Timeline of largest passenger ships

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This is a timeline of the world's largest passenger ships based upon internal volume, initially measured by gross register tonnage and later by gross tonnage. This timeline reflects the largest extant passenger ship in the world at any given time. If a given ship was superseded by another, scrapped, or lost at sea, it is then succeeded. Some records for tonnage outlived the ships that set them - notably the SS Great Eastern, and RMS Queen Elizabeth. The term "largest passenger ship" has evolved over time to also include ships by length as supertankers built by the 1970s were over 400 metres (1,300 ft) long. In the modern era "largest passenger ship" has gradually fallen out of use in favor of "largest cruise ship" as the industry has shifted to cruising rather than transatlantic ocean travel.[1] While some of these modern cruise ships were later expanded, they did not regain their "largest" titles.

RMS Queen Elizabeth's size record stood for the longest time at over 54 years

Timeline

More information Year completed, Ship ...
Year completed Ship Tonnage Length Title held Status Image

19th century

19th century
1831 SS Royal William 1,370 GRT[2] 49 m (160 ft) 1831 – 1839[3] Sank in 1860
1838 SS Great Western 1,700 GRT[4] 76.8 m (252 ft) 1839[5] Scrapped in 1856
1839 SS British Queen 1,850 GRT[6] 75 m (245 ft) 1839 – 1840[7][8]
1841 – 1843[citation needed]		 Scrapped in 1844
1840 SS President 2,366 GRT[9] 74 m (243 ft) 1840 – 1841[10] Lost at sea in 1841
1843[a] SS Great Britain 3,270 GRT[11] 98 m (322 ft) 1843 – 1853[12] Currently a Museum ship
1853[13] SS Atrato 3,466 GRT[14] 107 m

(350 ft)

 1853 – 1857[15][b] Sank in 1884
1857 SS Adriatic 3,670 GRT[16] 108 m

(354 ft)

 1857 — 1858[17] Beached and Abandoned in 1885
1858 SS Great Eastern 18,915 GRT[18]
(not exceeded until RMS Celtic, 1901)		 211 m (692 ft) 1858 – c. 1888[19][20]
(Scrapped)		 Scrapped by 1891[c]
1888 SS City of New York 10,499 GRT[23] 171 m

(560 ft)

 c. 1888 – 1893[20] Scrapped in 1923
22 April 1893
(entered service)		 RMS Campania[d] 12,950 GRT[24] 190 m (622 ft) 1893 – 1897[e] [25] Sank in 1918
2 September 1893
(entered service)		 RMS Lucania[f] Scrapped in 1909
1897 SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse 14,349 GRT[26] 200 m (655 ft) 1897 – 1899[27] Sank in 1914
1899 RMS Oceanic 17,272 GRT[28] 215 m (704 ft) 1899 – 1901[29] Sank in 1914

20th century

20th century
11 July 1901 RMS Celtic 20,904 GRT[30] 214 m (701 ft) 1901 – 1903[31][32] Ran aground in 1928, Scrapped on site in 1929
31 January 1903 RMS Cedric 21,073 GRT[33] 213 m

(700 ft)

 1903 – 1904[32] Scrapped in 1932 File:RMS Cedric.jpg
23 June 1904 RMS Baltic 23,876 GRT[34] 222 m (729 ft) 1904 – 1906[34][35] Scrapped in 1933 File:RMS Baltic.jpg
10 May 1906
(entered service)		 SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria 24,581 GRT[36] 206.5 m (677.5 ft) 1906 – 1907[37] Scrapped in 1930
7 September 1907
(entered service)		 RMS Lusitania 31,550 GRT[38] 240 m (787 ft) 1907[39][40] Sank in 1915
7 November 1907 RMS Mauretania 31,938 GRT[38] 241 m

(790 ft)

 1907 – 1911[40][41] Scrapped in 1935
31 May 1911 RMS Olympic 45,324 GRT[42] 269.0 m (882.5 ft) 1911 – 1912[43][44]
1912 – 1913[43][45]		 Scrapped by 1937
31 March 1912 RMS Titanic 46,328 GRT[46] 269.1 m (882.9 ft) 1912[47]
(Sank)		 Sank in 1912[47]
June 1913 SS Imperator 52,117 GRT[48] 276 m (906 ft) 1913 – 1914[45][48] Scrapped in 1938
14 May 1914
(entered service)		 SS Vaterland 54,282 GRT[49][50] 290 m (950 ft) 1914 – 1922[51][52] Scrapped in 1938
12 May 1922
(entered service)		 RMS Majestic 56,551 GRT[53] 291 m (956 ft) 1922 – 1935[52][54] Scrapped in 1943
(after sinking)
29 May 1935
(entered service)		 SS Normandie 79,280 GRT
(as built)
83,404 GRT
(final size)[g]		 314 m (1,029 ft) 1935 – 1936[56]
1936 – 1942[55][57]
(Destroyed by fire)		 Scrapped in 1946
(after sinking)
27 May 1936
(entered service)		 RMS Queen Mary 80,774 GRT (as built)

81,237 GRT (final size)[58][59]

 310.7 m (1,019.4 ft) 1936[60][59] Currently a Hotel ship
2 March 1940[h] RMS Queen Elizabeth 83,673 GRT[61]
(not exceeded until Carnival Destiny, 1996)		 314 m (1,031 ft) 1942 – 1972[57]
(Destroyed by fire)		 Scrapped in 1974
(after sinking)
3 February 1962
(entered service)		 SS France (1962-1980)
SS Norway (post-1980)		 66,343 GRT
(as built)[62]
76,049 GRT
(final size)[i]		 315 m (1,035 ft) 1972 – 1987[66][67]
1990 – 1995[68][69]		 Scrapped in 2008
18 December 1987 MS Sovereign of the Seas 73,529 GT[70] 268 m

(880 ft)

 1987 – 1990[67][69]
(Surpassed by SS Norway)		 Scrapped in 2020
26 June 1995 Sun Princess 77,000 GT[71][72] 261 m (857 ft) 1995 – 1996[72] In service as Pacific World
24 November 1996
(entered service)		 Carnival Destiny 101,353 GT[72] 272 m (893 ft) 1996 – 1998[72][73] In service as Carnival Sunshine
27 May 1998
(entered service)		 Grand Princess 109,000 GT[73] 290 m (951 ft) 1998 – 1999[73][74] In service
29 October 1999 Voyager of the Seas 137,276 GT[75] 311 m

(1,020 ft)

 1999 – 2000[73] In service
28 September 2000 Explorer of the Seas 137,308 GT[76] 311 m (1,020 ft) 2000 – 2002[citation needed] In service

21st century

21st century
18 November 2002 Navigator of the Seas 138,279 GT
(as built)[77]		 311 m (1,020 ft) 2002 – 2003[citation needed] In service
22 December 2003 RMS Queen Mary 2 148,528 GT
(as built)[78]		 345.03 m (1,132.0 ft) 2003 – 2006[citation needed] In service
24 April 2006 MS Freedom of the Seas 154,407 GT
(as built)[79][80][81]		 338.774 m (1,111.46 ft)[82] 2006 – 2009[citation needed][j] In service
18 May 2007 Liberty of the Seas 338.92 m (1,111.9 ft)[84] 2007 – 2009[citation needed][j]
30 April 2008 Independence of the Seas 338.91 m (1,111.9 ft)[85] 2008 – 2009[citation needed][j]
28 October 2009 Oasis of the Seas 225,282 GT[86]
(as built)		 360 m (1,180 ft) 2009 – 2016[k] In service
28 October 2010 Allure of the Seas 360 m (1,180 ft) 2010 – 2016[k] In service
13 May 2016 Harmony of the Seas 226,963 GT[90] 362.12 m (1,188.1 ft) 2016 – 2018[citation needed] In service
23 March 2018 Symphony of the Seas 228,081 GT[91] 361.011 m (1,184.42 ft) 2018 – 2022[citation needed] In service SymphonyOfTheSeas (cropped) 02
27 January 2022 Wonder of the Seas 235,600 GT[92] 362.04 m (1,187.8 ft) 2022 – 2023[citation needed] In service
27 November 2023 Icon of the Seas 248,663 GT[93][94] 364.75 m (1,196.7 ft) 2023 – present[citation needed][l] In service
24 September 2024 Star of the Seas 364.83 m (1,196.9 ft) 2024 – present[citation needed][l] In service
Close

See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    Sources have the Great Britain as the "world's largest" ship from her launch year.
  2. [b]
    While the Great Republic was concurrently larger (at 4,555 GRT), she was not a passenger ship.
  3. [c]
    Great Eastern was sold for scrap in 1888 but the breaking up was not completed until 1891.[21][22]
  4. [d]
    The Campania and Lucania had the same GRT.
  5. [e]
    The Campania and Lucania shared the "largest passenger ship" record until 1897.
  6. [f]
    The Campania and Lucania had the same GRT.
  7. [g]
    The tonnage was increased on Normandie in August 1936 to reclaim the title of "largest ship" from the Queen Mary.[55]
  8. [h]
    Although Queen Elizabeth was completed on 2 March 1940 as an ocean liner, she was converted into a troop ship due to the outbreak of World War II. She became the largest ship in the world in 1942 when SS Normandie burned and sank at her moorings. Transatlantic service was not resumed until after the war ended, and Queen Elizabeth officially entered into passenger service on 16 October 1946.
  9. [i]
    SS France increased her tonnage in 1980, when she was refurbished into a cruise ship. Her final size peaked at 76,049 GRT in 1990.[63] She was the last ship on this list to be measured by "GRT", as the term was changed to "GT" on 18 July 1994.[64][65]
  10. [j]
    Freedom of the Seas was initially launched at 154,407 GT.[83] This was tied by its sister ships Liberty of the Seas in 2007 and Independence of the Seas in 2008, and all three vessels shared the "largest passenger ship" record until 2009, although the latter were 15 cm (5.9 in) and 14 cm (5.5 in) longer, respectively.
  11. [k]
    Oasis was initially launched at 225,282 GT.[87] This was tied a year later by Allure of the Seas, and both vessels shared the "largest passenger ship" record until 2016, although the latter was 50 mm (2.0 in) longer.[88] Oasis of the Seas was later expanded to 226,838 GT.[89]
  12. [l]
    Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas concurrently share the "largest passenger ship" record.

References

External links

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