen Victoria cruise ship is getting a £34m facelift - here's how it will look.
• Disney Announces Luxury Arctic Cruises To Svalbard In 2023 - "Tickets will shortly go on sale for two new Adventures by Disney cruises to Svalbard in 2023. Named the Arctic Expedition Cruise, the 10-day trip explores the western coastline of Spitsbergen, the largest island in this remote Arctic archipelago that polar bears call home. The two new itineraries in June and July 2023 are the latest family-focused expedition cruises offered by Disney, which already includes destinations like Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands."
• Disney to add a theme-packed sixth ship to its cruise line - "It will be christened the Disney Treasure, and it’s brimming with the kind of colorful, pop-culture theming you’d expect, with nods to 'The Lion King,' Marvel superheroes, '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,' 'Star Wars' and others."
• eco cruise in Norway's far north - "'It is magical to swim surrounded by the Arctic winter in all its brutal glory.'"
• Empty Ghost Cruise Ships Become The Attraction In The English Channel - "As the cruise industry has come to a standstill, many cruise ships are being moored outside of ports and harbors around the world. Ironically, it is now the boats themselves that are becoming the tourist attractions, especially off the south coast of England."
• Feeding the largest cruise ships in the world - CNN travel.
• Fire breaks out on world’s largest cruise ship - "Crew on board the world’s largest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas, were called on to tackle a fire this week as the gigantic vessel was berthed in a port in Mexico. The 'small fire' was 'quickly extinguished' after it broke out on Tuesday, the ship’s operator Royal Caribbean spokesperson confirmed to CNN Travel. The cruise line said there were no injuries and the overall on board impact was 'minimal.'"
• first look inside world's most luxurious cruise ship - The Telegraph.
• Floating hotel’s maiden voyage will be from Monaco - "The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection welcomes its second ultra-luxury superyacht, Ilma, to its fleet after a two-year construction period. With a length of 790ft and 224 suites, each featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and private terraces, Ilma sets new standards for luxury and guest experience. The yacht will make its maiden voyage from Monaco on September 2 with a crew to guest ratio of almost one-to-one."
• Global cruises are still on hold because of Covid-19. In the Mediterranean, they're back - "On August 16, one of the most common sights on the Mediterranean Sea will return once again: cruise ships."
• Gold watch worn by richest passenger aboard Titanic to be sold at auction - "A gold watch worn by John Jacob Astor IV, a member of the wealthy Astor family and the richest man aboard the Titanic, will go up for sale at an auction of memorabilia from the doomed ship."
• Grand-class cruise ship - Wikipedia.
• Greenland cruise ship pulled free after three days stuck in mud - "The Ocean Explorer and its 206 passengers and crew were rescued on Thursday by a Greenland research trawler after it was grounded within the Northeast Greenland National Park."
• He bought a cruise ship on Craigslist. Here's what happened next - " It's not every day that you spot a cruise ship for sale on Craigslist. So Chris Willson was immediately intrigued when he stumbled across a 293-foot vessel listed on the classified advertisements website back in 2008. The retired 'pocket' cruise ship, built in Germany, was moored in the California Delta at the time, and its then owner was keen to offload it. He discovered that it was constructed by the Blohm+Voss shipyard in 1955, and had been the first significant passenger liner built by Germany after World War II."
• honking cruise ships ‘ruining’ Istanbul’s port - "Two years after Galataport opened to fanfare as a tourism success story, not everyone is happy about how it has transformed the Turkish coastline. Even if you don’t see them, the sound is inescapable. Mammoth cruise ships have become so familiar to those living near the Istanbul port that some local people have taken to studying the arrival times to avoid having to look at them. But they can’t escape the noise: a booming horn that ricochets over the surrounding hills. Ships from one particular cruise line even honk the theme to the television show The Love Boat as it pulls into port."
• How Omicron is hitting cruise ships - "What it's like to cruise during Omicron."
• How to become a cruise ship captain - "It's a job unlike any other. Leadership skills are a must, as is being able to handle a crisis. Then there's understanding the oceans - the complex world of currents, tides and winds. Maritime engineering knowledge is a plus. As is the ability to command the logistical demands of a small city. At sea."
• Huge cruise ships, huge problems in Venice - "The truth about cruise ships in Venice."
• Huge fire ripped through Titanic before it struck iceberg, fresh evidence suggests - The Telegraph.
• Icon of the Seas: Can the World's Largest Cruise Ship Really Be Climate-Friendly? - "The newly christened Icon of the Seas is filled with energy-efficient technology. But some climate experts say the biggest challenge with a ship that can accommodate nearly 8,000 people is its size. With the capacity to carry nearly 8,000 people, the 20-deck, 1,198-foot-long vessel is the size of a small city. There are eight 'neighborhoods' packed with amenities that include a 55-foot waterfall, six water slides and more than 40 restaurants, bars and entertainment venues."
• Icon of the Seas: world's biggest cruise ship has just set sail. The buzz is real &d so is the blowback - "This cruise ship can carry nearly 10,000 people. Here's more of what sets Icon of the Seas apart."
• Icon of the Seas: world's biggest cruise ship is finally setting sail. Here's why it's making waves - "This cruise ship can carry nearly 10,000 people. Here&339;s more of what sets Icon of the Seas apart."
• Inside the lavish £300 million replica of Titanic II due to set sail in 2018 - Daily Mail.
• Is the cruise industry finally out of its depth? - "Accidents, pollution, exploitation... cruise firms were in murky waters even before Covid-19."
• Is the cruise industry responsible for overtourism? - CNN travel.
• Is this the world's most luxurious cruise ship? - The Telegraph.
• Italy bans cruise ships from Venice lagoon after Unesco threat - "Spurred to act quickly after Unesco threatened to put Venice on its endangered list unless Italy permanently banned cruise ships from docking in the world heritage site, the government said on Tuesday that vessels weighing more than 25,000 tonnes would be barred from the lagoon from 1 August."
• Lido - on a cruise ship or ocean liner, the lido deck features outdoor pools and related facilities.
• List of the world's largest cruise ships - Wikipedia.
• List of world's largest passenger ships - Wikipedia.
• Luxury cruise liners find a new winter home - "Miami of the Middle East? Dubai's pitch to winter cruisers."
• Man who’s lived on cruise ship for more than 20 years reveals cost of his unusual lifestyle - "Living on a cruise ship is getting more appealing in these recent (and very expensive) times, and a man who has done it for decades has broken down his cost of living."
• Meet the people who want to spend the rest of their lives on cruise ships - "Considering retiring on a cruise ship? You're not alone. Deciding to retire or work aboard a cruise ship is rare overall, but not new."
• Monsters or a must? Venice tussles with return of cruise ships - "The arrival of the MSC Orchestra has rekindled tensions over the pros and cons of the giant vessels."
• Monte-Carlo Diary: The menace of cruise ships - "Cruise ships are tolerated in Monaco because of the sizeable port fees they pay and also because their passengers help keep open a small number of not very good restaurants on the Rock."
• most expensive cruise ships of all time - The Telegraph.
• Most popular cruise destinations - "Cruise Critic's most popular cruise ship destinations for 2018."
• Nomad cruise - "All-inclusive Digital Nomad Conference on Cruise Ship." The world's first floating Digital Nomad Conference. Join 250+ digital nomads, entrepreneurs, remote workers and enjoy journey of a lifetime on all-inclusive-cruise across the Atlantic.
• ‘Not the cruise I signed up for’: 30-fold increase in Covid cases upends industry - "The surge has led to passengers stranded on ships, staff shortages and tour cancelations in addition to ports turning ships away."
• On the World's Largest Cruise Ship, Thrills & Space to Chill - "Our reporter joined thousands of passengers on the inaugural sailing of Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas. Yes, the water rides were wild. But the most surprising thing she found? Some actual peace and quiet." The New2 York Times.
• Picture essay 'Overtourism’ & the curse of the cruise ships - "In Kotor and Dubrovnik large cruise ships dock regularly throughout the season, depositing thousands of people each day into the tourist hotspots and putting intense pressure on the historic ports."
• Pirates, pollution & secret codes: 12 things you didn't know about cruise holidays - The Telegraph.
• Quarantined cruise ship employee creates incredible outfits out of paper bags - "Australian dancer Ashleigh Perrie was thrilled to start working on board the MS Zaandam. The cruise ship was due to travel through Antarctica -- past penguins and sea lions -- and onward to South America, while Perrie spent her days doing what she loved: performing."
• Regent Seven Seas 2025 World Cruise To Stop In 97 Ports, Here’s How Much It Will Cost - "Here’s your chance to see the entire world! You just have to be willing to spend about 5 months on a cruise ship and fork over some serious money."
• rise & fall of the fastest cruise liner ever built - The Telegraph.
• rise of perpetual cruises that offer the very wealthy a new home at sea - "After numerous delays, the Odyssey finally sets sail from Belfast for three-and- a-half years - but what drives people to spend a fortune living full-time on luxury liners?"
• Ritz-Carlton's $6,400-a-week luxury superyacht cruise has finally set sail - "Ritz-Carlton's highly-anticipated superyacht cruise has finally made its debut, three and a half years after its maiden voyage was originally scheduled to begin. Evrima, the first of three custom-built yachts from the famous hotel chain's Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, began a seven-night cruise from Barcelona, Spain to Nice, France on October 15. The 190-meter vessel, which can accommodate 298 passengers, is made up of 149 suites with a private terrace, as well as floor to ceiling windows, and features an infinity pool, a wine vault, a Ritz-Carlton Spa, a nightclub and its very own 'marina.'"
• RMS Caronia (1947) - was a 34,183 gross register tons (GRT) passenger ship of the Cunard Line (then Cunard White Star Line). Launched on 30 October 1947, she served with Cunard until 1967. She was nicknamed the "Green Goddess" and described as 'a private club afloat'.
• Royal Caribbean takes ownership of the world’s biggest cruise ship, the 1,198-foot Icon of the Seas - "The 20-deck, 250,800-tonne ship was officially handed over to the cruise company at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, on November 27. Its inaugural voyage is set to depart from Miami, Florida on January 27, 2024 and will tour the Caribbean for seven days."
• Royal Caribbean’s ‘Smartship’ Avoids a Titanic Situation - The New York Times.
• Sailing the Mediterranean on a 136-Passenger Windjammer - "The Alternative to Huge Cruises? 3 Masts, 28 Sails and Wind Power. We checked out the 136-passenger Sea Cloud Spirit on a Mediterranean cruise. In this era of gargantuan ships, its elegant clipper design, wooden decks and relatively small size stands out."
• 'Scandals & secrets': On board the world's most exclusive private residential ship - "It's a floating city exclusively home to the 1%, a playground for multimillionaires and billionaires that circumnavigates the world's oceans."
• Singapore 'cruise to nowhere' ends after passenger tests positive - "A Royal Caribbean ship has returned to Singapore on day three of a four-day 'cruise to nowhere' after a passenger tested positive for Covid-19."
• SS United States: The mighty ship that broke all the records -- then was left to rust - "The SS United States held -- and, incredibly, still holds today -- the fastest transatlantic speed record for a liner, and possessed a secret double identity. Two-thirds of its $78 million construction costs had been subsidized by the US government so that the liner could be requisitioned by the military and converted to a troop transport ship with the capacity to carry 14,000 soldiers."
• Taller than Nelson's Column & longer than three football fields - so how do cruise ships even stay afloat?
• Tens of thousands of people are still stuck on cruise ships, some without an end in sight - "Cruise passengers have gone home, but the crews that looked after them are still stuck at sea."
• The curious art of launching a cruise ship - The Telegraph.
• The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship - "Last year, three cryptocurrency enthusiasts bought a cruise ship. They named it the Satoshi, and dreamed of starting a floating libertarian utopia. It didn’t work out."
• The end of the line for cruise ships - "What happens when cruise ships retire. Hundreds of cruise ships usually traverse the world's waters, but right now - with the cruise industry on an indefinite hold due to the coronavirus pandemic - they're mostly laid up at sea with no passengers."
• The first Orient Express cruise ship will set sail in 2026 - "Orient Express Silenseas: The Legendary Train Heads Out to Sea as the World’s Largest Sailing Ship Is Unveiled."
• The gigantic boat that can carry cruise ships - "Constructed in 2012, the 275-meter-long Boka Vanguard is the largest ship of its kind. Typically it transports large offshore oil and gas structures, but occasionally it will be called on to to carry other vessels - such as happened with the Carnival Vista back before the pandemic."
• The grandest ship in history joins the LEGO family as LEGO Titanic is unveiled - "Billund, 7 October, 2021: The LEGO Group has revealed an authentic replica of the most famous ship of all time, the RMS Titanic. For the first time, fans can now recreate the luxury liner in detailed LEGO® brick form, 110 years since it was launched in Belfast in 1911. The LEGO Titanic is one of the longest and largest LEGO models to date, made up of 9,090 pieces, making it a truly immersive building challenge for LEGO fans and budding historians alike." Price: US$629.99.
• 'The Love Boat': How a TV show transformed the cruise industry - "From steam-powered ships, to mega-liners, the cruise industry has been through quite a transformation over the years. And the market has skyrocketed."
• This Cruise Ship Has the Highest COVID-19 Infection Rate in the World - "Cornonavirus cases onboard the Diamond Princess now account for more than one third of all those detected outside mainland China."
• This Man Has Been Living On Cruise Ships for Twenty Years - "Mario Salcedo took his first cruise almost twenty years ago - and never stopped."
• Titanic: 40 fascinating facts about the ship - The Telegraph.
• Titanic Dives To Start Again In 2018, For The Cool Price Of US$100,000 - The Huffington Post.
• Titanic: First ever full-sized scans reveal wreck as never seen before - "The first full-sized digital scan of the Titanic, which lies 3,800m (12,500ft) down in the Atlantic, has been created using deep-sea mapping. It provides a unique 3D view of the entire ship, enabling it to be seen as if the water has been drained away. The hope is that this will shed new light on exactly what happened to the liner, which sank in 1912."
• Titanic for tourists: London tour company booking trips to explore the world's most famous shipwreck - The Telegraph.
• Titanic menu shedding light on life aboard sells for over $100,000 - "Heavily water-stained, with some of the lettering partly erased, the menu likely ended up in the North Atlantic for a time when the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, British auction house Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd. said in the lot description."
• Titanic II scheduled to set sail in 2027 - "The ship is scheduled to set sail in June of 2027, although tickets are not yet available. First, Blue Star Line, of which Palmer is CEO, has to build Titanic II. That's something the mining billionaire and politician has hoped to do for more than a decade."
• Titanic’s Treasures Captivate Collectors, but They’ll Need Deep Pockets - "Numerous artifacts from the Titanic, including a violin case, are up for auction this weekend in England. Collectors are ready to pounce."
• Titanic II interiors unveiled ahead of maiden voyage in 2018 - The Telegraph.
• Travelers set sail on 'cruise to nowhere' - "What it's like to sail on a 'cruise to nowhere'."
• Ultimate world cruise - "World's longest cruise sets sail from London. Viking Cruises has just launched its "Ultimate World Cruise," a 245-day luxury journey aimed at setting the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous passenger cruise. The 930-guest Viking Sun set sail from London's Greenwich Pier on August 31, 2019."
• Unusual things you can do on a cruise ship - The Telegraph.
• Venice asks other ports to help find solution to cruise ship problems - "Italian city’s port authority asks eight other port cities to ‘join forces’ to combat problem."
• Virgin reveals adults-only cruise ship - "Scarlet Lady: Cruise like a rock star aboard Virgin Voyages' first ship."
• What Food You Should NEVER Buy on a Cruise - and What You Should Splurge On - TIME Magazine.
• What it's like aboard Virgin's adults-only cruise ship - "When you step into the Scarlet Lady cruise ship, you know immediately you're on Richard Branson's ship. Richard Branson hates cruise ships, so why'd he build one?"
• What you didn't know about the golden age of the ocean liner - The Telegraph.
• Why A Private Equity Firm Backed By Bernard Arnault Is Putting $400 Million Into Norwegian Cruise Line - Forbes.
• Why Do Cruise Lines Keep Cutting Their Ships in Half? - TIME Magazine.
• why dozens of cruise ships ended up stranded in Manila Bay - "Thousands of Filipino and international crew members are stuck as they await results of Covid-19 tests."
• Why I’m selling my possessions to live on a cruise ship - "She signed up to live on a cruise ship for three years. Here’s why. When Sharon Lane heard about a cruise company offering a three-year-long voyage around the world, she immediately started fantasizing about life on board. Life at Sea Cruises is selling places on board the MV Gemini, which sets sail from Istanbul on November 1 on an epic global journey that will take in most of the planet’s prime cruising destinations."
• Why this viral photo of the world’s largest cruise ship is polarizing opinion - "The world’s largest cruise ship hasn’t welcomed a single passenger aboard yet, but it’s already set the internet on fire. The Icon of the Seas - which recently completed its first set of sea trials in preparation for its maiden voyage in January 2024 - has amazing credentials: 1,198 feet long (316 feet longer than the Titanic), 159 feet wide, 20 total decks and a maximum capacity of almost 10,000 people including all passengers and crew. But when an image of its stern section went viral in July, it polarized opinions, eliciting passionate reactions on all sides. The artist’s impression depicted the fully laden ship in vibrant colors, emphasizing its massive water park - featuring record-breaking water slides - and conveying the ship’s extraordinary size and density."
• Why You Shouldn't Book a Room at the Front of a Cruise Ship - "I took my first cruise on the largest ship of its kind. Booking the wrong room was my biggest regret. Booking a room at the front of the ship was my biggest regret on my first cruise. On Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas, I learned that rooms at the front are bumpier than others. I booked the very front room of deck eight and felt seasick for the majority of my voyage."
• Wild new cruise ship to feature several world firsts - "New cruise ship to feature world's first free-fall dry slide at sea and a three-level racetrack. Due to set sail in August 2022, Norwegian Prima has become the cruise line's most in-demand ship ever, says the brand, attracting record bookings when it launched in May. And that was before cruisers even had a chance to see its offerings."
• Will Quintessentially One be the world's most luxurious cruise ship? - The Telegraph.
• world’s biggest cruise ship is almost ready - "Record-breaking gigantic new cruise ship is almost ready."
• world’s largest cruise ship in numbers - The Telegraph.
• World's largest cruise ship suite revealed - "World's largest cruise ship suite to feature $200,000 bed."
• World’s Largest Cruise Ship Will Set Sail In 2024 - "That’s certainly been the mantra for Miami based cruise line Royal Caribbean, who just announced their largest ship Icon of the Seas will officially enter service in 2024. At maximum capacity, Icon will be capable of hosting 7,600 passengers on its inaugural sail on January 28, 2024."
• world's most challenging cruise ship routes - "Navigating a colossal ship is no mean feat under any conditions, but certain routes, like the sandstorm-prone, narrow Suez Canal - infamously blocked by a container ship last year - or the windy, glacier-lined waterways of Alaska, are particularly challenging."
• World's most expensive & luxurious cruise ship - "First look at $1bn Celebrity Edge, the world's most luxurious ship."
• World's most luxurious cruise? - "Japan's 38-guest luxury floating hotel."
• World's most luxurious cruise ship? - "Crystal Symphony voyage is a decidedly grownup affair."
• world's most over-the-top cruise ship cabins - "What's it like sailing the seas at the very height of luxury? The most lavish suites on cruise ships fuse the best cutting-edge technology with the timeless luxury of 24-hour butler service, catering to your every whim. The world's most incredible floating accommodations all have one thing in common: stunning views. Behold the wonder of glaciers and fjords or a chance encounter with dolphins and whales as you float by in the privacy of your own expansive terrace."
• You can now live on a cruise ship for $30,000 per year - "Have you ever dreamed of giving it all up, leaving it all behind and hitting the road to escape all your responsibilities? Life at Sea Cruises has opened bookings for its three-year voyage on the MV Gemini, which sets sail from Istanbul on November 1, 2023. You have eight months to get your passport, vaccinations and remote working abilities in order. The company is promising to tick off 375 ports around the world, visiting 135 countries and all seven continents. The ship will cover more than 130,000 miles over the three years, taking in iconic sights from Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue and India’s Taj Mahal, to Mexico’s Chichen Itza, the pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China. It even slots in trips to 103 'tropical islands.' Of those 375 ports, 208 will be overnight stops, giving you extra time in the destination."

Top 50 Cruise Ships & Ocean Liners: A-Z