Behemoths at Sea: Cruise Ships Getting Bigger, Packing more Passengers
By Hannah Sampson of Miami Herald
The world’s major cruise ship companies are in supersize mode.
Six years after the launch of the largest passenger ship ever built, cruise giant Carnival Corp. announced that some of its upcoming vessels will hold more passengers than any other at sea: a maximum of 6,600.
While they will be the most packed, those vessels won’t even be the world’s largest. That superlative belongs to Royal Caribbean International, which in 2016 will launch its biggest megaship yet, Harmony of the Seas. That 5,479-passenger, 227,000-gross-ton behemoth is a slightly bigger sister of the $1.4 billion Oasis and Allure of the Seas, which currently hold the “world’s largest” title.
With upcoming new builds, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line are also preparing to launch their own biggest-ever vessels; each will hold about 4,000 or more guests. Although significantly smaller in size, new ships coming from Holland America Line, Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea Cruises will also set new size records for each line.
