Cruise travel is as hot as ever. More than 37 million people are expected to travel on the world’s oceans this year, compared to a projected 35.7 million in 2024 (final numbers will be released in April), continuing an upward trend in passenger numbers, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. Cruise passengers today are more likely to be Gen X or millennials than Baby Boomers, bringing about some noticeable changes, such as more travelers bringing kids, and more retro 1980s music being played on board, including an entire show based on the artist Prince on Norwegian Cruise Line’s new 3,571-passenger Norwegian Aqua.
While supersize ships grab headlines—such as the Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas and soon-to-debut sister ship Star of the Seas, each of which carries up to 7,000 passengers—the world of small luxury ships is experiencing unprecedented growth. High-end hotel companies and well-known resort brands continue to arrive on the scene with their floating versions of ultra-luxury cruise ships and yachts.
Meanwhile, cruise companies continue to invest in more environmentally friendly innovations; recent sustainability efforts include employing robots and drones and working more closely with port communities to preserve and celebrate local culture and traditions, to everyone’s benefit.
Here are five leading cruise trends in 2025.
Brands such as Ritz-Carlton are bringing the resort experience out to sea.
Photo by Jack Hardy/Courtesy of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
Resort-influenced ultra-luxury
After a recent boom in expedition travel, ultra-luxury cruising is the next big thing, and hotel brands such as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Orient Express, and Aman are all in the mix, with new ships in the pipeline between now and 2027. Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s third superyacht, the 452-passenger Luminara, sets sail this summer and will hang out in the Mediterranean before launching the brand’s first itineraries in Asia in December. Meanwhile, the Four Seasons I, with the current highest fares in the industry—seven-night sailings start at $20,000 per person for a suite, not including meals—will debut in January 2026. Taking a page from luxury resorts, Silversea’s recent ships have incorporated a pool deck concept that replicates a swanky rooftop hotel setup. Now the cruise company is moving into hotels, building a 150-room, Beagle Channel–view property in Puerto Williams, Chile, which will be the southernmost hotel in the world, to better accommodate guests boarding its ship to Antarctica. The property is an integral part of the line’s streamlined one-week fly-in program, which skips the long sail through the Drake Passage. Silversea is the only cruise line that homeports in Puerto Williams.
When the 3,260-passenger Celebrity Xcel launches this fall, it will be only the second cruise ship capable of running on green methanol.
Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises
High-tech eco-friendly developments
As the cruise industry focuses on net-zero emissions by 2050, cruise lines have been investing billions of dollars in new technology and renewable fuel sources, including dozens of pilot programs testing new fuels (such as vegetable oil biofuel). They’ve also been finding innovative ways to cut down on fuel use. For Carnival Corporation—parent company of cruise brands such as Carnival, Holland America Line, Cunard, and Seabourn—that’s included experimenting with remotely operated robots to clean hulls of marine growth and debris for better hydrodynamic efficiency (the less friction in the water, the less fuel use) and using drones to monitor hull conditions. As the industry makes progress on alternative fuels, Celebrity Cruises this fall will introduce the 3,260-passenger Celebrity Xcel, only the second cruise ship ready to run on green methanol, when it will be available at scale. Meanwhile, French line Ponant is looking for a shipyard to build “the world’s first” net-zero carbon ship, which will run on solar and wind and non-fossil-fuel batteries. The plan is for the 200-passenger ship to debut around 2030.
Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Adventure will launch in Singapore in late 2025, with a focus on the Asian cruise market.
Courtesy of Disney Cruise Line
Kid-friendly global cruises
Kids are getting more attention on the international cruise scene. Compared to their high-end predecessors, new ultra-luxury cruise lines are focusing more on kids; brands such as Explora Journeys (owned by Geneva-based MSC Group), Ritz-Carlton, and Four Seasons are geared toward a wealthy international and multigenerational crowd, and their ships are equipped with kids clubs staffed by caregivers who speak multiple languages. Disney Cruise Line in December will launch its largest ship, the 6,700-passenger Disney Adventure, in Singapore, where it will sail on short round-trip itineraries. It will feature a top-deck amusement park, including an 820-foot Iron Man–themed roller coaster, and will focus on courting guests from throughout Asia. MSC Cruises, a well-known and popular brand in Europe, is also growing its U.S. presence this year with the launch of the 6,700-passenger MSC World America, which will offer year-round Caribbean cruises from Miami. The ship brings a European style to its treats and games for the younger set, with a big Lego focus, including master-builder contests and a Lego character parade. Luring families to Tahiti, Paul Gauguin Cruises has sweetened the pot on three sailings this summer: Book before April 25 and your kids can both cruise and fly free.
Seabourn has partnered with the Wunambal Gaambera, traditional owners of land in Australia’s Kimberley region, on sailings and experiences.
Courtesy of Seabourn
Increased Indigenous tourism efforts
Cruise lines and local communities worldwide are sharing an increased commitment to preserving Indigenous culture and traditions. One example: Seabourn last year recognized the Wunambal Gaambera, traditional owners of land in Australia’s remote Kimberley region, as the godparents of its 264-passenger expedition ship Seabourn Pursuit, and invested in local arts and crafts production. The ship returns to the Kimberley this summer. In Quebec, a recently inaugurated winter route through sparkling icy landscapes by French line Ponant brings the opportunity to learn about the traditions of First Nations communities—the Mi’kmaq in Gaspé and Innu in Sept-Iles—including onboard cultural presentations. In Alaska, Tlingit-owned Huna Totem Corp., founder of the highly successful 20-year-old cruise destination Icy Strait Point, is leading the charge for Indigenous communities to further benefit from cruise tourism, not least as a way to help preserve traditions and provide jobs. One example is last year’s soft opening on remote Prince of Wales Island of a new port in Klawock, a small town with a rich Tlingit heritage and a renowned totem park. The port will see some 20 ship calls this year.
Ocean cruise line Ponant recently acquired a majority stake in small-ship line Aqua Expeditions, which owns river cruise vessels such as the Aqua Nera (pictured) that sails on the Peruvian Amazon.
Courtesy of Aqua Expeditions
The rise of river cruises
River cruising is growing in Europe and elsewhere. Viking River Cruises, the industry’s largest player, is adding seven new 190-passenger ships this year in Europe and introducing new routes, including 10-night sailings on the Rhine and Main between Nuremberg, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland. While river lines have always sailed into the holiday season with their popular Christmas market cruises, they typically lay up ships later in winter. That’s changing as they look to further extend their seasons. AmaWaterways, for instance, has introduced Rhine and Danube sailings in February 2026, when you’re unlikely to encounter tourist crowds. This year, AmaWaterways is also debuting the first river cruises on the Magdalena River in Colombia. Ocean lines are taking note and getting in on the exciting river action. Ponant recently purchased a majority share in luxury river cruise line Aqua Expeditions, with ships on the Amazon and Mekong, and is eyeing expansion to other rivers outside Europe. Ocean line Celebrity Cruises plans to enter river cruising full-throttle. Celebrity has announced 10 river ships to debut in Europe in 2027, with more to follow. It says its ships will be “transformative,” including by welcoming families with kids in a market dominated by adults.