Cruising By the Numbers

84,007

The average cruise ship sails the equivalent of three times around the world each year. Every year, the average commercial cruise ship covers some 84,007 miles

The world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, is twice the length of the Washington Monument. The ship (which debuted in 2018) is about 1,188 feet long and boasts 22 dining venues and 24 swimming pools.

Most cruise ships don’t have a thirteenth deck. Similar to skyscrapers around the world that omit the 13th floor, cruise lines often skip the 13th deck (and sometimes the 13th cabin) on the basis of superstition.

1900

The Prinzessin Victoria Luise, a German passenger ship of the Hamburg-America Line, was the first official cruise ship to set sail in the summer of 1900.

30-30

Cruise ship crew members have a secret set of codewords. A ‘30-30’, for instance, means the crew is asking maintenance to clean up a mess. Other codes are ‘Alpha’ which is a medical emergency, and ‘Bravo’ which indicates a fire.

The Titanic was only a fraction of the size of modern cruise ships. Compared to nearly every modern cruise ship, the Titanic falls short in a range of ways, from its size to its accommodations. For example, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, which made her maiden voyage in 2009, is about five times more spacious than the Titanic. And while the Titanic was only able to accommodate 2,229 guests, the Oasis of the Seas can accommodate 5,400

Cruise ship anchors can weigh up to 20,500 pounds—about the same as four African forest elephants.