By 2050, cruise ships are expected to be eight times the size of the Titanic

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It has long been the case that the Titanic has been the benchmark for giant passenger ships.

The ill-fated ship, a giant for its time at 46,000 tonnes, is expected to be eclipsed by ships eight times larger by 2050. One study predicts that new cruise ships will be able to accommodate the population of a small town and weigh up to 345,000 tonnes. With twice as many ships sailing the world’s oceans as 25 years ago, researchers believe future vessels will be able to accommodate nearly 11,000 passengers, compared with the 2,500 that the Titanic held when it sank south of Newfoundland in 1912, killing 1,500 people.

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Jonathan Hood of ecotourism advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E), which compiled the study based on data from shipping consultancy Clarksons, said: “Today’s cruise ships make the Titanic look like someone’s private yacht, and the question is: how much bigger can these ships get?”

Large passenger planes and cheaper airfares gradually killed off the long-haul cruise business, but it re-emerged as a leisure option in the 1970s and has grown 20-fold since then. It is now the fastest-growing sector in the travel industry as holidaymakers splurge on once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

The largest cruise ship to date is Royal Caribbean’s Idol of the Seas, which is five times the size of the Titanic, with 20 decks, seven swimming pools, 40 restaurants and a capacity of 7,600 passengers.

T&E said cruise ships are a growing threat to the environment, with carbon emissions already 20% higher than in 2019.
However, operators such as Europe’s MSC Cruises are aiming to reduce emissions by 15%, with smaller cruises targeting travellers seeking cultural and wildlife experiences with a smaller carbon footprint.

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