How Much Does a Cruise Ship Cost to Build
What is the cost to build a cruise ship? How much The World cruise ship cost, what is the cost of the most expensive cruise ship in the world? These are not just money questions, but ship cruise fun stuff, that's why we'll try to give you the best answers ever - and all in one place. More than that, after some concise explanations, we give you the list of world's best passenger cruise ships cost to build by line (operator) - so you don't have to search the Internet any more for a particular ship name and building cost.
The cost of building a cruise ship generally depends on the vessel's size, the building shipyard (the labor prices, taxes, quality of service), the on-board features (facilities and amenities) and finally - the economy itself. Lines price the cruise ships building cost by the number of beds (the marine term is "berths"). The most fun fact of all in this category is the berth price of one of the world's most expensive big cruise ships - the most famous Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary 2 (launched 2004), with a berth cost of over US $300,000 - the industry's highest ever considering its tonnage. The main culprits - the QM2 ship builder is STX Europe (the Saint-Nazaire shipyards in France), the high quality of materials, the unique ship design (this classic ocean liner required around 40% more steel than a standard passenger ship) and finally, the QM2 ship size itself - length 1,132 ft (345 m), width 135 ft (41 m), height 236 ft (72 m) and weight of 151,400 tons. QM2 is also the fastest cruise ship in the world - max speed 35 mph (56 kmh) and service (operational) speed of 30 mph (48 kmh). In comparison, the world's largest cruise ship Oasis of the Seas cost per berth is merely $222,000 for its immense weight of 225,300 tons.
Some info on one of the world's most famous passenger ships ever - The World cruise ship. Operated by ResidenSea, this top luxury residential ship (construction cost $266 million) offers one-bedroom apartment at the modest price of around $2,000 per night. Purchasing an apartment on board this ship is a quite different matter. The World cruise ship apartment cost (if some of the current owners decide to sell) is a pretty big suitcase deal - the lucky buyer will say a big "goodbye" to US $2 million to over 15 mill (depending on size and deck location) and a heartly "hello" to a ship cabin property of respectively around 620 sq-ft to over 4,300 sq-ft. Additionally to this "initial spending", the lucky owner will be charged an annual maintenance fee ranging from US $60,000 to over $500,000, again depending on property.
Here are the funny answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the passenger cruise ship cost:
- How much does the world's most expensive cruise ship cost? The Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas ship cost to build is US $1,4 billion, closely followed by its sister the Allure ship - US $1,2 billion.
- And while speaking of 1,2 billion dollars, and just in case someone asks "what is the cost of the most expensive yacht in the world". The world's most expensive cruise yacht costs the exact amount of money, and it's a private property of Roman Abramovich. For its 558 ft in length (170 m) the owner of Chelsea Football Club paid the same $1,2 billion, while the yacht's actual construction cost is "only" $485 million. But the fun doesn't stop there. A week-long charter of the Eclipse Yacht costs US $2 million, but a 5,000 sq-ft (465 m2) master suite is included in the price, along with all the 70+ crew members, 2 helicopter pads, 11 guest staterooms, 2 swimming pools, 3 speed boats, and naturally - a small submarine. About the security? How does a defense system capable of launching missiles sounds to you?
- What is the Royal Caribbean cruise ship cost? The cheapest are the Royal Caribbean Sovereign-class ships Monarch and Majesty (US $150 million each), and about the "most expensive ship precedent at sea" - you already know.
- What is the Carnival cruise ship cost? The oldest ships in the Carnival fleet are of the Fantasy-class, at around US $250 million each. The newest Carnival ships Dream-class cost $740 million each.
- What is the Disney cruise ship cost? The newest Disney ships Dream and Fantasy cost to build is respectively 900 and 940 million, the "old" Magic and Wonder cost $350 million each.
- What was the cost of the RMS Titanic ship? Back in the 1912, the Titanic ship cost to build was US $7,5 million, or adjusted to the current dollar value - around US $180 million. Sadly, this huge investment in the world's first mega cruise ship (tonnage 46,300 GT) turned out to be a real disaster - the Titanic ship sailed only once and never finished its "bigger than God" voyage.
In the current universal economy situation of uncertainty and stagnation, most cruise companies prefer to renovate ships rather than building new ones. The cost of cruise companies renovation programs may reach close to half a billion dollars, as in the case of Holland America Line's SOE "Signature of Excellence" program - an investment of close to US $450 million. Generally, such renovations include either major refits and improvements ("upgrades" of older vessels with all the line's feature facilities, amenities and programs) or scheduled refurbishments. Another famous example are the "Fun" upgrades of all old Carnival ships of the Fantasy-class - 8 ships, 250 million dollars. The Celebrity line started its over US $200 million one-ship-per-year renovation program in 2010 including 4 of its oldest ships of the Millennium-class.
Now, for the most curious ones - check how much do Cruise ships cost and for more information - our cruise ship building article. You can share our stuff on Google+, FB or Tweeter by using the 3 colorful buttons below each article.