Cruises have doubled in size since 2000: NGO calls for €50 tax to stem ‘out of control’ emissions

Five times larger than the Titanic, the Icon of the Seas was unveiled at the start of 2024 as the world’s biggest cruise ship.

It highlights a spiralling trend in the industry: the largest cruises have more than doubled in size since the year 2000.

If this trajectory continues, ships could grow to a whopping eight times the size of the Titanic by 2050.

They’d make the 10-deck, 269-metre-long ship from 1912 “look like a fishing boat”, according to a new report titled ‘Cruisezillas: How much bigger can cruise ships get?’ released by Transport & Environment (T&E) today.

In the report, T&E calls for faster and more stringent climate requirements to be placed on cruise ships, as well as full and transparent disclosure of their emissions.

“Cruise ships spend considerably more time in ports than other ship types and cause immediate health risks to the human population and nature,” the report reads. 

“Considering their luxury status and extensive greenwashing practices, cruise companies should be required to lead shipping’s decarbonisation efforts and deliver on their green claims.”

The Titanic had capacity for 2,500 passengers and had a gross tonnage (GT) - or volume - of 46,300.

Icon of the Seas blows this out the water with a 7,600 capacity and 248,700 GT. Across 20 decks, it features seven pools, a waterpark and more than 40 bars and restaurants spread across eight ‘neighbourhoods’.

By 2050, if cruises keep growing at the rate of the past 20 years, T&E predicts that the largest ships could carry 10,500 passengers with a GT of 345,000.

The number of ships at sea has also increased exponentially in recent decades, growing by 20 times from 22 ships in 1970 to 521 today.

Bigger ships, and more of them, mean higher emissions: despite the