See here the world's largest cruise ships list (including vessels under construction) owned by the best cruise line companies. This article is also integrated with our ship dimensions, passenger capacity, and old cruise ships surveys.
CruiseMapper's list of biggest cruise ships includes all vessels with gross tonnage/volume over 150,000 GT-tons.
Each one of these behemoth ships is an engineering marvel produced by our contemporary age of fun and super technologies. Kudos to their builders and double kudos to their proud owners who have invested so much in these newbuild projects!
Note: In the following table, all links are internal (CruiseMapper) and redirect to the liner's itinerary schedule where you can compare dates and prices per person (double occupancy cabin rates).
| Ships | Tonnage | Length | Width (waterline) | Max Capacity (Passengers) | Cabins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon Of The Seas, Star Of The Seas | 250800 t | 365m / 1,198 ft | 65m / 213 ft | 7600 | 2805 |
| Utopia Of The Seas | 228081 t | 362m / 1,188 ft | 47m / 154 ft | 7958 | 2874 |
| Wonder Of The Seas | 228081 t | 362m / 1,188 ft | 47m / 154 ft | 6988 | 2874 |
| Symphony Of The Seas | 228081 t | 362m / 1,188 ft | 47m / 154 ft | 6370 | 2759 |
| Harmony Of The Seas | 226963 t | 362m / 1,188 ft | 47m / 154 ft | 6314 | 2745 |
| Allure Of The Seas | 225282 t | 360m / 1,181 ft | 47m / 154 ft | 6314 | 2745 |
| Oasis Of The Seas | 225282 t | 360m / 1,181 ft | 47m / 154 ft | 6307 | 2742 |
| MSC WORLD (Europa, America, Asia, tbn) | 215860 t | 333 m / 1,092 ft | 46m / 151 ft | 6782 | 2633 |
| Disney Adventure/fka Global Dream | 208000 t | 342 m / 1,122 ft | 46m / 151 ft | 4700 | 2350 |
| (P&O) Arvia, Iona | 184700 t | 345m / 1132 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 6264 | 2610 |
| AIDAcosma | 183900 t | 337m / 1,106 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 6600 | 2500 |
| AIDAnova | 183900 t | 337m / 1,106 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 6600 | 2500 |
| Costa Smeralda | 183900 t | 337m / 1,106 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 6518 | 2612 |
| Costa Toscana | 183900 t | 337m / 1,106 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 6518 | 2612 |
| Carnival Jubilee | 183900 t | 344 m / 1129 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 6631 | 2641 |
| Carnival Celebration | 183900 t | 344 m / 1129 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 6338 | 2641 |
| Carnival Mardi Gras | 183900 t | 344 m / 1129 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 6338 | 2641 |
| MSC Grandiosa, MSC Virtuosa, MSC Euribia | 181541 t | 331m / 1,086 ft | 43m / 141 ft | 6334 | 2421 |
| Sun Princess (2024), Star Princess (2025) | 177900 t | 345m / 1132 ft | 47m / 154 ft | 5189 | 2162 |
| MSC Bellissima, MSC Meraviglia | 171598 t | 315m / 1,033 ft | 43m / 141 ft | 5386 | 2244 |
| MSC Seashore, MSC Seascape | 170400 t | 339 m / 1112 ft | 41 m / 135 ft | 5877 | 2270 |
| Odyssey Of The Seas | 169300 t | 348m / 1,142 ft | 49m / 161 ft | 4805 | 1922 |
| Spectrum Of The Seas | 168666 t | 348m / 1,142 ft | 49m / 161 ft | 4819 | 2095 |
| Norwegian Bliss | 168028 t | 326m / 1,070 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 4903 | 2043 |
| Anthem of the Seas | 167800 t | 348m / 1,142 ft | 49m / 161 ft | 4825 | 2098 |
| Ovation Of The Seas | 167800 t | 348m / 1,142 ft | 49m / 161 ft | 4819 | 2095 |
| Quantum Of The Seas | 167800 t | 348m / 1,142 ft | 49m / 161 ft | 4819 | 2095 |
| Norwegian Encore | 167800 t | 326m / 1,070 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 5218 | 2174 |
| Norwegian Joy | 167400 t | 326m / 1,070 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 4620 | 1925 |
| Norwegian Escape | 163000 t | 326m / 1,070 ft | 42m / 138 ft | 5218 | 2174 |
| (TUI) Mein Schiff Relax, Mein Schiff Flow | 161000 t | 326 m / 1070 ft | 42 m / 138 ft | 4100 | 2050 |
| (NCL-Norwegian) Aqua, Luna, TBN3, TBN4 | 156300 t | 326m / 1,056 ft | 44 m / 144 ft | 4224 | 1760 |
| Norwegian Epic | 155873 t | 329m / 1,079 ft | 40m / 131 ft | 5074 | 2114 |
| Freedom Of The Seas | 154407 t | 338m / 1,109 ft | 56m / 184 ft | 4541 | 1892 |
| Independence Of The Seas | 154407 t | 338m / 1,109 ft | 56m / 184 ft | 4356 | 1815 |
| Liberty Of The Seas | 154407 t | 338m / 1,109 ft | 56m / 184 ft | 4356 | 1815 |
| MSC Seaside, MSC Seaview | 152050 t | 323m / 1,060 ft | 43m / 141 ft | 4961 | 2067 |
| Genting Dream | 151300 t | 335m / 1,099 ft | 39.7m / 130 ft | 3400 | 1686 |
| World Dream/Aroya Manara | 151300 t | 335m / 1,099 ft | 38m / 125 ft | 3400 | 1686 |
The world's largest river cruise ship is Victoria Sabrina. The 2020-launched riverboat is China-built, owned by Victoria Cruises China and deployed year-round on Yangtze River. The vessel has the impressive volume of 17000 GT-tons, LOA length 150 m (492 ft), width 22 m (72 ft), 7 decks (5 with cabins), 270 staterooms, max capacity 690 passengers plus 195 crew/staff.
Oasis-class - biggest cruise ship in the world ever built
World's currently largest cruise ship class is produced exclusively for RCI-Royal Caribbean andin 2 sub-series - Oasis-Class (Allure OTS, Oasis OTS) and Oasis-Plus (Harmony OTS, Symphony OTS, Wonder OTS). These are sisterships from the fleet of the second-largest cruise shipping company in the world - RCCL-Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (as shipowner) that follows only Carnival Corporation (as shipowner).
As to vessels' dimensions, each boasts the unimaginable weight of 227,000-230,000 GT / gross tons, LOA length 362 m (1187 ft) and waterline width 47 m (154 ft). The extreme breadth is over 60 m (198 ft). As the GT is a volume measurement, the ship's actual mass (called displacement) is approx 100,000 tons (the hull alone weighs about 54,000 tons). Surpassing all passenger ship standards, building cost and all previous ship travel vacation concepts, the Oasis-class ships are currently the only passenger shipping vessels of such immense size.
Other interesting numbers are the above waterline height (72 m / 236 ft), depth (23 m / 74 ft below waterline), 16 passenger decks, draft/draught (9,3 m / 31 ft), cruising/service speed 23 knots (26 mph / 42 kph), capacity 5400 passengers at double occupancy (max 6296 / 6870) and officers+crew capacity 2165.
The world's biggest cruise ship propulsion system guarantees the perfect maneuverability by 3 rotatable Azipod thrusters (suspended under the ship's stern), each with a huge electric motor and a 6 m (20 ft) propeller. The ship offers great stability due to its enormous size. And in times of need - there are 18 lifeboats, each with a capacity of 370 people.
Oasis-Plus class is also currently the world's most technologically advanced and energy-efficient cruise vessel ever built. It is equipped with a new-generation exhaust gas cleaning system (multi-stream scrubbers) and with a hull lubrication system allowing the ship to float on air bubbles (created around the hull) thus reducing drag and increasing fuel efficiency.
Regarding cruise accommodations, this class of vessels has some of the largest suites at sea - measuring 150 m2 (over 1600 ft2, balcony included). Another signature feature is the 7 "neighborhoods" (theme-park-like areas), 5 large swimming pools, a huge casino, a full-size volleyball/basketball court, large-capacity bars, and lounges. Oasis-Plus ships additionally have waterslides (created by Aquatic Design & Engineering) and a total of 23 "water fun" areas (swimming pools, large-size outdoor jacuzzies, waterslides, flowriders/surf simulators). The stern-located Ultimate Abyss water slide is 150 ft (45,70 m) above sea level. It features 31 sections, two 360-degree circles, 27-degree slide incline, 28 m (92 ft) serpentine-like drop, 13,14 seconds average sliding time (top to bottom), around 300 small LED lights and graffiti artworks throughout.
These phenomenal ships were manufactured by STX Europe (shipyard Turku Finland / Oasis-class) and in by STX France (shipyard Saint-Nazaire France / Oasis-Plus). The new Oasis ships are 2,15 m (7 ft) longer.
Biggest Carnival cruise ship - "Carnival Pinnacle" class
Watch this amazing YouTube video about the "Carnival Pinnacle cruise ship". The project was designed by the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri as their biggest ever passenger ship - GT tonnage 200,000 tons, capacity 6000 passengers, length 380 m (1246 ft), The "Pinnacle Project" was initiated by Carnival Corporation in 2004 to tip the scales in the "Carnival vs Royal Caribbean" competition.
Carnival Pinnacle was never built as the project was officially canceled (mainly due to the vessel's incredible cost at that time). However, many of the project's elements and innovative design features were later adapted for other large-sized cruise liners built for rival companies.