Decommissioned ships are almost always sent to one of two scrapyards. The largest is Alang, located in India's Gulf of Khambhat, which recycles more than half of the world's decommissioned cruise ships. The second largest is Aliaga in Turkey.

Yes, abandoned or "ghost" cruise ships do exist, though they rarely drift aimlessly at sea for long. Most "abandoned" ships are actually in a state of cold layup, where they are moored in a remote location with a skeleton crew to maintain basic systems while the owner decides whether to sell, renovate, or scrap the vessel. A famous historical example is the SS United States, which has been docked in Philadelphia for decades, essentially abandoned by the industry but preserved by a conservancy group. In other cases, when a cruise line goes bankrupt, ships may be seized by authorities and left at anchor for years, such as the MS Astoria. Eventually, most of these vessels meet their end at ship-breaking yards like Alang in India or Aliaga in Turkey, where they are run aground and dismantled for their steel. The process of "abandonment" is usually a slow financial decline rather than a sudden desertion. However, the sight of these massive, rusting hulks—once symbols of luxury and vibrant vacation life—can be quite haunting and has become a popular subject for maritime historians and urban explorers alike.