When Royal Caribbean International's Harmony of the Seas was introduced, it became the largest cruise ship in the world with a total gross tonnage of 226,963 and a maximum capacity of 6,780.
Royal Caribbean's next Symphony of the Seas promises to be even bigger at 230,000 tons with an extra 28 cabins and more.
The question is: Is there a cap to how large a cruise ship can be?
When I last sailed on Carnival Cruise Line aboard its latest Carnival Vista, one of its signature Punchliner Comedy Club comedians made a joke I won't soon forget: He basically said he took a transatlantic cruise recently, boarding a massive ship that only had to spin around once. The ship was so long that, following the 180-degree maneuver, he had already arrived.
It was a hilarious story, yet it touches on a point not too far outside the realm of possibility.
After all, there was a time when Royal Caribbean's now relatively median-sized 138,194-ton Voyager of the Seas was the biggest ship in the world and considered to be a reasonable cap in size.
Even back then, concerns for where the ship could realistically go were mounting. Only so many ports can accept today's mega ships, and not all can dock them. In cases where they can get close but not be moored, they must anchor and have their guests be tendered ashore.
In many more instances, harbors, channels and inlets can not be navigated at all.
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Short of dredging and canal projects, some ships will never be able to access certain destinations. Even then, the Panama Canal now has larger locks that can technically accept mega ships, though bridges along the way are what will actually restrict their access.
Still, there are plenty of places where they can go, and that is why ships eventually did exceed the Voyager in size and still continue to grow.
The economy of scale has proven that the more passengers accommodated onboard, the better to maximizing revenue. Of course, that must also be balanced with customer satisfaction. Inevitably, ship size is thus determined in large part by how many guest-facing features are to be placed within. As more choices are desired, so too must more options be offered. That's when ships become destinations unto themselves.
As long as ports can facilitate even more, it's likely that expansion will continue.
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Royal Caribbean has always been at the forefront of pushing those boundaries. By comparison, Carnival Cruise Line has not really bothered to try and one-up the competition, sticking instead to a relatively consistent formula. Norwegian Cruise Line has come much closer, but is slowing down with future new-builds. In fact, MSC Cruises is getting even closer though still not surpassing Royal, at least not for the foreseeable future.
What could slow the race for bigger, however, is a newer trend in the other direction.
Following the river cruise boom and interest in more intimate cruising experiences, ocean ships from luxury and upscale brands like Viking Ocean Cruises continue to build small. Even smaller vessel expedition cruising is looking to similarly gain in popularity.
Just as there are only some places in the world that can accept mega ships, there are only some ships that can access remote destinations. As more people cruise, they are beginning to seek off-the-beaten-path regions to next pursue.
So, to answer the question: The sky or, in this case, the sea and its ports are the limit, but there's more to the equation than how big can they get.
It's also about whether they should head in the opposite direction sometimes instead.
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