When booking a cruise, you have a lot of important decisions to make — starting with, which cruise line do you want to cruise with? Making the right choice is about more than just picking a ship that’s going to where you want to go, for the price you want to pay.
You need to pick a cruise line that will give you the amenities you want, the experience you’d most prefer and fellow cruisers you’ll enjoy being around. To help you out, here are some of the key differences you’ll notice between 11 major cruise lines.
Key Differences Between Major Cruise Lines
| Cruise Line | Fleet Size | Market Share | Largest Class |
| Carnival Cruise Line | 27 | 15.8% | Excel Class |
| Royal Caribbean | 29 | 17.2% | Icon Class |
| MSC Cruises | 22 | 12.3% | World Class |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | 19 | 7.6% | Breakaway Plus Class |
| Princess Cruises | 17 | 5.6% | Sphere Class |
| Costa Cruises | 9 | 4.7% | Excellence Class |
| Celebrity Cruises | 16 | 4.4% | Edge Class |
| Holland America Line | 11 | 2.6% | Pinnacle Class |
| Disney Cruise Line | 6 | 1.6% | Wish Class |
| Virgin Voyages | 3 | N/A | N/A |
| P&O Cruises | 7 | 2.5% | Excellence Class |
Carnival Cruise Line
Easily one of the most recognizable cruise lines on the oceans, Carnival Cruise Line, based in Miami and owned by Carnival Corporation & PLC, claims a big chunk of the market share.
With nearly 30 ships, too, and cruises all over the globe, you’ll not be left wanting for options if you decide to vacation with Carnival Cruise Line.
So what makes Carnival Cruise Line so popular? One of the big things is affordability. Budget-friendly cruises are the name of the game here.
As such, you’ll often find these cruises are packed with travelers looking for a deal — think busy or big families, groups of friends on a bachelor or bachelorette party and even college kids on spring break.
Read Also: What to Expect When You Go on a Carnival Cruise
As such, you can expect a bit of a party crowd on many Carnival cruises, and plenty of opportunities to let your hair down. From night clubs and karaoke, to a plethora of bars, the ships give you everything you need to have a good time, without even setting foot in port.
When you do set foot in port, though, you’ll find that the cruise line visits an array of the top cruising destinations in the world, on itineraries both long and short. If you only have three days, you can take a Carnival cruise.
One cool thing to note? Carnival Cruise Line frequently partners with well-known celebrities to launch certain venues, such as the line’s various restaurants created in partnership with celebrity chef Guy Fieri, as well as the newer chicken restaurant launched alongside Shaquille O’Neal.
The ships range from the pretty old and outdated, to the brand-new and big. If you’re not seeing what you like when checking out a particular Carnival Cruise Line ship, you can probably find another that catches your fancy if you just look to another one of the line’s many ship classes.
There are eight Carnival Classes in total, with the biggest and most ground-breaking class being the Excel class, with its multiple ships that have debuted in recent years including Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee. Of course, you’ll find the most amenities and greatest variety of cabins on these biggest ships.
That said, I don’t like to advise that you only cruise on the biggest, newer ships in any fleet. I find that there’s often plenty to love about smaller ships as well, particularly if you don’t like huge crowds or get overwhelmed when you have a lot of options. So, pick the ship that’s best for you, not necessarily the newest.
Royal Caribbean
Also based in Miami, Royal Caribbean likewise prioritizes fun, but there’s less of a party crowd on these ships, compared to Carnival Cruise Line.
Additionally, Royal Caribbean really puts the focus on families, while still delivering lots for the adults to do, too. This is a cruise line that really tries to offer something for everyone.
Additionally, Royal Caribbean is known for having some of the biggest and best ships in the business, across its six ship classes. The cruise line is constantly setting records for its massive ships and first-at-sea features.
For example, on the cruise line’s most noteworthy and talked-about ship in recent history, Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean introduced the largest waterpark at sea, along with the tallest drop slide at sea, the first open free-fall slide at sea, the first mat-racing duo slide at sea and the first family raft slide at sea.
Icon of the Seas launched Royal Caribbean’s Icon class, which will include four more, future ships as well.
Most Royal Caribbean ships are split into neighborhoods, with each neighborhood themed around a certain experience. For example, one neighborhood might be themed around the spa and wellness activities, while another might be all about nightlife, while yet another might be geared 100% toward family fun.
While not the most budget-friendly line out there, Royal Caribbean gives you a great bang for your buck, and you’ll find plenty of different cruise itineraries to choose from, all over the world.
MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises may not be as popular in the United States as Royal Caribbean or Carnival Cruise Line, with a much smaller market share, but MSC Cruises still holds its own in other parts of the world. According to the brand, it’s currently the leading cruise line in Europe, South America, the Middle East and Southern Africa.
MSC Cruises tries to offer a somewhat more premium experience than what you might get on, say, Carnival Cruise Line, but still manages to pack in a lot of fun, via waterparks and bowling alleys, and similar amenities.
Read Also: MSC Cruise Ships By Size – Largest to Smallest
The cruise line additionally manages to be relatively budget-friendly, compared to some of the other cruise lines on this list, and it attracts a broad mix of families, singles and couples.
MSC Cruises’ newest class of ships (out of six total classes) is the World Class, and these are some pretty mammoth ships. MSC World America and MSC World Europa offer a huge number of dining and drinking venues, and record-setting features such as the longest dry slide at sea.
While MSC Cruises may not visit every single big port of call, it does sail to many unique destinations, particularly in those regions of the world where it dominates, like the Middle East and Southern Africa. MSC Cruises is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices in Italian port cities.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Like Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line manages to be very family friendly, while also offering something for cruisers of all ages to love. As such, you’ll find a good mix of different types of cruisers on these ships.
In addition to providing a wealth of entertainment and dining options on its ships, and plenty of stateroom and suite options, too, Norwegian Cruise Line takes the power of choice even further, by implementing a “freestyle” approach to cruising.
Worth Reading: Norwegian Cruise Ships by Age – Newest to Oldest
Rather than relying on pre-chosen reservations and schedules for your cruising days, you can dine when you want, with open seating in the dining rooms, for example.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships are spread over nine classes, and the ships range in size from huge mega ships like Norwegian Encore to smaller ships like Norwegian Spirit, so you can take your pick depending on your size preferences.
Also like Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line consistently adds “first at sea” features to its new ships to attract avid cruisers, such as the first go-kart track at sea on Norwegian Viva and Norwegian Prima, and the first hybrid roller coaster and waterslide at sea on Norwegian Aqua.
Norwegian Cruise Line visits major cruise destinations all over the world, from Asia to the Caribbean, Alaska to Europe. The cruise line is based out of Miami.
Princess Cruises
For more luxurious experiences, you might look to Princess Cruises, based out of Santa Clarita, California. On the somewhat pricier side, Princess Cruises attracts an older crowd that can afford the higher fares.
Along these lines, Princess Cruises’s vessels also offer activities and entertainment that appeal to that older demographic. Think educational lectures and sun lounging versus go-kart tracks and waterparks.
Princess Cruises also does not have some of the biggest ships in the world, but you’ll notice that the ships aren’t as crowded and that you’ll typically get a nicer stateroom or suite on Princess. In general, the cruises are a bit more relaxed and low-key.
Princess Cruises ships are spread across four classes, with the new Sphere Class taking center stage. The first in the class, Sun Princess is the line’s newest ship, and carries just over 4,000 passengers. If you want something smaller, opt for the line’s Coral Class ships, which hold just 2,000 passengers at double occupancy.
Princess Cruises travels to more than a hundred countries throughout every major cruising region in the world.
Costa Cruises
Like MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises may not be all that familiar to North Americans, but you’ll find that this Italian line has a huge presence in Europe, so if you plan on taking a Mediterranean cruise in the near future, Costa Cruises will be one of your options.
That said, the Italian-headquartered Costa Cruises doesn’t stick to European itineraries only. The line’s handful of ships sail all over the world.
There are five Costa Cruises cruise ship classes, but some of these classes only contain one or two ships. Most of the line’s ships are in the Concordia class, though the line’s biggest ships are its two Excellence-class ships: Costa Tuscana and Costa Smeralda.
Much like Norwegian Cruise Line, Costa Cruises offers a variety of activities, amenities and entertainment for all ages, at a reasonable price point, so expect to see a mix of cruisers on these ships. You’ll find touches of Italian and Mediterranean-inspired designs throughout each ship.
Celebrity Cruises
Based in Miami, Celebrity Cruises offers a higher end, adults-focused and modern type of cruising experience, but without dipping into the luxury cruise lines category. Thus, if you want a cruise that feels a bit fancy, but you can’t afford one of the luxury lines, consider Celebrity Cruises.
Read Also: Celebrity Cruise Ships By Size (Biggest to Smallest)
Celebrity Cruises boasts a good handful of newer ships among its fleet, and those new ships offer high-end dining from celebrity chefs, unique stateroom and suite options (like the special balcony Infinite Veranda staterooms), The Retreat area for a VIP ship-within-a-ship experience and cool venues like the Lawn Club, with its real grass on one of the upper decks. Expect equally unique entertainment, too, from glass-blowing workshops to off-Broadway shows.
The Edge Class, encompassing Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Beyond and Celebrity Ascent, is the newest and most innovative class of Celebrity Cruises ships.
Beyond the large, standard cruise ships, Celebrity Cruises also operates a few smaller, expedition cruising ships that will take you to in-demand locales like the Galapagos.
Holland America Line
Based out of Seattle, Washington, Holland America Line is a very traditional cruise line that attracts an older demographic of guests. Don’t expect a lot of high-thrill, adrenaline-pumping entertainment on the top deck.
Instead, you’ll find slower activities that are more suited to the curious traveler seeking an enriching trip. Think wine tastings or cooking classes.
Worth Reading: How to Make Each Cruise a Unique Experience
Holland America travels to a variety of destinations all over the globe and provides plenty of similarly enriching shore excursions for its cruisers.
Holland America ships are split into four classes, but all ships are pretty similar and, like Princess Cruises, the line puts an emphasis on lack of crowding. The Pinnacle Class offers the biggest and newest ships in the line’s fleet.
Disney Cruise Line
One of the smaller major cruise lines, Disney Cruise Line, based in Celebration, Florida, gives you exactly what you’d expect: a cruise that’s 100% geared toward Disney fans, both young and old. Families are the primary demographic here, but you’ll see a fair share of Disney adults, too.
Disney Cruise Line has experienced more rapid growth over the last decade. Founded in the 1990s, the oldest Disney cruise ship, Disney Magic, set sail for the first time in 1998.
The line operated just two ships until 2011, with the four remaining ships joining the fleet in 2012, 2022 and 2024. A handful of other ships are planned to join the fleet in the coming years.
Read Also: How Much Is a Disney Cruise? I Did All the Checking!
Everything is themed around Disney franchises and characters, but don’t worry — it’s done so elegantly that you’ll never feel like you’ve been plopped into the middle of a theme park.
Disney doesn’t forget the adults all the while, with luxurious fine dining and adults-only areas that make it possible for parents to get away for a bit on their own.
Because Disney Cruise Line only has a handful of ships, its destinations are a bit more limited, but it still heads to some of the major cruising regions, stopping throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska and beyond.
Additionally, due to only having a few ships, the line has relatively few classes. Ships are split between Wish Class, Dream Class and Magic Class. Wish Class is the newest.
Virgin Voyages
An even newer and smaller cruise line, Virgin Voyages, whose first ship launched in 2020, is an adults-only cruise line that currently only has a three ships in its fleet.
Those ships offer a fun environment that appeals to younger cruisers, but not necessarily the college crowd that frequently heads to Carnival Cruise Line (likely due to the higher cruise fares you’ll find with Virgin Voyages).
Expect a high emphasis on trendy experiences, from the dining to the drinks, staterooms and suites to the gym and fitness classes. One great perk? There are a lot of freebies within the line’s nearly all inclusive fare, such as all gratuities and Wi-Fi.
Virgin Voyages primarily sails in the Caribbean, Mexico and Mediterranean. The cruise line’s headquarters is in Plantation, Florida.
While the ship’s current fleet is limited to Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady, plans are in the works for fourth ship to join them in the latter half of 2025. All ships are on the smaller side, holding fewer than 3,000 passengers each.
P&O Cruises
This British cruise line based in Southampton, England may not be as familiar to the American cruising market, much like Costa Cruises, but it certainly offers a lot to love, and if you’re cruising in Europe, you’ll definitely have it as an option.
In addition to sailing the Caribbean, South America, Mediterranean and South Pacific, P&O Cruises also operates some river ships. Of P&O Cruises’ seven ships, the two Excellence-class ships, Iona and Arvia, are the largest and newest, both debuted within the last five years.
Read Also: 8 Things the Cruise Line Isn’t Going to Tell You
Additionally, like Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises is likewise suitable for all ages, and you’ll find a mix of families, younger and older couples on this cruise line.
There’s a nice blend of amenities, with all your basic venues and entertainment, including various dining options, bars, a spa, gym and multiple pools on most ships.
