Who owns the biggest cruise line?

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest parent company, helping 283,633 cruise passengers to sail around the world. Royal Caribbean International is the largest cruise line in the world, welcoming 129,188 passengers onboard. Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International boast fleets of 27 ships.



The title of "biggest cruise line" can be interpreted in two ways: by the number of passengers or by the size of the ships. Carnival Corporation & plc is the world's largest cruise company, owning a massive portfolio of brands including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, and Cunard. However, Royal Caribbean Group (the owner of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea) is the owner of the world's largest individual cruise ships. As of 2026, Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas and Icon of the Seas are the largest vessels ever built, featuring gross tonnages exceeding 250,000. While Carnival is the larger "corporate entity" in terms of total fleet size and market share, Royal Caribbean is the industry leader in "mega-ship" engineering and innovation. Both companies are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. For 2026 travelers, the choice often comes down to the "Fun Ship" atmosphere of Carnival versus the "high-tech, record-breaking" scale of Royal Caribbean, but in terms of sheer corporate ownership, the industry is dominated by these two giants.

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Both companies are market leaders in terms of fleet sizes. That said, Royal Caribbean has more ships and they're often larger, which means additional dining, activities and lodging options for passengers.

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Six months before its maiden voyage, Royal Caribbean's massive new ship, the Icon of the Seas, is already generating an incredible response – and when you take a look at the pictures, that's absolutely zero surprise. The ship is reportedly five times bigger than the Titanic, boasting 20 decks.

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You can expect to pay more for a Disney Cruise than Royal Caribbean, but you'll also be able to enjoy free unlimited sodas and room service.

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Royal Caribbean has some of the largest and most innovative ships in the industry, with plenty of activities and entertainment options on board. The cruise line is known for its adventure-style cruising, which includes activities such as rock climbing, ice-skating, and surfing.

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Covid-19 shut the industry for the best part of two years, leaving the Big Three — Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings — under an unprecedented pile of debt that they will be paying down for years. Carnival is $35bn in the hole, Royal Caribbean owes $24bn and Norwegian owes $13.4bn.

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Boston-based Vantage Deluxe World Travel, a small cruise company that mostly catered to seniors, filed for bankruptcy Thursday after laying off nearly all of its 70 shoreside employees and stopping all its sailings. As of Thursday, the company retained just five employees, according to the bankruptcy filing.

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Although Royal Caribbean Cruises operates some of the largest cruise ships worldwide, the brand's main competitor Carnival Corporation remains the leading global cruise company based on revenue.

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While there is not a clear winner across all of the categories, Carnival, MSC and Royal Caribbean offer the lowest prices for those wanting to cruise. These costs were compared solely on the cruise fare, which does include complimentary dining venues as well as most of the onboard activities and entertainment.

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Carnival Cruise Lines bought the official cruise line of Walt Disney World on Monday in a $372 million deal. The purchase of Premier Cruise Lines adds a fourth brand-name to Carnival's stable of ship lines. Carnival bought two other firms, Holland America Lines and Windstar Sail Cruises, in 1989.

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Disney Cruise Line Ships Stunning vessels that pay homage to the grand era of the luxury ocean liner, Disney's 6 distinguished ships pamper Guests with state-of-the-art comforts, legendary service and Disney-exclusive activities that bring families together en route to exotic ports of call.

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A few cruise lines feature a limited number of cabins designated for single occupancy sparing the solo cruiser from having to pay double. While cruise lines advertise these single cabins as having no supplement, the single rate is usually slightly higher than the per-person rate of comparable double occupancy cabins.

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Royal Caribbean has never had a ship sink. The captain makes sure to keep the ship out of dangerous situations (bad weather etc.).

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The MV Astoria is the oldest cruise ship currently sailing, and Cruise and Maritime Voyages embraces the story of its vintage vessel. It employs an on-board historian to offer lectures about the ship's fascinating past.

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It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corporation & plc. As of January 2021, Royal Caribbean Group fully owns three cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises.

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royal caribbean's icon of the seas to sail in 2024 as world's biggest cruise ship with waterpark.

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