How long does it take to build a cruise ship from start to finish?

Regardless of the overall size, the general time to construct most cruise ships will depend on the experience of those building them. Building a cruise ship typically takes between 12 and 18 months. Construction begins with the laying of the keel and is completed upon launch.



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Over the past 100 years since the RMS Titanic sank in 1912, only 18 cruise ships and some ocean liners have been publicly known to have sunk. And, over the past 50 years, only four cruise ships have sunk while navigating on a cruise.

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Cruise ships make their own drinking water. It's unsurprising since they're constantly surrounded by sea water – they use either steam evaporation or reverse osmosis processes to desalinate the water before minerals and chlorine are added. It's the same as a home filtration system, only significantly larger.

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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.

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On average, a healthy, well-built cruise ship can last for around 30 years, including regular services and design refreshes. But some cruise ships last for much longer. We take a look a the oldest cruise ships still sailing the seas and chart some of the different stages in their lifespan.

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Depending on a ship's speed, it generally takes between six and eight days to cross the Atlantic. Many lines will add a few ports of call, and this may stretch the length of the cruise to two weeks or more.

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Shipboard potable water (drinking, bathing, whirlpools, etc.) either comes from a shoreside water treatment plant or is generated on board from seawater via Reverse Osmosis systems or Evaporators. Swimming pool water is typically seawater.

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Vacuum suction lines zip toilets' contents to marine sanitation farms, which siphon out the water, treat it until it's drinkable, then pump it into the ocean. Helpful aerobic bacteria digest the remaining sludge in storage tanks until it's all offloaded ashore, about once a month.

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Although smaller than most modern cruise ships, Titanic was a historic 46,328 gross tonnage for its time. In comparison, modern cruise ships have a gross tonnage around 120,000. This is more than 150% heavier than Titanic.

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At sea, cruise ships survive hurricanes by avoiding them. The seas are rough, the weather is predictably bad, but otherwise not very predictable.

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On many cruise ships the crew totals over 1,000 people and there are generally three or even four passengers to every crew member. It's a lot of bodies – from many different backgrounds – in a relatively small space.

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The Ultimate World Cruise is a never-before-offered Royal Caribbean adventure that takes you on a 274-night journey around the world from December 10, 2023 – September 10, 2024. The adventure begins and ends in Miami, Florida, visiting all 7 continents, 65 countries, over 150 ports of call and 11 World Wonders.

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