2023 has turned out to be a most successful year for the cruise industry with a grand total of 31.5 mio passengers which is considerably higher than pre-corona levels: 2019 saw 30 mio travellers choose a vacation at sea. If cruising continues to grow as expected, an estimated 35.7 mio cruise travellers will be cruising in 2024.

The world’s largest cruise corporations were able to considerably improve their financial positions in 2023. Carnival Corporation saw an all-time high revenue of $21.6 billion, while the other two lines of the Big Three,  Royal Caribbean Group and NCL Holding profit levels also showed a strong growth.

New ships delivered

The impressive growth of the cruise industry was also clearly visible in the total of 18 new ships delivered in 2023.

2023 saw the delivery of Royal Caribbean’s new Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship delivered by the Meyer Turku shipyard. The 250,000-ton vessel is considerably bigger than the former title holder, the 227,000-ton Wonder of the Seas.

Other newbuildings entering service were the 5,000-passenger Adora Magic City, the first Vista-class large cruise ship built in China and operated by Adora Cruises (formerly CSSC-Carnival Cruise Shipping, a Chinese-American joint venture), MSC Cruises’ Euribia, Carnival’s Jubilee and Silversea’s Silver Nova to name just a few of the in total 18 new cruise ships coming online.

For an overview of all new vessels introduced last year and their exact delivery dates, see our

Ships on order 2023 page

in Cruise Ship Odyssey’s On Order section.

Secondhand market

In 2023 as usual, several vessels changed hands.

Examples of vessels which found new owners:

• AIDAaura, she was sold to Celestyal Cruises as a replacement fort their ageing Celestyal Olympia as Celestyal Discovery,
• Birka Stockholm (former Birka Paradise). After the demise of Birka Cruises, there were plans to convert her to an expedition cruise ship, but these plans failed to materialize. She was then aquired by ferry-operator Gotlandbolaget which was soon joined by Viking Line. She will make short cruises in the Baltic based in Stockholm,
• Braemar, sold to Villa Vie Residences with delivery in 2024. She will operate a three and a half year world cruise, passengers being the ship’s residents,
• Costa Atlantica. After several years out of service, the 2000-built vessel was acquired by Margaritaville at Sea. After an extensive refit she will offer a series of short cruises out of Tampa expecting to start in June 2024 as Margaritaville at Sea Islander,
• Costa Magica, which was sold by Carnival subsidary Costa Cruises to Greek ferry operator Seajets, She is now laid up in Greece as Mykonos Magic,
• Explorer Dream, formerly sailing for defunct Dream Cruises (part of Genting Group) was quickly chartered by recently founded Resorts World Cruises when her former owners, Genting Int. from Hong Kong went out of business as a result of the COVID-pandemic. She will be renamed Resorts World One,
• Pacific Aria, (P&O Australia) will become Celestyal Journey for Celestyal Cruises as part of their fleet rejuvenation program,
• Pacific Venus owned by Japanese Shin Nihonkai Ferry conglomerate has been sold to Panamanian company Eastern Venus Inc. Renamed Eastern Venus she will start a new cruising career out of South Korea.
• Seabourn Cruises has sold off their Seabourn Odyssey to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, a Japanese transport company with firm plans to expand in cruising and currently operating the 1990-built Nippon Maru. She will be renamed Mitsui Ocean Fuji and sail for a new cruise line Mitsui Ocean Cruises. However, she will will return to Seabourn under a charter agreement until August 2024,

Vessels scrapped: none!

Following record years in 2021 and 2022 when 12 and 18 ships were sent to the breakers, cruise ship recycling came to a total halt this year. While some vessels continue being laid up not one of them was sold to the breakers yards in the past 12 months.

Several new cruise lines were launched in 2023

• Tianjin Orient International Cruise Line will start operations out of China with their Dream (ex-Sea Princess). She was owned for a very short time by Sanya International Cruise Development and renamed Charming, but she was almost immediately sold off to Tianjin,
• CFC Croisieres,started in the summer of 2023 with their first ship Renaissance after a delay at the shipyard reviving the former Holland America Maasdam,
• Crystal Cruises, which – after bankruptcy of the Genting Group – was taken over by Abercrombie & Kent, relaunched in summer 2023 with their both of their refurbished vessels Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony,
• Adora Cruises, a joint venture between Carnival Cruises and China Shipbuilding Corp. , formerly known as CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Ltd. started operations with their first ship, the former Costa Mediterranea renamed Adora Mediterranea,
• Formerly known as the Silver Explorer owned by Silversea Cruises, Exploris One began her new career with Exploris Expeditions in December 2023,
• The debut of the MSC Cruises Group in the luxury market with their new brand Explora Journeys took place in August 2023 when their first newbuilding Explora I started operations,.
• Aroya Cruises, the first Saudi Arabian cruise line announced the acquisition of their first ship,the former World Dream of defunct Dream Cruises (Genting Group) . She will be refitted in Germany and start cruising in 2024 as Manara, being stationed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Sustainability developments in the cruise industry

Continuing on its path to sustainability, and the ultimate goal of  zero emission cruising, cruise lines as well as ports were involved in projects introducing new technologies in 2023.

Many recently delivered cruise ships are LNG-powered and for this a land-based LNG-infrastructure is needed, so an increasing number of ports are adding the necessary facilties.

Ports also started investing in shore power to keep up with the rapidly growing demand. For example Holland America Line has recently adapted her entire fleet to be capable of using shore power connections. Some ports are now only allowing vessels using shore power to minimize emissions while they are docked.

A relatively new development is the introduction of so-called hybrid vessels like the debut of the Silver Nova, (Silverseas Cruises). She uses a hybrid propulsion technology relying on fuel cells, batteries and also dual-fuel engines capable of running on liquefied natural gas.

A milestone in the cruise industry was the first emission free cruise by the MSC Euribia. According to MSC, 43 tons of fuel were saved. Optimal speed profiles, routing, trim and engine configuration and strict optimization of the hotel’s energy consumption, including HVAC, galleys and lighting, ensured that MSC Euribia never had to use more than two of the four available engines during the voyage. In addition, all the heat required for the onboard galleys, heating systems and onboard hot water was recovered from MSC Euribia’s engines, meaning the boilers did not need to be used during the entire voyage.”

Hurtigruten, after having introduced their first hybrid vessels Roald Amunden and Fridtjof Nansen, unveiled plans to build the world’s first zero-emission ship.

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is their most sustainable vessel to date, apart from running on a combination of liquified natural gas (LNG) and fuel cell technology. multiple other features were added to her design like an air lubrication system that creates microscopic bubbles coating the hull and minimizing resistance when at speed.

Cruise lines are now also experimenting with wind technology and photovoltaics (converting light into electricity using solar cells).

Finally, to minimize waste, cruise lines are busy implementing sustainability initiatives such as composting, recycling, and using biodegradable or reusable materials.

Conflict areas affect cruising

The war between Israel and the Hamas organization has made a deep impact to an already instable region. After the start of the conflict on October7 the cruise industry was forced to react immedialtely. Oceania Cruises’ Nautica and Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam were docked in Haifa, Israel at the time the conflict started and left port in a hurry. On October 16, Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas evacuated American citizens from Israel. Celestyal,, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean changed the intinerairies of their ships to stay well clear of Israelian ports. Local operator Mano Maritime has laid up there single ship Crown Iris for the time being.

Other areas where cruising has come to a halt were the Black Sea because of the Russian -Ukrainian war and the Red Sea where Houthi attacks endanger cruise ships and their passengers and crew. 

The reopening of the Chinese market

After Australia and New Zealand, the Chinese market still remained closed for all travel until this year due to the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Chinese government decided to finally reopen China for cruise ships in June 2023.

Although international players such as Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises will not return to China before early 2024, local brands such as Adora Cruises, Blue Dream Cruises, Resorts World Cruises and Tianjin Orient International are now among the operators currently serving the Chinese domestic market.

Residential Ships developments

2023 saw the introduction of several residential ship projects and companies. Villa Vie Residences recently announced plans to buy Fred. Olsen’s Braemar for its three-and-a-half year of world cruise. Villa Vie Residences is founded by former Life at Sea officers.

Alas, others like Miray’s ife at Sea project started in 2023 but already failed after a couple of months after having announced acquiring a suitable vessel multiple times (Gemini, Aidaaura and Aidavita were mentioned). Its first three-year world cruise was cancelled in November, just two weeks before its scheduled departure, leaving passengers in huge problems as many had sold their homes or business or had even invested their life’s savings to join.

Two important competitors are preparing themselves for entering thhe residential cruise market in the coming years and made multiple announcements during 2023.

Narrative is a 62,000GT residential cruise ship built and owned by the Miami-based shipbuilding company Storylines. It will be launched in 2025 from Croatia. She will be the first residential cruise ship with educational facilities onboard making it possible for families to join the ship.

Njord, an 85,000GT, 289m private residence yacht, a project revealed by Ocean Residences Development will be built at German shipyard Meyer Werft, also with a target delivery of 2025. 

Healthy food conquers cruise ships

Living healthy and in its wake vegan food is continiouly gaining popularity all over the world.

This made Atlas Ocean Voyages, Carnival Cruises and Princess Cruises introduce vegan menus. Disney, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas even go a step further, offering countless menu variations vegan style.

Cruise lines like MSC have introduced restaurants where some of the ingredients are grown on board like in the Chef’s Garden Kitchen restaurant on the MSC World Europa, see picture below. This is a new restaurant concept, which is a Babylon Micro-Farms powered hydroponic garden ( a technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil) at sea with herbs, greens and garnishes grown onboard.

Internet upgrades on board

Cruise line apps and internet usage continue to play a larger role every year. Old fashioned menucards and bar lists are being replaced by ordering via the app which also makes booking restaurant seats, shows and excursions possible.

More stable and faster satellite-based internet is provided by Elon Musk’s Starlink internet, available since 2022. In 2023 Aurora Expeditions, Cunard Cruises, Holland America Line, Scenic Group (Secenic and Emerald Cruises) as well as Windstar Cruises decided to implement Starlink on their vessels. Faster and more reliable internet is badly needed onboard as a growing number of passengers buy internet packages to stay connected during their cruise.