Every major cruise brand keeps one ship that sets its ceiling for size, and those flagships vary enormously in scale. Gross tonnage, the standard measure of a ship’s enclosed volume, gives a fair way to line them up. Here are eleven lines and the biggest vessel each sails, measured by the figures in the sources.
The tech news worth your time: 400,000+ professionals from Google, Apple and OpenAI read Techpresso, a daily email with the most interesting tech news and insights.
We may earn a commission if you sign up.
1. Icon of the Seas: The Tonnage Record
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, which entered service in 2024, measures 248,663 gross tons and can carry up to 7,600 guests. That puts the Icon-class ship at the top of the list of the largest cruise ships in the world, ahead of every other vessel here.
For travelers, the size means a floating resort with a huge range of dining, pools and entertainment under one roof. The trade-off is a very large crowd on board, so the most popular venues can fill quickly at peak times of day.
2. Queen Mary 2: The Classic Ocean Liner
Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 entered service in 2004 and measures 149,215 gross tons, carrying up to 3,090 guests. Built as an ocean liner, she is the smallest ship on this list by tonnage, yet she remains the biggest vessel Cunard operates.
Her appeal rests on transatlantic heritage rather than sheer scale. Passengers choosing her get a more traditional kind of voyage, aboard a ship far smaller than the modern mega-ships that surround her in these rankings.
3. Costa Toscana: Italy’s Biggest Afloat
Costa Cruises sails Costa Toscana, listed at 186,364 gross tons with a maximum of 6,554 guests. It is the largest ship in the Italian line’s fleet, and the numbers place it firmly in mega-ship territory.
The ship shows that size is no longer reserved for the Caribbean giants. European brands now field vessels carrying well over six thousand passengers at full capacity, which changes what a typical sailing from that region looks like.
4. AIDAnova: Germany’s Flagship
AIDA Cruises counts AIDAnova as its largest ship, at 183,858 gross tons and room for up to 6,654 guests. The German brand’s flagship therefore sits comfortably among the biggest passenger vessels anywhere in the world.
Travelers booking this ship join one of the larger passenger counts on the water. That scale supports a broad spread of restaurants, bars and activities, though it also means sharing public spaces with thousands of other guests.
5. Carnival Celebration: A Tie at the Top
Carnival’s biggest ship, Carnival Celebration, is tied with sister Carnival Jubilee at 183,521 gross tons, with room for 6,465 passengers. Two near-identical ships therefore share the line’s size record rather than one standing alone, which is unusual for a flagship title.
Because the pair match, either one offers the same top-of-the-fleet experience. Cruisers wanting the largest Carnival hull can simply pick whichever sailing suits their travel dates and departure port, without giving up any size.
6. Disney Adventure: The Newest Mouse Ship
Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Adventure measures 208,108 gross tons with room for 6,700 passengers. It is the largest vessel Disney has put on the water, which puts it among the heavyweights of this list.
Families are the target audience, and the extra space gives the line more room for themed areas and shows. The ship’s scale also marks a clear step up from the smaller Disney vessels that came before it.
7. Sun Princess: Princess Goes Big
Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess measures 177,882 gross tons and is 1,133 feet long. Those figures make it the largest ship the line operates, and a very long vessel by any standard of the cruise industry.
At more than a thousand feet in length, the ship is a long walk from bow to stern for anyone with a cabin at one end. Passengers who prefer a mid-sized, traditional feel may notice how far Princess has scaled up.
8. Celebrity Xcel: Three Sisters, One Size
Celebrity’s 2025 Celebrity Xcel ties sisters Beyond and Ascent at 141,420 gross tons. The trio share the same measurement, which is the biggest in the Celebrity fleet.
The brand sits at the more modest end of this list in tonnage. Its ships stay well below the largest mega-ships, which may suit travelers who want a calmer onboard crowd and shorter walks between venues. The tonnage is identical across all three sisters, so choosing among them comes down to itinerary.
9. MSC World America: The Mediterranean Giant
MSC’s MSC World America measures 216,638 gross tons with 6,762 passengers. Only Icon of the Seas is bigger among the ships on this list, which gives the line a heavyweight entry in the contest.
The passenger count above six thousand seven hundred makes it among the most crowded vessels when full. Buyers should expect a large, busy ship, with the range of onboard choices that comes from carrying so many people.
10. Arvia: Britain’s Largest
P&O Cruises’ Arvia measures 184,700 gross tons with 5,200 guests at double occupancy. It is the biggest ship in the British line’s fleet, and it sits in the middle of this list by tonnage, well ahead of Queen Mary 2.
The double-occupancy figure matters, since a full ship with extra berths in use would carry more. Arvia shows that British cruising has joined the large-ship club, offering the same scale of amenities as foreign rivals.
11. Norwegian Encore: Norwegian’s Tonnage Leader
Norwegian Cruise Line’s biggest ship by tonnage is Norwegian Encore, which measures 169,116 gross tons. It anchors the line’s top end in this ranking, and the ship is sizable by any measure.
The qualifier is that tonnage is the yardstick here, and other measures such as passenger count could order a fleet differently. Even so, Encore stands as a clear large-ship option for anyone sailing with Norwegian, and a reminder that every line on this list now fields a sizable flagship.
The tech news worth your time: Subscribe to Techpresso →
We may earn a commission if you sign up.
More from Morning Overview
- Common allergy, bladder and sleep pills tied to sharply higher dementia odds
- NOAA now gives this winter a 75% chance of the strongest El Nino since 1950
- Doctors warn a silent liver disease now affects one in three American adults
- The FBI told the rest of ShinyHunters to surrender after a 24-year-old was arrested
