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.

A "graveyard" for cruise ships is a poetic term for a ship-breaking yard, a massive industrial site where retired vessels are dismantled and recycled. Far from being a place where ships simply "sit and rust," these yards are highly organized recycling hubs. The process begins with "beaching," where a pilot intentionally drives the massive ship onto a sandy shoreline at high tide. Once grounded, up to 90% of the ship is salvaged. Everything from the heavy structural steel and copper wiring to the interior furniture, kitchen equipment, and even cabin mattresses is removed and sold into local or international markets. In 2026, major graveyards like Alang in India and Chittagong in Bangladesh dominate the industry. These sites are typically closed to tourists due to the hazardous nature of the work, which involves handling toxic paints, fuel residues, and asbestos. These graveyards represent the "final journey" of a ship, where it is "reborn" into raw materials for new construction or consumer goods.