When it comes to vacation getaways, the concept of the sea cruise is a fairly new phenomenon. It was well into the 19th century before the idea took hold of travelling the seas for leisure and comfort in large vessels accommodating hundreds, and later thousands, of passengers.
Mark Twain popularized the concept in the late 1800s with his travel books, “The Innocents Abroad” and “Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World.” The sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912 still captures popular interest. At 882 feet long, 92 feet wide and 175 feet tall, with a volume of 46,328 gross tons, the Titanic was at the time the largest ship ever built.
Today’s largest cruise ships can be more than 1,100 feet long, more than 200 feet wide and tall enough to require elevators. The largest cruise ships in operation have gross tonnages well over 200,000. While the Titanic could accommodate up to about 2,500 non-crew passengers, the largest cruise ships can handle well over twice that number. And they do a lot more than just get people from one destination to another — these are the cruises that are better than most vacations.
Royal Caribbean, the cruise line that boasts some of the largest cruise ships afloat, announced in May it was building the biggest of all and plans for it to sail in 2021. Little is known about the ship under construction. It is the fifth in its Oasis class — the largest class of vessels in the Royal Caribbean fleet — and is being built at a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. A sixth Oasis-class ship is to be launched in 2023.
The following is a list of the top 20 largest cruise ships based on the number of non-crew passengers they can accommodate.
Click here to see the 20 largest cruise ships in the world.
Click here to read about our methodology in detail.
20. MSC Fantasia
Non-crew passenger capacity: 3,274
Year deployed: 2008
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.
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19. World Dream
Non-crew passenger capacity: 3,348
Year deployed: 2017
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.
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18. Majestic Princess
Non-crew passenger capacity: 3,560
Year deployed: 2017
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.
17. Carnival Dream
Non-crew passenger capacity: 3,646
Year deployed: 2009
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.
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16. Britannia
Non-crew passenger capacity: 3,647
Year deployed: 2015
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.
15. Carnival Breeze
Non-crew passenger capacity: 3,690
Year deployed: 2012
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.
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14. Carnival Vista
Non-crew passenger capacity: 3,934
Year deployed: 2016
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.
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13. Norwegian Bliss
Non-crew passenger capacity: 4,004
Year deployed: 2018
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.
12. MSC Meraviglia
Non-crew passenger capacity: 4,500
Year deployed: 2017
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.
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11. Freedom of the Seas
Non-crew passenger capacity: 4,515
Year deployed: 2006
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.
10. Independence of the Seas
Non-crew passenger capacity: 4,560
Year deployed: 2008
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.
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9. Ovation of the Seas
Non-crew passenger capacity: 4,905
Year deployed: 2016
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.
8. Costa Diadema
Non-crew passenger capacity: 4,947
Year deployed: 2014
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.
7. Costa Venezia
Non-crew passenger capacity: 5,100
Year deployed: 2019
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.
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6. MSC Seaview
Non-crew passenger capacity: 5,179
Year deployed: 2018
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.
5. AIDAnova
Non-crew passenger capacity: 5,200
Year deployed: 2018
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.
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4. Spectrum of the Seas
Non-crew passenger capacity: 5,622
Year deployed: 2019
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.
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3. MSC Bellissima
Non-crew passenger capacity: 5,686
Year deployed: 2019
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.
2. Symphony of the Seas
Non-crew passenger capacity: 6,680
Year deployed: 2018
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.
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1. Harmony, Oasis, Allure of the Seas (tied)
Non-crew passenger capacity: 6,780
Year deployed: 2016
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.
24/7 Tempo reviewed cruise company websites and industry publications to determine the largest cruise ships based on the maximum number of non-crew passengers they can accommodate. In the event vessels share the same passenger capacities, the newest ship is listed and others are mentioned in the summary descriptions. For all but three vessels on the list, we used the passenger capacity numbers provided by the cruise companies rather than third-party estimates, which sometimes include crew numbers or are based on preliminary estimates published before a ship was configured.
For the three ships whose companies did not provide non-crew passenger numbers (the Costa Diadema, the World Dream and the Genting Dream), we relied on passenger capacity numbers from Ship Technology, a shipping industry publication.
Because much of the interior volume of a cruise ship is used for amenities other than passenger cabins, like water parks, restaurants and nightclubs, larger and heavier ships do not necessarily carry more passengers.
While the largest ships on the list have the highest gross tonnage, a standard measure used to rank sea vessels by the volume of enclosed space, lighter ships with less interior volume and weight can in some cases accommodate more passengers.
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