List of largest cruise ships

Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, passenger ships primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans, they typically embark on round-trip voyages to various attractive ports of call. There passengers may go on organized tours known as "shore excursions".^[1] The largest may carry thousands of passengers in a single trip, and are some of the largest ships in the world by gross tonnage (GT), bigger than many large cargo ships. Cruise ships started to exceed ocean liners in size and capacity in the mid-1990s;^[2] before then, few were more than 50,000 GT.^[3] In the decades since the size of the largest vessels has more than doubled.^[4]

There have been nine or more new cruise ships added every year since 2001, most of which are 100,000 GT or greater.^[5] In the two decades between 1988 and 2009, the largest cruise ships grew a third longer (268 to 360 m (879 to 1,181 ft)), almost doubled their widths (32.2 to 60.5 m (106 to 198 ft)), doubled the total passengers (2,744 to 5,400), and tripled in volume (73,000 GT to 225,000 GT). The largest have grown considerably since, particularly in passenger capacity; As of December 2023^[update], the largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, has a gross tonnage of 248,336, is 365 m (1,198 ft) long and holds up to 7,600 passengers.^[6][7]

Cruise ships are organized much like floating hotels, with a complete hospitality staff in addition to the usual ship's crew.^[8] They cater to nautical tourists, with recent vessels being described as "balcony-laden floating condominiums".^[9] The "megaships" went from a single deck with verandas to all decks with verandas,^[10] and feature ameneties such as theaters, fine-dining and chain restaurants, spas, fitness centers, casinos, sports facilities, and even amusement park attractions.^[1][11]

Cruise ships require electricity both for propulsion and onboard power.^[12] As with cargo ships, cruise vessels are designed with all the heavy machinery at the bottom of the hull and lightweight materials where feasible at the top, making them inherently stable even as passenger ships are getting ever taller,^[13] and most supplement design with stabilizer fins to further reduce rolling in heavy weather.^[14] While some cruise ships use traditional fixed propellers and rudders to steer, most larger ships use azimuth thrusters that can swivel left and right to steer, vastly improving vessel maneuverability.^[15]

Cruise ships are operated by cruise lines, which offer cruises to the public. In the 1990s, many cruise lines were bought by much larger holding companies and continue to operate as brands or subsidiaries of the holding company. For instance, Carnival Corporation & plc owns both the mass-market Carnival Cruise Line, focused on larger party ships for younger travelers, and Holland America Line, whose smaller ships cultivate an image of classic elegance.^[16]