The Best Ship Cruise Companies

The world's best cruise companies, operating the largest passenger ships in the world. The "Big Players" in the industry of sea voyages, with the world's biggest cruise ships, the cheapest cruise rates, and the best cruise prices guaranteed by the world's largest fleets.

The cheapest prices of the best passenger ship lines are generally attainable with early booking, low-season travel deals, cheap relocation deals, booking the lowest cabin category. The last link below offers information about the corporate ownership of the major brands. For detailed line information, click on the last links in the paragraphs (the initial links redirect to the companies' official websites).

• Carnival Line website (1972, British-American, Doral-Miami FL, "The FUN Ships" fleet of 24 large FUN ships) - the world's largest and cheapest cruise line, with the unique concept of cheap short cruises deals, with the first super large passenger ship in the world (the Destiny ship, in 1996 exceeding for the first time the 100,000 gross tonnage barrier). The Carnival line is the major subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Carnival Cruise Company.
• Celebrity Line website (1988 as "Chandris Fantasy Cruises", Miami FL) - 11 luxury passenger ships, since 1988 - a major brand of the RCCL. CELEBRITY Cruise Company.
• Costa Line website /Costa Crociere SpA (1924 as cargo carrier, Genoa, Italy) - a passenger ship company since 1947. A major brand of Carnival Corporation & plc since 2000, and the Europe's largest line, with 16 flagged Italy cruise ships (average tonnage 80,000 GT). COSTA Cruise Company.
• Cunard Line website (since 1840 as "British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company", British-American, headquarters in Southampton UK, and Santa Clarita CA) - 3 large luxury oceanic cruise ships from UK, including the only one contemporary regular Transatlantic passenger liner RMS Queen Mary 2. Owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. CUNARD Cruise Company.
• Disney Line website (1998, Celebration FL) - the world's BEST KIDS cruise line, with 4 ocean going vessels (average tonnage 100,000, average capacity 3,200 passengers). The Disney line belongs to The Walt Disney Company - with the world's most famous fantasy characters and themed entertainment. The Disney Ship Cruise Line.
• Holland America Line website (since 1873 as "Netherlands-America Steamship Company", Seattle WA) - 15 medium sized ships, serving more than 700,000 passengers a year, owned by Carnival since 1989. HAL started operation in 1872 as a Transatlantic cargo-passenger ship line, mainly between Rotterdam and New York (also to S. America), offering its first sea vacation voyage in 1895. HAL also owns "Westmark" hotels (Alaska-Yukon), "Worldwide Shore Services" (warehouse-logistics), and a private island in the Bahamas - Little San Salvador, best known as Half Moon Cay. HAL HOLLAND AMERICA Cruise Company.
• MSC Line website /MSC Crociere SA (since 1987 as "Lauro Lines", headquarters Geneva, Switzerland) - 12 big cheap ships, the 5th largest in the world, a sub-division of Mediterranean Shipping Company SA since 1989.
• NCL Norwegian Lines website (1966, Miami-Dade County, FL) - 13 large vessels, the world's 4th largest (8% of the market), and the inventor of the "Freestyle Cruising" idea (open seating informal dining), and the owner of the first cruise line private island (1977, Great Stirrup Cay). Equally owned by Apollo Management and Star Cruises. NCL owns the American cruise ship Pride of America.
• Princess Cruises website (1965, British-American, Santa Clarita CA) - 18 large ships, including 2 very large under construction. The Princess line is an ex subsidiary of "P&O Princess Cruises PLC", now fully owned by Carnival.
• Royal Caribbean International website /RCI (1968, Norwegian-American, Miami FL, 24 of the world's largest passenger ships, and the 2nd largest in the world) - innovated the coastal property leasing with the Labadee exclusive resort (northern Haiti), "the Alaskan land and sea tours" (the glass-domed train cars), feature on-board facilities (rock-climbing walls, ice-skating rinks, the "Viking Crown" top-of-the-ship lounge). The owner of the "Largest cruise ship in the world" (1988, 1999, 2006, 2009, 2010). Owns the Bahamian island CocoCay (Little Stirrup Cay). The company's previous name after the merge with Celebrity was "Royal Caribbean Cruise Line", and is the feature brand in the RCCL's family. Royal Caribbean Ship Cruise Company.
• Star Cruises website (1993, Hong Kong, a total of 23 ships, over 35,000 berths, operates 4 bigger cruise ships) - the world's 3rd-largest line, the leader  in Asia-Pacific region, fully owns "Cruise Feries" (Wasa Queen ship, 1-night gambling cruises from Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur), and the half of NCL, a subsidiary of Genting Group, Malaysia.