List of largest cruise 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.

[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.

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.

The lead ship Carnival Destiny the first to exceed 100,000 gross tons and the first to eclipse RMS Queen Elizabeth in terms of tonnage.

The Voyager-class from Royal Caribbean Group's Royal Caribbean International (RCI) debuted in 1998 and at over 137,000 GT, were almost 30,000 GT larger than the next-largest cruise ships, and were some of the first designed to offer amenities such as an ice rink and climbing wall.

[1] In 2004, the five Voyager-class ships were overtaken by the 148,528 GT Queen Mary 2 (QM2), the only ocean liner currently in service.

While its exact size is not published, RCI has previously stated that each new Oasis-class ship will be a little larger than the last.

[161] Each year from 2023 to 2027, the Norwegian Cruise Line will debut additional ships from the Prima class.

[162] Additionally, Norwegian Cruise Line is expected to take delivery of four approximately 200,000-gross-ton ships, each with a capacity of nearly 5,000 guests, in 2030, 2032, 2034 and 2036, which are subject to financing.