What makes a cruise ship move?

Modern cruise ships use either gas turbine or diesel electric engines as their power source for propulsion, as well as for the ship's systems. The larger the cruise ship, the greater the demand for electrical power.



Modern cruise ships move using a complex Diesel-Electric propulsion system. Large diesel engines generate massive amounts of electricity, which is then sent to powerful electric motors. These motors turn the ship's propellers—or, more commonly in 2026, Azipods. Azipods are rotatable pods suspended beneath the hull that can turn 360 degrees, allowing these giant ships to move sideways or spin in place without the help of tugboats. This electric setup is favored because it is quieter, vibrates less, and is much more fuel-efficient than a traditional direct-drive engine. Some newer "green" ships in the Carnival or Royal Caribbean fleets also utilize Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to power these generators, significantly reducing their carbon footprint and sulfur emissions as they traverse sensitive marine environments.

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Cruise ships use either gas turbines, diesel-electric or diesel engines for propulsion and electric power. Diesel engines are the most traditional type. With this type of engine, the diesel fuels the pistons and crankshaft, which attaches to the propeller and ultimately moves the ship forward.

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This movement is largely due to the friction of the water upon the sides of the ship. The layers of water in immediate contact with the hull tend to cling to it, and are dragged along with increasing velocity, until at the stern of a long ship they are traveling approximately at the same speed as the vessel.

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With mal de debarquement syndrome, though, you can't shake the feeling that you're still on the boat. That's French for “sickness of disembarkment.” You feel like you're rocking or swaying even though you're not. It can happen to anyone, but it's much more common in women ages 30 to 60.

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Typically located in a propeller mounted in a transverse tunnel near the bow, a bow thruster (also known as maneuvering thruster) is designed with propellers facing in a sideways direction so when it is turned on, it pushes the bow or stern of a boat sideways through the water, in either direction.

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How much of a cruise ship sits underwater ranges from 20 to 31 feet, depending on the size of the vessel. However, the safety and stability of a cruise ship aren't due to the depth that it's submerged, but rather a combination of factors such as the shape of the hull.

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Approximately 40% of the average cruise ship sits below water. The larger or higher the ship, the less of it is in water. This may seem counterintuitive, but this is how math and physics work out!

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Some of the engines are always running, since the ship always needs power. Most of them are off in port, since we don't need propulsion (unless it's a tender port) and power demand is low due to most people being off the ship.

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A medium-sized cruise ship requires between 4.5 and 7 Megawatts. A ship of the super-large generation even consumes around 10 Megawatts. … both cruise ships and ports must be equipped with the appropriate technology to accommodate shore power.

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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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While it is technically possible that a cruise ship could tip over, it would be extremely unlikely in the modern era. Even during the most severe storms, a modern cruise ship is far more stable than you might assume.

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Thanks to their balanced design, built-in stabilization systems, and extremely low center of gravity, modern cruise ships are capable of tipping at an angle of at least 60 degrees before they are at risk of fully capsizing.

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No, a rogue wave cannot tip over a cruise ship like in the movie Poseidon. While it is true that rogue waves can reach heights of up to 30 meters and have been known to cause damage to ships, they are not powerful enough to flip an entire vessel upside down.

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With mal de debarquement syndrome, though, you can't shake the feeling that you're still on the boat. That's French for “sickness of disembarkment.” You feel like you're rocking or swaying even though you're not. It can happen to anyone, but it's much more common in women ages 30 to 60.

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Bacterial diseases, such as enterotoxigenic or enteroaggregative E. coli [12] and campylobacter [13], are the most common cause of travellers' diarrhoea. However, on cruise ships, norovirus is the most common cause of outbreaks.

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The body will be kept at the morgue until it can be disembarked at the next major port or at the port of origin. The cruise ship morgue is usually a stainless steel refrigerated room where bodies can be stored. They are usually found on the ship's lowest deck, along the ship-wide corridor known as the I-95.

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