How Many Cruise Ships Are There Worldwide?

Royal Caribbean Cruises, a major competitor of Carnival Corporation, operates some of the largest cruise ships globally. By the end of 2023, there will be an estimated 454 ocean-worthy cruise ships worldwide. In 2023, there were significant gains in passengers cruising from Brazil, Italy, and the UK, while all other markets generally returned to levels similar to 2019. The global cruise ship industry saw significant activity, with over 400 cruise ships sailing worldwide.

The global cruise market is expected to expand by 9.29% from 2023 to 2027, reaching 35.87B in 2027. In 2024, the worldwide cruise sector will produce 30.11B. As of November 2022, there were 302 cruise ships operating worldwide, with a combined capacity of 664,602 passengers. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with an estimated market of 29.4 billion per year and over 19 million passengers carried worldwide annually as of 2011.

Currently, there are 51 ocean cruise lines and 27 river cruise lines in operation globally. On average, a cruise line has 323 cruise ships in operation worldwide. To accommodate all of those cruise ships, there are 314 cruise ships in operation worldwide with a combined capacity of 537,000 passengers.

The total worldwide ocean cruise capacity at the end of 2024 will be 673,000 passengers and 360 ships. Defunct ocean cruise lines where their shipping line is still in service are listed below.


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Some will also sail in the Mediterranean for cruises to Spain, Italy, Greece, and more! Many more cruise ships and cruise lines …


How many cruise ships are there worldwide 2020
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What is the 3 biggest cruise ship in the world?

In serviceRankShip nameGross tonnage1Icon of the Seas248,6632Utopia of the Seas236,4733Wonder of the Seas235,600.

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”. 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; before then, few were more than 50,000GT. In the decades since the size of the largest vessels has more than doubled. There have been nine or more new cruise ships added every year since 2001, most of which are 100,000GT or greater. In the two decades between 1988 and 2009, the largest cruise ships grew a third longer (268 to 360m (879 to 1,181ft)), almost doubled their widths (32.2 to 60.5m (106 to 198ft)), 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 December2023, the largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, has a gross tonnage of 248,336, is 365m (1,198ft) long and holds up to 7,600 passengers.

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

Cruise ships require electricity both for propulsion and onboard power. 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, and most supplement design with stabilizer fins to further reduce rolling in heavy weather. 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.

How many cruise ships are there worldwide 2021
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How many cruise ship accidents per year?

While the above examples are just two of the more than 400 major cruise ship accidents in the past 15 years, both give sense as to the scale of a disaster at sea. But the reality is, 448 major accidents is a small number of accidents compared to the total number of cruises that set sail each year. Based on available statistics, sinking or similar disaster is unlikely to occur while on a cruise ship.

Between 2000 and 2019, a reported 623 cruise ship passengers and crew died.. Researchers who studied passenger and crew member deaths aboard cruise ships found that a total of 623 people were reported to have died on cruises that took place between 2000 and 2019. Of the 623 fatalities, 557 were passengers and 66 were crew members. Eighty-seven percent of the deaths occurred while the ship was at sea, while the other thirteen percent occurred while the ship was docked.

The table below shows the top three causes of death:

How many cruise ships are there in the world 2024
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Which country has the most cruise ships?

The United States was the leading passenger source country in the global cruise industry in 2019.

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What are the top 5 cruise companies in the world?

Carnival Corporation & plc, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, MSC Cruises SA, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, and TUI AG, Genting Bhd are the top 5 cruise companies in the world in 2021 by the number of passengers carried. In aggregate, the top 10 cruise companies in the world carried a total of 12,544,100 passengers in 2021, where Carnival Corporation & Plc ferried the highest number of passengers (5,842,600 passengers), followed by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (3,278,500 passengers), and MSC Cruises SA (1,414,700 passengers), while Virgin Cruises Intermediate Ltd ferried the lowest number of passengers (111,100 passengers). In terms of the geographical split, 5 out of the top 10 cruise companies in the world by the number of passengers carried are based in North America, 4 are based in Europe and the remaining 1 is based in Asia. They employed 452,982 people. The United States of America-based Carnival Corporation & plc Ltd is the leading cruise company in the world (by the number of passengers carried). The company is a leisure travel company. Carnival Corporation & plc Ltd reported revenues of $5,595 million for the fiscal year ended December 2021 (FY2021) with a 66% decrease in the revenue growth, due to the pause in guest cruise operations starting from March 2020 and the gradual recommencement in guest cruise operations in 2021. It is a provider of extraordinary vacations to all major cruise destinations in the world. Carnival provides services through a portfolio of global, regional, and national cruise brands that specialize in selling cruise products, services, and vacation experiences. It visits more than 230 destinations across the world and offers an annual world cruise and itineraries. Carnival Corporation & plc Ltd employed 39,000 people.

How many cruise ships sink a year
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How many cruise ships have sunk?

Thankfully, very few cruise ships have actually sunk in modern history. Even so, the Titanic’s sinking impacted maritime law so much that there are more than enough lifeboats for all passengers and crew onboard any given sailing.

Within the last 111 years, over 20 cruise ships and ocean liners have sunk.

Titanic (April 1912). One of the most infamous sinkings was that of the Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

On the night of April 14, 1912, the ship collided with an iceberg. A little over two-and-a-half hours later, the ship was completely submerged underwater. Unfortunately, the majority of passengers were unable to safely evacuate, as there were not enough lifeboats for everyone onboard.

Cruise ship packages
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How many cruise ships are operating?

  • In 2024, the worldwide cruise sector will produce $30.11B in revenue.
  • A total of 323 cruise ships are currently in operation globally.
  • There are 51 ocean and 27 river cruise lines in the world.
  • On average, a cruise ship can host around 3,000 passengers.
  • There were 12,592 cruise guests from North America in 2022.
  • A cruise ship earns an estimated net profit of $291 per passenger.
  • The typical age of a cruise tourist is 46.5.

Passenger Volumes and Forecasts. 01. In 2024, cruise passenger volume is expected to hit 120% of 2019’s levels, with 36M passengers setting sail.

02. There were 12,592 cruise guests from North America in 2022.

How many Cruises are there per year
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What was the worst cruise ship incident?

The many experts in 1912 who considered the Titanic “unsinkable” were to be proven wrong on the boat’s maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Thomas Andrews had designed the ship to withstand head-on collisions and rammings from other ships. However, the North Atlantic Ocean iceberg that took down the vessel scraped through five of its 16 watertight compartments. The boat would have reportedly remained afloat if it had only gone through four. Like other systems at the time, the Titanic’s lifeboats were designed to shepherd passengers to nearby rescue ships, not take them to shore. Unfortunately, help was many hours away in the wee hours of April 15 when the boat was going under. The poor crew organization also caused many lifeboats to leave the ship at far less than full capacity. Plus, they only had enough boats for about a third of the onboard. As a result, more than 1,500 people died — either on the ship or in the icy waters, waiting for help. A recent theory suggests a fire that started in the hull before the ship set sail weakened the vessel’s steel walls, making it susceptible to an iceberg that normally wouldn’t have caused as much damage.

In 2015, Dongfang zhi Xing was traveling on the Yangtze River in China when a thunderstorm struck, and the boat capsized. Ships in the area were warned that bad storms were coming and told to take precautions, but it is unclear if the Dongfang zhi Xing ever received the warnings and continued to sail. The ship was met with winds of up to 72-85 mph, and ultimately, a downburst (a strong downward wind) caused the ship to capsize and sink. Out of the 454 people on board, only 12 survived, making the total number of dead 442.

A generator fire on Carnival Cruise Lines’s Triumph (now called Carnival Sunrise) left the ship powerless, and a late-night comedy punchline was born: “The Poop Cruise.” Without working bathrooms, passengers were forced to drop their payloads into red “hazardous waste” bags and stuff them into garbage cans left in the hall. Passengers described carpets soaked with more than two inches of raw sewage. News reports described the scene as a “shanty town” and a “new circle of hell.” One passenger reportedly called her husband and told him that their 12-year-old daughter had Skittles for breakfast. It took four days for the Triumph to be towed from the Gulf of Mexico to Mobile, Alabama, where it was possible to smell the ship from the dock. Later, 31 passengers claimed long-lasting damage, including PTSD, and sued. After the verdict, 27 of them split $118,000, many earning less than $3,000 (minus legal fees) for their troubles.

What is the 14 largest cruise ship in the world
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How many cruise ships are on earth?

As of November 2022 there were 302 cruise ships operating worldwide, with a combined capacity of 664,602 passengers. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with an estimated market of $29.4 billion per year, and over 19 million passengers carried worldwide annually as of 2011.

“Sea cruise” redirects here. For the song, see Sea Cruise.

Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as “shore excursions”. On “cruises to nowhere” or “nowhere voyages”, some cruise ships make two- to three-night round trips without visiting any ports of call.

Modern cruise ships tend to have less hull strength, speed, and agility compared to ocean liners. However, they have added amenities to cater to water tourists, with recent vessels being described as “balcony-laden floating condominiums”.

List of cruise ships
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What is the richest cruise ship company in the world?

Largest cruise line companies by market cap#NameM. Cap1Royal Caribbean 1RCL$39.52 B2Carnival Corporation 2CCL$22.62 B3Viking Holdings 3VIK$15.18 B4Norwegian Cruise Line 4NCLH$7.92 B.

What is the market capitalization of a company?. The market capitalization sometimes referred as Marketcap, is the value of a publicly listed company.In most cases it can be easily calculated by multiplying the share price with the amount of outstanding shares.

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How many cruise ships have sunk
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How many ships are at the bottom of the ocean?

Ever since humans started building ships, they’ve turned into wrecks. Some shipwrecks are world-famous, the subjects of hit movies and decades-long searches for their final resting place. But most of them aren’t as renowned, as large, or as deeply buried as the Titanic. There’s an estimated three million shipwrecks scattered across the ocean floor, from sunken World War II destroyers to colonial Spanish galleons to small abandoned dinghies. Today, many of them are teeming with marine life, reclaimed by the ocean as homes for coral, eels, snappers and sharks.

It’s not just happenstance and disaster that brings about this phenomenon. Innumerable boats and other human-made objects have been deliberately sunk to the ocean floor—known as artificial reefs —typically in the hope of kicking off reef development and attracting fish. Ancient Roman and Persian sailors even deliberately sunk items to the ocean floor, though usually to trap enemy vessels in naval battles or to divert marauding pirate ships. At some point, humans recognized the fish-attracting powers of reefs and sought to replicate the results in favorable locations. Records from the 1830s show fishermen off South Carolina building log huts in coastal waters to generate higher yields, and offshore rigs became fishing hotspots with the development of oil and gas drilling. Today, industrious individuals sink all manners of refuse in their favorite fishing spots. You can find unsanctioned artificial reefs made out of busted fridges, wheel-less shopping carts or the frames of old cars teeming with red snapper, butterflyfish and stony corals.

In the 1970’s state and federal entities started experimenting with creating sanctioned artificial reefs, typically as habitat restoration projects. “They’re installed to create new homes for a variety of marine life,” said Avery Paxton, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science who studies the ecology of artificial reefs. “They can also be used to restore degraded habitats.” Research shows that artificial reefs host more fish than natural ones and attract more large predators, like sharks and barracudas, that like to hang out in the water column swirling above the reef.

Alphabetical list of Cruise Lines
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What is the #1 cruise line in the world?

Norwegian Cruise Line The best cruise lines in 2023. Norwegian Cruise Line ranked as the best cruise line in the world, according to Condé Nast Traveler.

It looks like more smooth sailing for the cruise industry.

An October survey from Condé Nast Traveler revealed that 47% of people said they would be interested in setting sail on a ship — only 27% of readers went on a cruise last year.

A recent report from the Cruise Lines International Association shows that traveling by cruise is becoming one of the fastest-growing tourism sectors.

What company owns the most cruise ships?
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What company owns the most cruise ships?

Carnival Corporation & plc World’s Leading Cruise Lines is a part of Carnival Corporation & plc, the largest cruise vacation company in the world. Our goal is to help guests experience the best vacation possible by visiting the most desirable destinations at an outstanding value across all 9 brands.


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How Many Cruise Ships Are There Worldwide
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Debbie Green

I am a school teacher who was bitten by the travel bug many decades ago. My husband Billy has come along for the ride and now shares my dream to travel the world with our three children.The kids Pollyanna, 13, Cooper, 12 and Tommy 9 are in love with plane trips (thank goodness) and discovering new places, experiences and of course Disneyland.

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