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This article discusses the ten largest cruise operators in 2023. If you wish to know the previous largest cruise operators in the world click here.
01. Carnival Corporation & PLC
The Carnival Corporation & PLC is a British American major ship operator in the world. The company was founded in 1972 and since then caters for millions of travellers per year around the world. The Carnival Corporation & PLC consists of several sister companies including the Carnival Cruise line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, and the Cunard Line.
Initially, nine cruise ships were owned by the Carnival Corporation & PLC and provided thousands of travellers with a wide range of travel opportunities and a wide range of leisure activities. Further, the company is expecting to acquire a total of eight additional ships in the future. The main headquarters of the company is in Miami, United States. In order to support the operation, there are various regional headquarters established across the globe.
The Carnival Corporation & PLC offers special vacations at a remarkable value to tourists all over the world. Mainly the company’s fleet of ships calls on over 700 ports globally.
02. Royal Caribbean cruise Ltd
In the cruise world, Royal Caribbean cruise Ltd is considered one of the leading shipping companies which was founded in 1968 in Norway. The company owns a fleet of 64 ships that cater to 1000 destinations by providing a high luxury experience for travellers.
Silversea Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara and Celebrity Cruises are some of its well-known shipping lines. Cruise liner provides a variety of onboard entertainment options, services and facilities for their customers. All of the major cities in Asia, North America, Europe, South America and Australia are served by the Royal Caribbean cruise Ltd.
Royal Caribbean cruise Ltd is headquartered in Miami, USA. By the passengers and the revenue, the Royal Caribbean cruise Ltd controlled 19.5% and 14% of the global cruise market respectively. The company operated 26 ships as of January 2022 and four more ships are currently in the order book.
03. Norwegian cruise line holding Ltd
The Norwegian cruise line holding Ltd is a cruise company that provides a world class memorable vacations for its customers. The company is mainly engaged in the hospitality and leisure sectors. The Norwegian cruise line holding Ltd. has its headquarters in the United States and its registration is in Bermuda.
On February 21, 2011, it was established as a Bermuda exempt corporation. Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruise and Regent Seven Seas Cruises are three cruise lines are fully owned subsidiaries of Norwegian cruise line holding.
It is the third largest cruise operator in the world, once all its subsidiaries are taken into account. Currently, the company owns 29 ships and nearly 500 destinations are globally visited. Since the company is in its growing stage the Norwegian cruise line holding Ltd is expecting to own new ships and keep 8 new ships in order to acquire through 2027.
04. MSC Cruise
MSC Cruise is the world’s largest privately held cruise company. The company is a global Italian cruise line with headquarters in Geneva, and registration in Switzerland. To support the businesses of the company, the operational hubs are maintained in Naples, Genoa, and Venice.
It was established in 1989 as a subsidiary of the Mediterranean shipping company in Naples, Italy. The MSC Cruise has a worldwide workforce of around 23500 from 45 different countries. The company began operating two cruise ships, MS Angelina Lauro and MS Achille Lauro. Currently, it holds a 10.2% market share of all the passengers in the cruise business.
05. Celebrity Cruises
The Celebrity Cruises is mainly involved with tourism and transportation. Even though the company was founded in Greece in 1988, the headquarters of Celebrity Cruises is based in Miami, Florida. The merger contract of Celebrity Cruises and Caribbean Cruises Ltd was held in 1997.
Family of Celebrity Cruises consists of several cruises including Celebrity Flora, Celebrity Xploration and Celebrity Apex. The most recent member of the Celebrity family is Celebrity Beyond which was launched in 2022. Most of the ships of Celebrity Cruises are operating under Malta and Ecuador flags. As an expansion of the fleet, the company is to introduce Celebrity Ascent in 2023 and another cruise ship in 2025 whose name is not yet announced.
06. Holland America Line
The Holland America line is a cruise company with 150 years of legacy within the industry. It is an American owned company. The parent company of the Holland America company is Carnival Corporation & PLC and Holland operates as a subsidiary company. In 1873, the company was established as a Netherlands- America steamship company and provided services in the hospitality and tourism industries.
In 1989 the company became a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & PLC. The headquarters of the company shifted to the United States once the company became an American owned company. Holland has 11 modern classic ships to provide an unforgettable cruise experience to its customers. For more piously the Holland America line has several class ships. As Rotterdam class (R class) MS Volendam and MS Zaandam operate. Under Vista class (V class) 4 ships are in operation including MS Zuiderdam and MS Oosterdam.
Further, there are three pinnacle class ships that are owned by the Holland America line. And 2 signature class curies, MS Eurodam and MS Nieuw Amsterdam also operated by Holland America.
07. Princess Cruises
In 1965 Stanley McDonald founded Princess cruises and has been sailing around the world since then. The company was merged with Carnival Corporation & PLC in 2003 and then became an American-owned cruise company. The Princess cruise has the ability to cater to over 330 destinations per year.
The main business of the company is tourism. The headquarters of the Princess cruise is in Santa Clarita, California and is incorporated in Bermuda. In order to provide a worldwide service, the company owned a fleet of 15 cruises. A few vessels of the current fleet of Princess cruises are Royal Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess, Diamond Princess and most recently introduced, Discovery Princess. Additionally, two other ships will be added in the upcoming years 2024 and 2025.
08. Costa Cruises
The Costa cruises are also part of the Carnival Corporation & PLC. It was founded in 1854 as an Italian cruise company. Initially, company operated cargo ships and engaged in commercial activities. Later joined the Italian cruise markets.
At its peak as a leading European Cruise line, the Carnival Corporation & PLC acquired the company in 1997. The headquarters of Costa cruises is established in Genoa, Italy. Costa cruises acquired AIDA cruise which is in Germany. The current fleet of Costa cruises is operated under the Italian flag and consists of 11 ships sailing around the world. Few of them are Costa Toscana, Costa Smeralda and Costa Firenze
09. Cunard
183 years ago, in 1840 the Cunard was founded as the British and North American Royal Mail steam Packet Company. The company is a British company which is operated by Carnival UK. The parent company of the Cunard is the Carnival Corporation & PLC as it acquired the Cunard in 1998.
The company is basically engaged in the shipping and transportation sectors. Even though the headquarters of the Cunard is situated in Southampton, United Kingdom, the company served Northern Europe, Caribbean Mediterranean and the Transatlantic.
The Cunard’s fleet of cruises consists of Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. Currently, all the ships are operated under the Bermuda flag. When considering the future fleet of the Cunard, the company is expecting to have Queen Anne as their newcomer in 2024.
10. Disney Cruise Line
The Disney cruise line is operated by the Walt Disney company, and it was founded in 1996. The operational headquarters of the Disney cruise line was founded in Florida, United States. However, the company is catering to markets in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
The company owns five ships. Disney magic is the first ship of the company, and the others are Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, and Disney wish. Disney Cruise is expecting to add three new cruises to the industry and, in 2024 the Disney Treasure is expected to be introduced.