There are a lot of articles out there telling you what the top 10 biggest cruise ships on the ocean are right now, and many of them are out of date. That’s the great thing about cruising; we often see great new ships added to fleets and these days bigger is often considered better. Here’s an up-to-date list of the top 10 largest cruise ships at sea:
#1 Allure of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International
The biggest ship in the world, the Allure of the Seas was launched in 2010 and, while designed to the same specifications as her sister the Oasis of the Seas, she was built two inches longer (without intention), giving her the distinction of being the biggest.
#2 Oasis of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International
And that makes the Oasis of the Seas the second biggest ship. Both of these Oasis-class ships are packed with features and renowned for the design which includes the open Boardwalk. These two ships are almost 50% bigger than the next biggest, which is the…
#3 Norwegian Epic – Norwegian Cruise Line
Built at around the same time as the Allure of the Seas, the Norwegian Epic was a bit of a new departure for the cruise line. The exterior look of the ship hasn’t proven to be universally popular but she introduced a number of features that have continued onto the next wave of new ships.
=#4 Freedom, Liberty and Independence of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International
It’s true that Royal Caribbean dominates this top ten list of the biggest cruise ships, and these three Freedom Class ships (Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Independence of the Seas)are all extremely popular, as they first introduced some of the key features that the line is known for, such as the Flow Rider surf simulator. The ships launched in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively.
#7 Queen Mary 2 – Cunard
The oldest ship on this list, the Queen Mary 2 launched in 2004 and is part of one of the most reputable, traditional cruise lines still operating. She’s also different from the rest of this list as she isn’t aimed primarily at the family and young people market, and her size is purely for elegance and luxury rather than to fit in more fun things to do.
#8 Norwegian Breakaway & Norwegian Getaway – Norwegian Cruise Line
The oldest ship on this top 10 is followed by two of the newest. The Norwegian Breakaway was scaled back from the design of the Epic, but with a distinct ‘New York’ feel adding an interesting theme throughout, including the decals on the side of the hull that really make the ship stand out. Her sister ship, the Norwegian Getaway, followed suit a year later but with a Miami vibe.
#9 Royal Princess – Princess Cruises
Launched in June 2013 by HRH the Duchess of Cambridge, the Royal Princess is considerably larger than anything else in the Princess Cruises fleet. Her sister ship, the Regal Princess, is due in 2014.
=#10 MSC Divina & MSC Preziosa – MSC Cruises
Launched in 2012 and 2013, the MSC Divina and Preziosa became the biggest in the MSC Cruises fleet by just 1,500 GT. They are still both identified as being Fantasia-Class ships despite being bigger than their sister ships, the MSC Fantasia and the MSC Splendida.
This list of the top 10 biggest cruise ships is ordered by Gross Tonnage, but if you decide to look at length, the list is slightly different:
- #1 Allure of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International
- #2 Oasis of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International
- #3 Queen Mary 2 – Cunard
- =#4 Disney Dream & Disney Fantasy – Disney Cruise Line
- =#6 Freedom, Liberty and Independence of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International
- =#9 MSC Divina, MSC Preziosa, MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia
By Ian Lewis
Google
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