Report

'Cruisezillas': How much bigger can cruise ships get?

August 8, 2024

Cruise ships are getting larger and more numerous. This is a problem for the environment

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Briefing

The world’s biggest cruise ships are now twice as big as they were in 2000
At the current rate of growth, the biggest cruise ships in 2050 could become almost eight times bigger than the Titanic and carry nearly 11,000 passengers
Twentyfold increase in the number of cruise ships from only 21 in 1970 to 515 today
Cruise ship CO₂ emissions were already nearly 20% higher in 2022 than in 2019 before the pandemic
Cruise ships are currently exempt from fuel duties as well as most corporate and consumer taxes. A €50 tax on a typical cruise journey ticket would bring in €1.6 billion globally, €410 million of which would be raised in Europe

For cruise ships, only the sea is the limit. Over the last half of a century, the global cruise industry has been growing rapidly. The number of ships has increased more than twenty-fold from only 21 ships in 1970 to 515 vessels today. Cruise ships are also getting bigger. Today’s largest vessels are twice as big as they were in 2000. If they continue to grow at this rate, the biggest cruise ships could reach the size of 345,000 gross tonnage (GT) in 2050, making them eight times larger than the Titanic.

While cruise vacations still maintain an image of luxury, they are becoming a mainstream holiday option in developed countries, with nearly 36 million holidaymakers projected to take a cruise voyage in 2024.

As a result of such rapid growth, these floating cities emit more greenhouse gases and pollutants than ever before. Between 2019 and 2022, CO₂ emissions from cruise ships in Europe grew by 17% despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and methane emissions surged by 500%.

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