List of cruise lines

(Redirected from Cruise lines)

A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships and markets cruises to the public.[1] Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of their passengers. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain, and a hospitality staff headed by the equivalent of a hotel manager.

Because of mergers and consolidations, a cruise line may also be a brand of a larger holding corporation. For example, as noted below, Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line are cruise lines within the larger parent corporation Carnival Corporation & plc. This industry practice of using the brand, not the larger parent corporation, as the cruise line is also followed in the member cruise lines in Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA);[2] the listing of cruise ship sales, transfers,[3] and new orders;[4] cruise line market share;[5] and the member-based reviews of cruise lines.[6]

Cruise ships can cruise in oceans or rivers. The listing of cruise lines below includes separate lists for both areas. Cruise lines operating ocean and river ships can be found in both lists.

List of cruise lines by size

edit

As of 2021, the cruise industry was estimated to be around US$23.8 billion with 13.9 million passengers per year. The following is a list of the largest cruise lines with over 1,000 passengers per year and their market share by passengers and revenue as of 2021 according to Cruise Market Watch. The list also includes the combined market share of each of the cruise line holding companies: Carnival Corporation & plc, Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, TUI Group, and Genting Hong Kong.[7]

Legend:

  • Bold: Major cruise company
  • Italic: Subsidiary of a major cruise company
Cruise line Parent company Passengers Revenue
(thousands) % (US$ millions) %
Carnival Corporation & plc 5,842.6 42.0 8,833.19 37.1
Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Corporation & plc 2,528.1 18.2 1,803.87 7.6
Costa Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc 862.4 6.2 1,121.19 4.7
Princess Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc 816.3 5.9 2,065.35 8.7
AIDA Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc 749.3 5.4 1,373.71 5.8
Holland America Line Carnival Corporation & plc 384.2 2.8 1,095.07 4.6
P&O Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc 241.5 1.7 466.79 2.0
P&O Cruises Australia Carnival Corporation & plc 127.3 0.9 134.98 0.6
Cunard Line Carnival Corporation & plc 99.7 0.7 427.11 0.6
Seabourn Cruise Line Carnival Corporation & plc 33.8 0.2 345.12 1.4
Royal Caribbean Group 3,246.8 23.6 5,054.21 21.2
Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean Group 2,657.9 19.1 3,048.67 12.8
Celebrity Cruises Royal Caribbean Group 540.0 3.9 1,452.3 6.1
Silversea Cruises Royal Caribbean Group 48.9 0.4 391.71 1.6
Azamara Cruises Royal Caribbean Group at the time of the statistics;
subsequently sold to Sycamore Partners[8]
31.7 0.2 161.53 0.7
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 1,319.9 9.5 2,996.28 12.6
Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 1,200.3 8.6 2,057.99 8.6
Oceania Cruises Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 71.1 0.5 373.14 1.6
Regent Seven Seas Cruises Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 48.5 0.3 565.15 2.4
MSC Cruises Mediterranean Shipping Company 1,414.7 10.2 1,539.65 6.5
TUI Cruises TUI Group (50%) and Royal Caribbean Group (50%) 481.5 3.4 1,318.47 5.6
TUI Cruises TUI Cruises 330.1 2.4 903.79 3.8
Marella Cruises TUI Cruises 102.9 0.7 281.77 1.2
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises TUI Cruises 48.5 0.3 132.91 0.6
Genting Hong Kong 385.1 2.8 1,054.34 4.4
Dream Cruises Genting Hong Kong 264.1 1.9 723.03 3.0
Star Cruises Genting Hong Kong 80.2 0.6 219.67 0.9
Crystal Cruises Genting Hong Kong 40.8 0.3 111.64 0.5
Disney Cruise Line Disney Experiences 312.2 2.2 653.45 2.7
Viking Cruises Other 143.7 1.0 393.41 1.7
Hurtigruten Hurtigruten, Inc. 122.3 0.9 334.93 1.4
Virgin Voyages Virgin Group and Bain Capital 111.1 0.8 304.1 1.3
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Bonheur 110.7 0.8 303.03 1.3
Ponant/Paul Gauguin Cruises Artémis 85.4 0.6 233.92 1.0
Celestyal Cruises Louis PLC 64.1 0.5 175.44 0.7
Paradise Cruise Line 50.5 0.4 138.23 0.6
Phoenix Reisen Other 43.7 0.3 119.62 0.5
Saga Cruises Saga plc 38.8 0.3 106.22 0.4
Windstar Cruises The Anschutz Corporation 23.3 0.2 63.80 0.3
Lindblad Expeditions Other 17.5 0.1 47.85 0.2
Quark Expeditions Travelopia 15.5 0.1 42.42 0.2
American Cruise Lines Other 13.6 0.1 37.21 0.2
Star Clippers Star Clippers Ltd 11.7 0.1 31.90 0.1
Voyages to Antiquity Other 7.8 0.1 21.27 0.1
SeaDream Yacht Club Other 3.9 0.0 10.63 0.0
Blount Small Ship Adventures Other 3.9 0.0 10.63 0.0
Hebridean Island Cruises Other 1.9 0.0 5.32 0.0
Grand Circle Cruise Line Other 1.9 0.0 5.32 0.0
Total 13,905.8 100% 23,834.84 100%

List of ocean cruise lines

edit

Operational

edit
List of operational ocean cruise lines
Name Owner Headquarters Notes
Adora Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc   China
AIDA Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc   Germany
American Cruise Lines   United States Based in Guilford, Connecticut, offers coastal cruises and paddle-steamer cruises
Ambassador Cruise Line   United Kingdom Replacement of Cruise & Maritime Voyages
Aroya Cruises Cruise Saudi   Saudi Arabia Currently has one cruise ship M/V Manara
Atlas Ocean Voyages Mystic Cruises   Portugal
Aurora Expeditions   Australia Operates arctic cruises with Polar Pioneer
Azamara Cruises Sycamore Partners   United States
Bohai Cruises[9] China (state owned)   China Owns Chinese Taishan.
Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Corporation & plc   United States /   United Kingdom
Celebrity Cruises Royal Caribbean Group   United States (originally   Greece)
Celestyal Cruises   Cyprus Previously named Louis Cruises
Club Med   France Based in Paris, operates Club Med 2
Compagnie du Ponant   France Based in Marseille, operates yacht cruises
Costa Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc   Italy
Crystal Cruises A&K Travel Group   United States
Cunard Line Carnival Corporation & plc   United Kingdom
Disney Cruise Line Disney   United States /   United Kingdom
Explora Journeys Aponte family (private)    Switzerland /   Italy
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines   United Kingdom
Hansa Touristk   Germany Privately owned (Kilian family), offers river cruises
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises TUI Group   Germany
Heritage Expeditions   New Zealand
Holland America Line Carnival Corporation & plc   United States (originally   Netherlands)
Hurtigruten   Norway Also marketed as Norwegian Coastal Express
Iceland ProCruises    Switzerland Operates arctic cruises with MV Ocean Diamond
St Hilda Sea Adventures   United Kingdom Dunoon (Scotland), offers Scottish island cruises
The Majestic Line   United Kingdom Dunoon (Scotland), offers Scottish island cruises
Mano Maritime   Israel
Marella Cruises TUI Group   United Kingdom
Margaritaville at Sea   United States Formed by former executives from the defunct Celebration Cruise Line, operates the MAS Paradise & MAS Islander
MSC Cruises Aponte family (private)    Switzerland /   Italy
Nanhai Cruises[10] China (state owned)   China Exclusively run South China Sea cruises
Nicko Cruises   Germany Operates M/V Vasco da Gama
North Pacific Expeditions Teevin family (private)   United States Offers Alaska cruises with M/Y Sea Star
Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd   United States (originally   Norway)
Oceania Cruises Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd   United States
One Ocean Expeditions   Canada Operates arctic cruises with MS Akademik Ioffe
P&O Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc   United Kingdom
P&O Cruises Australia Carnival Corporation & plc   Australia
Paul Gauguin Cruises   United States Branch of Regent Seven Seas Cruises till 2010, offers South Pacific cruises
Pearl Seas Cruises   United States Offers Great Lakes, New England and Cuba cruises
Phoenix Reisen Zurnieden family (private)   Germany
Plantours Kreuzfahrten   Germany Operates MS Hamburg and several river cruise ships
Polar Cruises   United States Operates arctic cruises with MS Ocean Atlantic
Poseidon Expeditions   United Kingdom Arctic cruises with nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy
Princess Cruises Carnival Corporation & plc   United States /   United Kingdom
Quark Expeditions   United States Expedition cruising
Regent Seven Seas Cruises Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd   United States
Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean Group   United States (originally   Norway)
Saga Cruises Saga Group   United Kingdom
Seabourn Cruise Line Carnival Corporation & plc   United States
SeaDream Yacht Club Atle Brynestad (private)   Norway
Silversea Cruises Royal Caribbean Group   Monaco
Swan Hellenic Private Group   United Kingdom
TUI Cruises Royal Caribbean Group
and TUI Group
  Germany
Universal Studios Cruise Line Universal Studios   United States /   United Kingdom /   South Korea
UnCruise Adventures   United States
Variety Cruises   Greece Yachts and small cruise ships
Vidanta Cruises Grupo Vidanta   Mexico
Viking Line   Åland (  Finland) Cruiseferries
Viking Ocean Cruises Viking Cruises    Switzerland
Virgin Voyages Virgin Group   United States
Windstar Cruises Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc.   United States

Shipping line still in service

edit

The following is a list of defunct ocean cruise lines where their shipping line is still in service.

Name Status Headquarters Notes
Club Cruise No longer operates cruise ships   Netherlands Continues to charter cruise ships to other companies
Far East Shipping Company No longer operates cruise ships   Russia
Finnlines No longer operates cruise ships   Finland
Kristina Cruises No ships in operation   Finland Last cruise ship Kristina Katarina sold off in 2013
Ocean Star Cruises No ships in operation   Mexico Last cruise ship Ocean Star Pacific sold for scrap in 2014
Silja Line Ships are operated by Tallink   Finland

Defunct

edit
List of defunct ocean cruise lines
Name Headquarters Notes
Admiral Cruises   United States Acquired by Royal Caribbean Group. in 1988. Ceased operations in 1992.
American Classic Voyages   United States Bankrupt
Baltic Shipping Company   Soviet Union
Birka Line[11]   Finland Subsidiary of Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö, operates the Birka Gotland. As of July 20, 2020 and after 49 years on the Baltic Sea, Birka operations ceased in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Black Sea Shipping Company   Soviet Union
Blue Star Line   United Kingdom Merged and sold into P&O Nedlloyd
Celebration Cruise Line   United States Re-branded into Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line in 2014
Chandris Cruises   Greece Merged and re-branded into Celebrity Cruises in 1988
Classic International Cruises   Australia Liquidated on 20 December 2012[12]
Commodore Cruise Line   United States
Croisières de France   France Owned by Royal Caribbean Group, ceased operation in 2017
Crown Cruise Line   United States
Cruise & Maritime Voyages South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd.
  United Kingdom
Ceased operations due to the Coronavirus pandemic July 2020
Cruise West   United States Ceased operations on September 18, 2010[13]
Cunard-White Star Line   United Kingdom Reverted name to Cunard Line in 1950
Dolphin Cruise Line   Greece Merged into Premier Cruise Line
Dream Cruises   Hong Kong Ceased operations in May 2022 after Genting Hong Kong declared bankruptcy due to the Coronavirus pandemic
Eastern Cruise Lines   United States Merged into Admiral Cruises in 1986
EasyCruise   Greece Sold to Hellenic Seaways
Effoa   Finland
Epirotiki Line   Greece Most well known for losing three of its cruise ships between 1988 and 1991, including the MTS Oceanos in 1991
Fathom   United States Ceased operations in June 2017
Festival Cruises   Greece
FTI Cruises   Germany Cruise branch of Bavarian travel company FTI Group, operated MS Berlin (1980)
Hamburg Atlantic Line
German Atlantic Line
Hanseatic Tours
  Germany Merged into Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
Home Lines   Italy Merged into Holland America Line
Iberocruceros   Spain Merged into Costa Cruises
Imperial Majesty Cruise Line   United States Became Celebration Cruise Line in 2009
Island Cruises   United Kingdom
Italian Line / Italian Cruises   Italy
Jalesh Cruises   India Ceased operations in 2020 due to Covid
Majestic International Cruises   Greece
Majesty Cruise Line   Norway Merged into Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian America Line   Norway Merged into Cunard Line
Norwegian Capricorn Line   Australia Merged into Star Cruises
Ocean Cruise Line[14]   United States Formed in 1984 by a combination of British, Swiss and American travel interests
Ocean Star Cruises   Mexico First Mexican cruise line
Ocean Village   United Kingdom Ceased operations in 2010
Orient Lines   United States
Orion Expedition Cruises   Australia Taken over by and merged with Lindblad Expeditions in 2013
Peter Deilmann Cruises   Germany Ceased operations in 2015
Polar Star Expeditions   Canada Ceased operations in 2011 after major damage to MV Polar Star
Premier Cruise Line   United States
Pullmantur Cruises   Spain Ceased operations due to the Coronavirus pandemic in July 2020
Renaissance Cruises   United States
Royal Viking Line   Norway Merged into Cunard Line
Sally Cruise   Finland Merged into Silja Line
Shaw, Savill & Albion Line   United Kingdom
Sitmar Cruises   Italy Merged into P&O Cruises/Princess Cruises
Star Cruises   Hong Kong Ceased operations in April 2022 after Genting Hong Kong declared bankruptcy due to the Coronavirus pandemic
Sundance Cruises   United States Merged into Admiral Cruises in 1986
Swedish American Line   Sweden
Transocean Tours   Germany From 2014 to 2020, German branch of Cruise & Maritime Voyages. Ceased operations due to the Coronavirus pandemic July 2020.
Van Gogh Cruises   United Kingdom
Voyages of Discovery   United Kingdom Ceased operations in 2017 after shutdown of All Leisure Holidays
Voyages to Antiquity   United Kingdom
Western Cruise Lines   United States Merged into Admiral Cruises in 1986
White Star Line   United Kingdom Merged with Cunard Line to form Cunard-White Star Line in 1934
Windjammer Barefoot Cruises   United States

List of river cruise lines

edit

Operational

edit

The following is a list of operational river cruise lines.

Name Headquarters Notes
1AVista   Germany River cruises in Europe
AmaWaterways   United States River cruises in Europe, Asia and Africa
American Cruise Lines   United States Paddle-steamer cruises on US rivers
Aqua Expeditions   Peru Privately owned by Francesco Galli Zugaro, eco-friendly river cruises on Amazon and Mekong rivers
A-ROSA Flussschiff   Germany River cruises in Europe, offered ocean-going cruises with A-Rosa blu 2002–04
Australian Pacific Touring (APT)   Australia Privately owned (McGeary family), river cruises in Europe, Asia and Africa, shares many ships with AmaWaterways
Avalon Waterways   United States River cruises in Europe, Egypt, Asia and South America
Century Cruises   China Operates along the Yangtze river
CroisiEurope   France Privately owned (Schmitter family), river cruises in Europe and Asia
Crystal Cruises   United States Owned by Genting Hong Kong, river cruises in Europe
DouroAzul   Portugal Owned by Mystic Invest, river cruises in the Douro, Portugal
Emerald Waterways   United States Owned by Australian river cruise operator Scenic, river cruises in Europe and Asia
European Waterways   United Kingdom Operates converted trading barges on European Rivers
Grand Circle Cruise Line   United States Owned by Grand Circle Corporation, river cruises in Europe
Great Lakes Cruise Company   United States Privately owned (Conlin family), Great Lakes and river cruises in USA and Canada
Hansa Touristk   Germany Privately owned (Kilian family), offers ocean and river cruises (Europe, Asia)
Heritage Line   Vietnam River cruises in Asia
Lüftner Cruises   Austria Privately owned (Lüftner family), river cruises in Europe
Nicko Cruises   Germany Owned by Mystic Invest, river cruises in Europe and Asia
Orthodox Cruise Company   Russia River cruises in Russia
Pandaw River Expeditions   Vietnam River cruises in Asia
Paradise Cruises   Vietnam Ha Long Bay
Phoenix Reisen   Germany Privately owned (Zurnieden family), river cruises in Europe, Egypt, Asia and South America
Plantours Kreuzfahrten   Germany Offers ocean and river cruises (Europe, Asia)
President Cruises   China Operates along the Yangtze river
Reisebüro Mittelthurgau    Switzerland Owned by Twerenbold Group, river cruises in Europe
Riviera Travel (DBA Riviera River Cruises)   United Kingdom Luxury river cruises in Europe on the Rhone, Rhine, Danube, Douro, Seine, Main and Moselle.[15] Travel Brand of the Year 2017.[16]
Sanctuary Retreats   United Kingdom River cruises in Asia
Scenic   Australia Owned by coach tour operator Transit Scenic Tours, river cruises in Europe and Asia
Tauck River Cruises   United States Privately owned (Tauck family), river cruises in Europe
The River Cruise Line   United Kingdom River cruises in Europe
Uniworld River Cruises   United States River cruises in Europe, Egypt and Asia
Victoria Cruises   United States The only American-based cruise line operating along the Yangtze River
Victoria Mekong Cruises   Vietnam Partnership between Vietnam-based hospitality managers Thien Minh Group and Wendy Wu Tours
Viking River Cruises    Switzerland River cruise line of Viking Cruises with operating HQ in Basel, Switzerland, marketing HQ in USA (California)
Viva River Cruises    Switzerland Owned by Scylla AG (Tauck), river cruises in Europe
Vodohod   Russia Owned by UCL Holding, river cruises in Russia
Yangtze Gold Cruises   China Operates along the Yangtze River
Sardinha do Tejo   Portugal Operates in Tejo River

Defunct

edit

The following is a list of defunct river cruise lines.

Name Headquarters Notes
American Queen Steamboat Company   United States Ceased operations in Feb 2024. 4 riverboats sold to American Cruise Lines in Apr 2024. [17]
DDSG   Austria
Transocean Tours   Germany From 2014 to 2021, German branch of Cruise & Maritime Voyages, Ceased operations due to the Coronavirus pandemic July 2020
TUI FlussGenuss   Germany Former river cruise branch of TUI Group, ceased operations in 2014

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Cruise line definition". Travel industry dictionary. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Member Cruise Lines". Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Ship sales and transfers". Cruise industry news. 22 November 2014. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Cruise ship orderbook". Cruise Industry News. 6 January 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Cruise line market share". Cruise market watch. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Member reviews of cruise lines". Cruise Critic. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  7. ^ "2021 Worldwide Cruise Line Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Royal Caribbean Group Completes Sale of Azamara". EatSleepCruise.com. 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  9. ^ ""中华泰山"号邮轮烟台首航日本-渤海轮渡集团股份有限公司". Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  10. ^ "南海邮轮官方网站". www.nanhaicruises.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Vi slutar kryssa – tack för oss!". Birka Cruises (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Classic International Cruises Pty Ltd". Press Release. Lawler Partners. 20 December 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  13. ^ "Cruise West". Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  14. ^ "Ocean Cruise Line". www.simplonpc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Explore Our Rivers". Riviera River Cruises. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Which? Awards 2017 winners revealed". Which? News. 17 May 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  17. ^ "American Queen Paddlewheelers Sold to American Cruise Lines". The Maritime Executive.