A
cruise line
A cruise line is a company (law), company that operates cruise ships that operate on Cruising (maritime), ocean or River cruise, rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from Passenger ship, passenger lines whic ...
is a company that operates
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
s and markets cruises to the public. 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
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel (ship), funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue colo ...
and
Holland America Line
Holland America Line N.V. (HAL) is an American cruise line operating as a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Founded in 1873 in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), the company operated regular trans ...
are cruise lines within the larger parent corporation
Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is a British and American cruise operator with a combined fleet of over ninety vessels across eight cruise line brands. A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of the Panama-incorporated, US-headquartered Carnival ...
. 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
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is a cruise line trade association. It merged with International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) in 2006, forming an expanded organization incorporating the existing functions of both organizations. The ...
(CLIA); the listing of cruise ship sales, transfers, and new orders; cruise line market share; and the member-based reviews of cruise lines.
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 passengers
, the cruise industry was estimated to be around 23.8 billion with 72.5 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 2025 according to ''Cruise Market Watch''. The list also includes the combined market share of each of the cruise line holding companies:
Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is a British and American cruise operator with a combined fleet of over ninety vessels across eight cruise line brands. A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of the Panama-incorporated, US-headquartered Carnival ...
,
Royal Caribbean Group
Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a cruise holding company based in Miami, Florida, United States and incorporated in Liberia. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corp ...
,
Mediterranean Shipping Company
Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., branded as MSC, is an international shipping line founded by Gianluigi Aponte in Italy in 1970. The company is owned by the Aponte family with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, since 1978. It is the ...
,
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) is a holding company that is based in the United States and domiciled in Bermuda . It operates three cruise lines as wholly owned subsidiaries: Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas C ...
and
TUI Group
TUI AG (trading as TUI Group) is a German multinational leisure, travel and tourism company; it is the largest such company in the world. TUI is an acronym for ''Touristik Union International'' ("Tourism Union International"). TUI AG was known a ...
.
Legend:
* Bold: Major cruise company
* ''Italic'': Subsidiary of a major cruise company
List of ocean cruise lines
Operational
Defunct
Shipping line still in service
The following is a list of defunct ocean cruise lines where their shipping line is still in service.
List of river cruise lines
Operational
The following is a list of operational river cruise lines.
Defunct
The following is a list of defunct river cruise lines.
See also
*
List of ferry operators
The following is a list of ferry operators.
Africa
* Algerie Ferries/ENTMV (Algeria – Spain, France)
* Comarit (Morocco – Spain, France, Italy)
* Comanav (Morocco – Spain, France)
* Cotunav (Tunisia – France)
* El Salam Maritime (Egypt ...
*
List of cruise ships
This is a list of cruise ships, both those in service and those that have ceased to operate. Ocean liners are included on this list only if they also functioned as cruise ships. (See: list of ocean liners.)
As some cruise ships have operated und ...
*
List of largest cruise ships
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, passenger ships primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans, they typically embark on round-trip voyages to various attractive ports of call. ...
References
{{Companies by industry
Cruise Lines
cruise lines
Cruise lines