Port Canaveral now home to worlds largest cruise ship

Table Of Content

• Majestic Princess
• (tied). Quantum of the Seas
• Top 10 Largest Cruise Ships by Passenger Capacity
• What’s the Best Month to Cruise? Pros & Cons of Sailing Each Month of the Year
• The world’s largest cruise ship has 20 decks, 7 pools and would cover almost 4 city blocks
• How Much Cruise Lines Spend on Food (Less Than You Think?)

Water parks, huge entertainment spaces, dizzying restaurant options, and a wider variety of cabins are all part of how the largest cruise ships are filling all that space. The Los Angeles-based cruise giant — the fifth largest cruise line in the world — also has several relatively small cruise ships in its fleet that carry just 2,000 or 3,000 people and have a more intimate feel. In some cases, these vessels are nearly 40% smaller than the size of Princess Cruises' biggest ships. These smaller ships, notably, have less deck-top pool space and fewer interior venues than the biggest Princess cruise ships.

Majestic Princess

'Biggest, baddest ship on the planet': World's largest cruise ship stokes environmental concerns - CNBC

'Biggest, baddest ship on the planet': World's largest cruise ship stokes environmental concerns.

Posted: Mon, 29 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Onboard, passengers can find 16 guest decks, 2,747 staterooms and suites and 23 pools and whirlpools. Icon of the Seas doesn’t sail with passengers until 2024, but it’s already made waves. It’s not just the massive size (250,800 gross tons and 7,600 passengers at maximum capacity), but what’s onboard. A full-fledged waterpark, seven different pools, and eight different neighborhoods offer a spot for everyone. If you think cruise ships have gotten bigger, it’s not just your imagination. Whereas a ship built in the 1990s might hold 2,500 passengers and come in at around 75,000 gross tons (a measure of ship size), that’s nowhere near the ships built today.

(tied). Quantum of the Seas

Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Here is every Royal Caribbean ship currently in operation ranked from biggest to smallest.

Top 10 Largest Cruise Ships by Passenger Capacity

For instance, Arvia features a unique Skydome area that is a pool area with retractable roof by day and an entertainment venue by night. It also features its own rum distillery onboard, meaning you can take home rum literally made on the ship. Kids will love the Altitude zone that features a ropes course, mini-golf, and more. Liquefied natural gas, meanwhile, is a controversial energy source that involves cooling natural gas to a liquid state to make it easier to transport. The liquid version is “actually worse than ordinary gas,” writes the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The energy required to chill, ship and regasify the fossil fuel makes it far more carbon-intensive and increases the potential for leakage of dangerous methane,” according to the organization.

Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas was previously the world’s largest cruise ship in most of 2023. The Oasis class vessel is 236,857 gross tons and has a passenger capacity of 5,734 at double occupancy, but that goes up to 7,084 at maximum capacity. The giant cruise ship also has a crew capacity of 2,204, and there are a total of 18 decks. The ship has 1,550 staterooms ranging from interior cabins to elaborate suites, a baker’s dozen pools and whirlpools, and a total of 20 restaurants, bars and lounges. So book a vacation on one of the largest cruise ships in the world, then pack your cruise ducks and your appetite for learning how to cook at Toscana‘s Food LAB cooking school, among other adventures at sea.

A similar design is used for Carnival’s largest ships, Mardi Gras, Celebration, and Jubilee. However, those ships come in just under the 185,000 gross tons seen with Smeralda and Toscana. The biggest Royal Caribbean cruise ship is the just-unveiled Icon of the Seas.

So, while the lines may appear long, the guests you’re seeing are just a smaller sampling of those on board. The third ship in the history of the fleet to be graced with the iconic name, the Sun Princess is poised to be a fan favorite. Drawing inspiration from the tiered terraces of Santorini, Greece, this evocative area will have an indoor/outdoor pool to enjoy supreme relaxation during the day.

The world’s largest cruise ship has 20 decks, 7 pools and would cover almost 4 city blocks

If you notice, most of the largest ships on our list were built recently. This ship first began sailing in 2009 and set off the “arms race” of larger ships that continues today. Norwegian Cruise Line is an outlier of the major cruise lines in that its newest ships are actually going smaller. The current newest ship is Norwegian Prima, which first started sailing in 2022. But the largest ship in the fleet is Norwegian Encore, which debuted in 2019. While these ships are similar, the largest of the class (and therefore the world) is Wonder of the Seas, which first began sailing in 2022.

But once the sun says goodbye, the pool becomes a stage and the dome above transforms into an entertainment venue with eye-popping lighting effects. Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas made its first voyage in 2016, which made it the third ship in the Quantum-class. MSC Bellissima is yet another member of MSC's Meraviglia-class to make our list.

These watery areas of rest, relaxation and revelry will comfortably accommodate more than 1,000 guests at a time. Indoors, a 360-foot-long Mediterranean-style promenade is lined with myriad shops, along with some of the 20 bars and 10 restaurants found on the ship. It also features a domed LED screen that magically displays the sky and other animations throughout the day and night.

This means that whether you’re taking a singles cruise or have children in tow—the Arvia is a family-friendly ship with age-specific kids clubs on board—serious rest and relaxation are definitely on the agenda. Then, when you’re feeling spry and ready for some adventure during your vacation at sea, you can try an escape room or ropes course, play in the sports arena or strut your stuff in a dance class. MSC Seashore first debuted in August 2020 and is one of only two ships in the Seaside EVO-class. AIDA Cruises AIDAcosma, the second in the Excellence-class, was first released in December 2021. Costa Toscana is Costa Smeralda's sister ship, meaning the two ships are identical in size.

This is the first world-class vessel from the fast-growing MSC Cruises and was built at the popular Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France. Since her delivery in October 2022, she has been the largest MSC cruise ship ever. It is powered by six dual-fuel engines, which can be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a fuel alternative that the Cruise Lines International Association says reduces sulfur and greenhouse gas emissions.

It is 1,188’ in length and 238’ in height and weighs an impressive 228,081 gross tonnage. One of the nicest features of this ship is the way it is organized into seven neighborhoods. Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas is the flagship of the Oasis class.

A Wonder of the Seas passenger boarding the ship Sunday shared his thoughts on how the cruise industry has navigated the pandemic. When the Icon of the Seas was first revealed in October 2022, the ship spurred the single largest booking day and the highest volume booking week in Royal Caribbean’s then 53-year history, according to the cruise line. The ship sets sail as Royal Caribbean’s cruises are having a moment online. Since December, the company’s 9-month “Ultimate World Cruise” has captivated — and confused — a following of avid watchers on social media. In addition, because of their size, the smallest ships at Princess Cruises are able to operate itineraries to places that aren't as easy for big ships to visit. Not all ports in the world can handle a ship the size of Discovery Princess.