Cruise Lines

Azamara is a cruise line based in Miami, Florida, that operates four cruise ships on worldwide itineraries. The company was founded by Royal Caribbean, which wanted to diversify its operations. In 2021, the company was sold to a private investment group. Azamara currently operates four ships. They belong to the eight R-class ships that were built for Renaissance Cruises between 1997 and 2001. The Azamara Quest and Azamara Journey both entered service in 2000 under the original names R Six and R Seven. In March 2018, Adonia was also taken over from P&O Cruises and renamed Azamara Pursuit. Each of the ships can carry a maximum of 686 passengers. All ships sail under the flag of Malta. Azamara offers cruises with its ships worldwide.

Carnival Cruise Line is a British-American cruise operator with a combined fleet of over ninety vessels across nine cruise line brands and one joint venture with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of two companies: Panama-incorporated, US-headquartered Carnival Corporation, and UK-based Carnival plc, which function as one entity. Carnival Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, whereas Carnival plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange with an ADR listing on the NYSE. Carnival is listed in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices. The American entity Carnival Corporation has its headquarters in the United States, with operational headquarters located in the city of Doral, Florida. The UK entity Carnival plc has its headquarters in Southampton, England.

Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida. Celebrity Cruises is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 1997. Celebrity's signature logo is an "Χ" displayed on the funnel of Celebrity ships and is the Greek letter chi, for "Chandris.".

Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2022, the Crystal Cruises brand and two cruise ships were bought by A&K Travel Group, with headquarters in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Costa Cruise Line is an Italian cruise line founded in 1948 and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc since 2000. Based in Genoa, Italy, the cruise line primarily caters to the Italian cruise market, but the company's 10 ships, which all sail under the Italian flag, provide itineraries sailing to countries globally.

Cunard Cruise Line is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda. In 1839, Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year, he formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in Glasgow with shipowner Sir George Burns and Robert Napier, the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool-Halifax-Boston route. For most of the next 30 years, Cunard held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage. However, in the 1870s, Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line. To meet this competition, in 1879, the firm was reorganized as the Cunard Steamship Company Ltd. to raise capital. In 1902, White Star joined the American-owned International Mercantile Marine Co. In response, the British Government provided Cunard with substantial loans and a subsidy to build two superliners needed to retain Britain's competitive position. Mauretania held the Blue Riband from 1909 to 1929. Her sister ship, Lusitania, was torpedoed in 1915 during the First World War. In 1919, Cunard relocated its British homeport from Liverpool to Southampton, better to cater for travelers from London. In the late 1920s, Cunard faced new competition when the Germans, Italians, and French built large prestige liners. Cunard was forced to suspend construction on its own new superliner because of the Great Depression. In 1934, the British Government offered Cunard loans to finish Queen Mary and to build a second ship, Queen Elizabeth, on the condition that Cunard merged with the then-ailing White Star Line to form Cunard-White Star Line. Cunard owned two-thirds of the new company. Cunard purchased White Star's share in 1947; the name reverted to the Cunard Line in 1950. Upon the end of the Second World War, Cunard regained its position as the largest Atlantic passenger line. By the mid-1950s, it operated 12 ships in the United States and Canada. After 1958, transatlantic passenger ships became increasingly unprofitable because of the introduction of jet airliners. Cunard undertook a brief foray into air travel via the "Cunard Eagle" and "BOAC Cunard" airlines, but withdrew from the airline market in 1966. Cunard withdrew from its year-round service in 1968 to concentrate on cruising and summer transatlantic voyages for holidaymakers. The Queens were replaced by Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), which was designed for the dual role. In 2004, QE2 was replaced on the transatlantic runs by Queen Mary 2 (QM2). The line also operates Queen Victoria (QV) and Queen Elizabeth (QE). As of 2022, Cunard is the only shipping company to still operate a scheduled passenger service between Europe and North America. In 2017, Cunard announced that a fourth ship would join its fleet. This was initially scheduled for 2022 but was delayed until 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ship has since been named Queen Anne.

Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through its first vessel Disney Magic, and is domiciled in London, England, with their operational headquarters located in Celebration, Florida. Disney Cruise Line currently operates five ships, with three more set to join in the coming years.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is a UK-based, Norwegian-owned cruise shipping line with three cruise ships. The company is owned by Bonheur and Ganger Rolf and is headquartered in Ipswich, Suffolk, in the United Kingdom. The company is part of the Fred. Olsen Group. The Fred. Olsen fleet consists of three mid- to small-size ships: Balmoral, Bolette, and Borealis.

Holland America Line (HAL) is a US-owned cruise line and a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Holland America was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company. The company currently operates 12 cruise ships on all seven continents, including Antarctica explorations, South America circumnavigations, exotic Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

Oceania Cruises is a cruise line based in Miami, Florida, that operates seven cruise ships on worldwide itineraries. It typically offers cruises that last between 10 and 14 days, but it is also known for its long cruises lasting up to 195 days. There are currently seven ships in Oceania Cruises’ fleet: Insignia, Nautica, Marina, Regatta, Riviera, Sirena, and the newest addition, the Allura-class vessel, Vista. Since September 2014, Oceania Cruises has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which also owns Norwegian Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the freight transport company P&O and was founded in 1977. Along with P&O Cruises Australia, another former subsidiary of P&O, it has the oldest heritage of any cruise line in the world, dating to P&O's first passenger operations in 1837. P&O Cruises was divested from P&O in 2000, subsequently becoming a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises, before coming under its current ownership in 2003, following a merger between P&O Princess Cruises and Carnival Corporation (the combined company now operates as Carnival Corporation & plc).

Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda, and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second-largest cruise line by net revenue. It was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises. The line has 15 ships cruising global itineraries that are marketed to both American and international passengers. Santa Clara

Regent Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC), formerly known as Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, is a luxury cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida. Since September 2014, Regent Seven Seas Cruises has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which also owns Norwegian Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises.  The company currently has six cruise ships that are operating globally.

Royal Caribbean International (RCI), previously known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Florida, it is the largest cruise line by revenue and second largest by passengers counts. In 2018, Royal Caribbean International controlled 19.2% of the worldwide cruise market by passengers and 14.0% by revenue. As of January 2024, the line operates 28 ships and has three additional ships on order.

Seabourn is a luxury cruise line, founded in 1986 (operational since 1988), with headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Seabourn Cruise Line operates all around the globe. It is owned by Carnival Corporation and is part of the "World's Leading Cruise Lines" group, which also includes AIDA, Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Princess, and P&O Cruises.

Silversea is an ultra-luxury and expedition travel brand headquartered in Monaco. Founded in 1994 by the Vlasov Group of Monaco and the Lefebvre family of Rome, it pioneered all-inclusive cruising with its first ship, Silver Cloud. Since July 2020, it has been owned by Royal Caribbean Group.

Star Cruises was founded as an associate of the Genting Group of Malaysia and incorporated in Bermuda on November 10, 1993, with its corporate headquarters in Hong Kong. The cruise line mainly operated in the Asia-Pacific market. The company is owned by Genting of Hong Kong. It is the eighteenth largest cruise line in the world after Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and 15 others.

Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) is an Italian shipping company, based in Genoa, that operates ferries between mainland Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, France, Spain, Albania, Morocco, and Tunisia. It was established by Aldo Grimaldi in 1992.

"A Tradition Of Excellence".When Carnival Cruise Line acquired Holland America some years ago they were smart enough to leave all the operations in the hands of Holland America's management instead of just repainting the ships with the Carnival logo. Holland America has established quite different image than Carnival, targeting completely different sort of passengers (more mature folks) and offering more formal and stylish cruises and service. The majority of Holland America passengers do not even know that the company is owned by Carnival. On the employees side, Holland America is paying slightly higher salaries, but they are expecting also a higher quality of service and crew members party mainly between themselves (considering the age group of majority of the passenger). Holland America is offering also worldwide itineraries, while Carnival is concentrated mainly on the Caribbean market (with a few exceptions).

MSC Cruises (Italian: MSC Crociere) is a Swiss global cruise line based in Geneva, with operations offices in Naples, Genoa, and Venice. It was founded in 1970 in Naples, Italy, as part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). In addition to being the world's largest privately held cruise company, employing about 23,500 people worldwide and with offices in 45 countries as of 2020, MSC Cruises is the third-largest cruise company in the world, after Carnival Corporation & plc and Royal Caribbean Group.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in Norway in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda, and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6% of the total worldwide share of the cruise market by passengers as of 2021. It is wholly owned by the parent company, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

Viking Cruise Line provides river, ocean, and expedition cruises. Its operating headquarters are in Basel, Switzerland, and in Los Angeles, California. Viking was founded in 1997 by Torstein Hagen, a Norwegian billionaire businessman who is currently the chairman of the Cruise Line. The company has three divisions: Viking River Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises, and Viking Expeditions, offering cruises along the rivers and oceans of North and South America, the Caribbean, Antarctica, the Great Lakes, Europe, Russia, Egypt, China, and Southeast Asia. Viking Cruise Line has more than 250 awards to its name, including being rated #1 for rivers, #1 for oceans, and #1 for expeditions by Condé Nast Traveler and voted at the top of its categories by Travel + Leisure.

Windstar Cruises is a cruise line based in Miami, Florida, that operates on worldwide itineraries. The cruise line operates a fleet of small luxury cruise ships. Its six yachts carry just 148 to 310 guests and cruise to 50 nations, calling at 150 ports throughout Europe, the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and Central America. In May 2014, Windstar added to its sailing yachts by adding the Star Pride power yacht, followed by Star Breeze and Star Legend in May 2015. The additional capacity opened up new itineraries such as voyages to Iceland, the Panama Canal, and Costa Rica and allowed Windstar Cruises to sail Tahiti year round.