Interesting
cruise industry
facts, tidbits
& statistics

---

Passengers

More than 10,000,000 people take a cruise each year. About 80% will do it in North American waters.

---

Ports of call

There are over 2000 ports of call around our planet that cruise ships can visit.

---

Most popular starting ports

About half of all passengers on major world cruise lines begin their trips in one of these three Florida ports: Miami, Port Canaveral, and Fort Lauderdale.

---

Most popular destination

More people cruise to the Caribbean than any other destination in the world.

---

Non-destination

For some cruisers, the ship itself is the primary destination, not the ports of call.

---

Cruise ship population

There are more than 300 sea-going cruise ships in the world.

---

Collective capacity

They collectively have room for over a quarter-million passengers.

---

Individual capacities

The latest super-sized ships carry over 4 thousand people (counting passengers and crew). They would dwarf the Titanic and are as tall as a sixteen-story building.

---

Construction cost

Those gargantuan ships can cost a cruise line a half-billion American dollars before the first passenger boards.

---

The big three

Today, 3 cruise line groups (Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Star/NCL) control roughly two-thirds of world's cruise passenger capacity.

---

Travel agents

Almost 90% of cruise tickets are sold through travel agents.

---

Best cruise lines by category
22 cruise lines - descriptions
Top 10 destinations
Cabin selection
Cruise costs
Booking advice
Shore excursions
Cruise pros & cons
Cruise dining insights
Family cruising tips
Cruise etiquette
Ship communications
Cruise industry - facts
More cruise tips/insights

World's Top 100 Wonders

World's Top 1000 Wonders

Site map

---

---

Explore my
candid country, region
and other travel guides
Click links for tips & insights

©2012 HQP - Hillman Quality Publications / hillmanwonders.com