The Biggest Cruise Ships in the World

When it was launched, the MSC Fantasia was the largest cruise ship built for a European ship owner. Today, Geneva, Switzerland-based MSC Cruises has four cruise ships that are larger, including the MSC Bellissima, the world’s third-largest cruise ship by non-crew passenger capacity. The Fantasia serves the Mediterranean cruise market, with embarkations from Marseille, France; Mallorca, Spain; and Naples, Livorno, and Genoa in Italy.

The newer of the two largest ships based on passenger capacity from Hong Kong-based Dream Cruises has helped to strengthen Hong Kong as an Asian cruise hub. Focused on the growing number of Chinese leisure travelers, the World Dream also operates out of Guangzhou, the populous southern Chinese city. World Dream’s sister ship, the Genting Dream, was launched in 2015 and has the same passenger capacity.

Princess Cruises might be best known in the U.S. as the namesake brand of the ABC romantic sitcom “The Love Boat,” which ran for nine seasons in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Asia, it might be better known as one of the premiere cruise ships for Australian journeys. In addition to embarking from Australia’s major port cities, it offers packages from Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, and Auckland, New Zealand.

Carnival’s first Dream-class cruise ship is the smallest Carnival ship by passenger capacity on this list. Clearly, Carnival wasn’t going for any records for weight or passenger numbers – at the time the Dream went into service, Royal Caribbean had much larger ships. Like the larger and newer Carnival Vista, the Dream is based in Galveston, Texas, and offers western Caribbean cruises.

The Britannia is owned and operated by P&O Cruises, the world’s oldest existing cruise line, founded in 1837. It’s now a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company. Featuring a three-tier atrium centered by a massive chandelier, the Britannia is more subdued than its U.S.-based counterparts that brim with activities. The largest cruise ship ever built specifically for the U.K. market, the Britannia offers transatlantic cruises between Southampton and Barbados.

Carnival’s third Dream-class vessel shares the number 15 spot with its predecessor, the Carnival Magic, which is a year older. Both can accommodate slightly more non-crew passengers than the first Dream-class cruise ship, which set sail in 2009. Both vessels offer Caribbean cruises from Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.

Miami-based Carnival Corporation is the world’s largest cruise line operator, but the largest vessel bearing the Carnival name ranks as the 13th largest by passenger capacity. The Carnival Vista is based in Galveston, Texas, and offers cruises to the western Caribbean, including ports of call to Cozumel, Mexico, and Belize. The Vista was recently taken out of service temporarily for repairs using a new floating dry dock facility in the Bahamas that completed the work ahead of schedule.

The only vessel on this list from Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line just barely edges into the family of 17 cruise ships that can accommodate more than 4,000 non-crew passengers. The Norwegian Bliss operates Alaskan tours. It also features a 21-day cruise from Los Angeles to New York City via the Panama Canal, with 10 ports of call along the west coast of Mexico, Central America, and the southern Caribbean.

The Meraviglia is one of the smallest of the five MSC Cruises ships on this list, but edges into the list of ships that can carry more than 4,000 passengers, excluding crew. The Meraviglia mostly focuses on Miami-embarked cruises through the Caribbean and Antilles, but in the fall offers New England and Canadian tours from New York City.

Royal Caribbean’s smallest cruise ship (based on guest capacity) on this list is also the oldest. When launched, this Freedom class vessel was the largest cruise ship based on gross tonnage, a standard measure used to rank ships by the volume of enclosed space; today it doesn’t even make it into the top 10 most voluminous tourist ships. It has a gross tonnage of 154,407 compared with 228,081 for Symphony of the Seas, which can accommodate up to 6,680 non-crew passengers. Freedom of the Seas offers Caribbean cruises out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Royal Caribbean is the second-largest cruise operator, but when it comes to behemoth cruise ships the company absolutely dominates. Ten of the 27 largest cruise ships by passenger capacity on this list are operated by the Miami-based company; the Independence is also one of the oldest. Based in Fort Lauderdale, the Independence offers cruises in the western Mediterranean and shorter trips to the Bahamas.

The ninth-largest cruise ship by passenger capacity is a three-way tie among Royal Caribbean’s massive Quantum class cruise ships. The Ovation of the Seas is the newest of the three; the other two are the Anthem of the Seas (2015) and Quantum of the Seas (2014). The Ovation currently serves the Pacific Rim region, with embarkations at Vancouver, Canada; Sydney, Australia; Seattle, Washington; and Tokyo, including a 14-night transpacific cruise from Japan to Seattle via ports of call in Russia and Alaska.

The smaller of Costa Cruises’ two biggest cruise ships is billed as children-friendly and focuses on attracting passengers from the United Arab Emirates to and from Mediterranean port cities, including Genoa, Rome, and Savona in Italy; Marseille, France; and Barcelona, Spain. The ship also has shorter regional routes among ports in Qatar, the UAE, and Oman.

The Costa Venezia is the first cruise ship delivered to Costa Cruises, the Italian brand owned by Carnival Corporation, that’s focused exclusively on the Chinese market. That’s appropriate since famed explorer Marco Polo came from Venice. The interior is inspired by its Italian namesake, with interior Venetian “streets” and “squares,” along with carnival-like entertainment inspired by Venice’s annual costumed spectacle. In March, the Costa Venezia offered its first cruise, a three-stage cruise from the northeast Italian port city of Trieste to Yokohama, Japan, with several ports of call in between.

The Seaview is the newer of two cruise ships from Geneva-based MSC Cruises that can carry a company-reported 5,179 passengers (excluding crew). The Miami-based MSC Seaside began operations in late 2017, delivering tours to the Caribbean and the Antilles. The MSC Seaview began Mediterranean operations last summer, embarking from Barcelona, Mallorca, Genoa, Civitavecchia and Cannes.

The world’s first cruise ship powered by liquefied natural gas was delivered late last year to Rostock, Germany-based AIDA Cruises, a subsidiary of Miami-based Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company. The AIDAnova is the first of seven LNG-powered cruise ships Carnival has on order as part of an industry-wide push away from the dirtier heavy fuels that power most ships today. The AIDAnova is booking trips around southern Europe’s Mediterranean coast and jaunts out to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

In a nod to the importance of the rising Chinese leisure class, Royal Caribbean chose Shanghai to be the home port for the world’s first so-called Quantum Ultra cruise ship, a pricier model of the Quantum class cruise ship that includes newer, exclusive amenities like private elevators and roped-off restaurants. The ship’s foodie options are heavily Asian focused and entertainment includes a Silk Road-inspired extravaganza and a fancy karaoke lounge.

MSC Cruises has one of the newest behemoth cruise ships in operation after the Bellissima took its maiden voyage in March from Southampton to Barcelona, with three Iberian stopovers in between. The Bellissima is the third-largest cruise ship by passenger capacity and is currently booking Mediterranean cruises embarking from Marseille in France, Genoa, Naples, and Messina in Italy, Valletta in Malta, and Barcelona, Spain.

Last year, Royal Caribbean outdid itself with Symphony of the Seas. With a gross tonnage that’s slightly higher than Harmony of the Seas, Symphony is currently the largest and heaviest cruise ship ever put into service. But what it gained in space it lost (slightly) in maximum passenger capacity compared to its other big Royal Caribbean siblings. Symphony currently operates exclusively out of Miami with Caribbean cruises, including three-night jaunts to the Bahamas.

Miami-based Royal Caribbean International operates the world’s largest cruise ships by passenger capacity and gross tonnage, and three of those ships are in a first-place tie for total number of guests they can accommodate, including Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, which began operating in 2009 and 2010, respectively. All three of these floating giants operate mainly in the Caribbean region. Oasis and Allure also offer transatlantic and Mediterranean tours.