Cruise Industry News: 50 Million Passengers Annually

Fleet to Grow to 540 Ships, Cruise Capacity to Reach Historic High

According to the 2026 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, the global cruise fleet is set to grow to at least 540 ships by 2037, up from 459 ships at the start of 2026.



This also means that passenger capacity will grow from about 36 million at the start of this year to nearly 50 million over the next 10 years.

Based on the current orderbook, the biggest capacity increase will come this year, with a 9 percent increase in passengers.

In the following years, the growth rate will be 5 percent in 2027, 4 percent in 2028, and 3 percent in 2029, 2030, 2031, and 2033, after which the dynamic tapers off. Moreover, as the industry's base capacity grows, the annual percentage increases will be smaller, but the actual passenger growth will still remain significant.

       
Consultation on any questions

Thirteen new ships will be entering service this year, representing building contracts estimated at more than .5 billion. This contract value translates into a building cost per berth of more than 0,000.

The average tonnage of the new ships this year is 94,307 tons: ranging from 250,800 tons for the Legend of the Seas, being built by the Meyer Turku shipyard for Royal Caribbean, to 590 tons for the Magellan Discoverer — an expedition ship for Antarctica21.



The average passenger capacity is 2,085 across all ships. The leaders here are Legend of the Seas with a capacity of 5,610 passengers and MSC World Asia with 5,400 passengers, which is being built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard.

Breaking it down by market segment, in 2026, 22,841 of the new berths will enter the contemporary market, 4,166 berths into the luxury segment, and 100 berths into the expedition cruise market.

       
Consultation on any questions

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