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How Big A Cruise Ship Can Be!

Emily Davis
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How Big A Cruise Ship Can Be!

Cruise ships are massive and limitless. Apart from being a means of travel; it is like a floating town, bringing together luxury, adventure, and remarkable scale to deliver an unforgettable experience.

With hundreds of cabins and numerous entertainment spaces, these ships offer a wide range of amenities.

From restaurants and theaters to pools, decks, and more, due to their huge size passengers often don’t get the chance to fully explore and enjoy all the areas available on board.

After so much Googling and researching, the question still prevails: how big is the cruise ship? So in this article, we will look at and compare the sizes of modern cruise ships, their designs, their capacity, and everything about them that can justify their vastness and mass.

Whether you’re a travel enthusiast or planning to cruise, prepare yourself for a journey through the sheer scale of cruise ships!

The Average Size of Cruise Ships!

Commonly, ships are measured in gross tonnage, which measures the internal volume of a ship. As per the information, the average gross tonnage of cruise ships is 120,000 GT.

An average-sized cruise ship is expected to be 1000 feet long. This length is equal to three football fields or 10 blue whales.

The Average Size of Cruise Ships!
The Average Size of Cruise Ships!

These ships have a capacity to accommodate approximately 3000 guests along with over 100-150 staff. The height is up to 230 feet above the waterline and has 15 decks.

Explorer of the Seas, Disney Fantasy, Celebrity Apex, etc. are a few examples of an average ship. 

World’s biggest Cruise Ship on the Sea

With a gross tonnage of 250,800, “Icons of the Seas” is known to be the biggest cruise ship. It was launched in January 2024 by Royal Caribbean.

It is 1,198 feet long and has a capacity of 7,600 passengers and 2,350 crew members. This was designed to experience luxury with all modern amenities.

World's biggest Cruise Ship on the Sea
World’s biggest Cruise Ship on the Sea

Being the biggest cruise ship, it also has the largest waterpark at sea with 6 long slides. Before it was launched, Wonder of the Seas had the title of biggest cruise ship, with a gross tonnage of 236,857. 

Height of Cruise Ships 

Not blue whales but cruise ships are the towering giants on the water. Icon of the Seas makes it the tallest cruise ship, with 250 feet above the waterline height and 15-16 decks.

On average, the height of the cruise ships is around 200 feet and they have 10-15 decks that depend upon the design and structure of the cruise ships.

Cruise ships are like multi-level buildings with everything from pools to entertainment spaces; these floating premises offer a mix of luxury and adventure. 

Comparison of Cruise Ship Sizes 

Factors like height, internal volume, and passenger capacity are considered to differentiate between cruise ships.

Most of the large and mid-sized ships have the same length, whereas small ships differ in height, weight, and gross tonnage.

The weight and capacity of passengers are the important criteria for comparing cruise ships. The number of cabins and different spaces are being considered points for the difference in the weight of cruise ships. 

Understanding Cruise Ship Passenger’s Capacity

Passenger capacity makes it easy for any layman to understand the size and scale of a cruise ship. Accommodation of both passengers and crew is counted for this criterion.

Maximum capacity would result in more dining spaces, entertainment venues, and more. A cruise ship can fit a maximum of 9,288 people.

Understanding Cruise Ship Passenger's Capacity
Understanding Cruise Ship Passenger’s Capacity

The Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is the cruise ship with the maximum passenger capacity in the world, with a capacity of 7,600 passengers and 2,350 crew capacity.

Exploring the Maximum Size of Cruise Ships

Cruisers who support the idea that “bigger is better” have been driving the demand for mega cruise ships, which have been steadily growing in size. Naturally, the ports that cruise ships visit will always have restrictions on their size.

Because the pier is only so large, the sea is only so deep, and the port itself only has enough personnel and infrastructure to manage so many people at once, some ports can only accommodate ships of a specific size.

In order to determine if the trend is toward larger or smaller cruise ships, contracts are signed for the construction of new cruise ships years before they are completed.

A Fun Comparison: Cruise Ships vs Other Things

Cruise ships are compared to other large structures or items. Without even remembering the numbers and figures, this would help you visualize and get a general sense of the size of the cruise ship. Let’s investigate:

Blue Whales vs Cruise Ships

Despite being the largest mammal, a blue whale is not as enormous as a cruise ship. 
Compared to whales, ships are roughly 500 times heavier and 10 times larger.

A blue whale can’t be longer than 100 feet if a ship is 1000 feet long on average. A cruise ship is superior in this comparison because a blue whale does not have the greatest values for any of the dimensions: weight, length, or volume.

Container Ships vs Cruise Ships

Cruise ships and container ships are similarly large. Cruise ships are larger, but container ships are longer.

Container ships are 400 meters long; which is almost 10% more than a cruise ship. The gross tonnage of container ships and average huge cruise ships is roughly equivalent.

Container Ships
Container Ships

The passenger capacity on the cruise ship is comparatively more than that of a container ship due to the purpose, as one carries staff whereas the other one carries both staff and passengers. 

Football Field vs Cruise Ships

The biggest cruise ship is three times longer than an American football field. River cruise ships and yachts have similar length and width of a football field.

Cruise ships offer many facilities and accommodate amenities like pools, restaurants, and many rooms, and to fit these in, it should have a total deck area of 20 acres.

Aircraft Carriers vs Cruise Ships

Cruise ships and aircraft carriers have similarities in sizes. The length of the largest aircraft Gerald R. Ford Class is 1,106 feet which is marginally shorter largest cruise ship in the world Icon of the Seas which is 1,198 feet long.

Aircraft Carriers
Aircraft Carriers

Titanic vs Cruise Ships

Today, any average modern cruise ship is two and a half times bigger than the Titanic as it was 882 feet long with a gross tonnage of 46,428 GT and a passenger capacity of 2,435. The below chart compares the size of the Titanic to an average cruise ship “Empress of the Seas”:

BasisTitanicEmpress of the Seas
Year19112001
Length882 ft709 ft
Width92 ft93 ft
Decks1012
Gross Tonnage46,32848,075
Passengers2,435700
Crew89244

Cruise Ship Component Sizes

Let’s know about the massive parts of the cruise ships:

Cruise Ship Propeller

The massive piece of engineering is 20-30 feet in diameter and weighs 30-80 tons. 

Fuel Tank

Any cruise ship that is 900-1100 feet long stores 1-2 million gallons of fuel, whereas a yacht carries about 200,000 gallons of fuel. For cruise ships, LNG is the fuel source.

Engine

3-5 decks of a ship comprise an engine room. Mostly, ships have 4-6 engines that are 25 meters long and 17 meters tall. 

Anchor

The cruise ship’s anchor height is 10-20 feet, and its weight is 13,600 kg. There are two anchors on a cruise ship. 

Cabins

The number and size of cabins depend upon type and ship class. On average, the smallest cabins are 150–185 square feet, balcony cabins range from 200–300 square feet, and suites can exceed 1,000 square feet. 

As technical wonders, cruise ships combine enormous size, luxury, and practicality. They demonstrate that life is feasible at sea with their enormous lengths, towering heights, and capacity to carry thousands of passengers.

Their immense size, whether compared to automobiles, landmarks, or even the giants of nature, is evidence of human imagination and innovation.

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Emily Davis

Emily Davis

Meet Emily Davis, your cruise buddy! She loves exploring the seas and wants to share all her cool tips with you. Emily's guides will make your cruise super awesome, so get ready to have a blast on the high seas with her help!

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