From 'megaliners' to 'greenliners' - this is cruising's next big move

The ship size matters because it affects your onboard experience.

Voyager of the Seas.

By Louise Goldsbury

Updated April 1, 2025, first published March 10, 2025

Attention, ship nerds, let's get nautical. As cruise ships get bigger and bolder, do you think we need to invent some new words?

Superliner is rarely used anymore. The technical definition is a passenger ship with a gross registered tonnage (GRT) exceeding 20,000, but that's small in today's cruise world. Megaliner means a ship of more than 100,000 GRT. Carnival Destiny was the first to make the mega grade in 1996, and hundreds have since followed.

From 'megaliners' to 'greenliners' - this is cruising's next big move

Australia didn't get a megaliner until 2012, when Voyager of the Seas was deployed to Sydney. (This Royal Caribbean ship is returning in December, after a few years' absence, to be based in Brisbane for the first time.) The latest megaliners dwarf the originals. Icon of the Seas, the world's biggest cruise ship, is almost 250,000 GRT.

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Perhaps it's time for a new category beyond mega. Gigaliners?

Side note: "Liner" comes from "line voyage", which is a set route by sea, or possibly "line-of-battle" warships. Some cruise liners outsize naval aircraft carriers. The world's biggest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, is only 100,000 GRT.

Another category is the ocean liner, specifically designed to transport people long distances across oceans between two countries. Sadly, there's only one left: Cunard's Queen Mary 2, which was purpose-built for regular Atlantic crossings.

Uniworld is offering "mystery cruises" in Europe.

The first nonstop flight between the US and Europe in 1958 marked the demise of transatlantic business for ocean liners, and it's unlikely another one will ever be built.

At the other end of the spectrum is micro-cruising, with most vessels under 1500 GRT. This could be a vintage yacht in the Galapagos, a canal barge in France, a gulet in Croatia, or a converted tugboat in Alaska.

In mainstream luxury cruising, small ships are around 30,000 to 50,000 GRT, but these are getting bigger, too.

Size matters because it affects your onboard experience, from the spaciousness to the quality of service from the crew.

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Despite the controversy surrounding big ships, megaliners are here to stay, so cruise lines are working on ways to minimise their environmental impact. For example, many have switched to LNG (liquified natural gas) as a cleaner marine fuel.

The real megastars are Ponant and Hurtigruten, which are designing zero-emission ships. Maybe we can call them "greenliners" or "ecoliners", and inspire every fleet to join this new sustainable cruising category.

MYTHBUSTER

Cruises are predictable

A cruise itinerary is not necessarily rigid. Deviations from the planned route can be caused by weather conditions, mechanical issues, port inaccessibility or sudden geopolitical changes. On a recent cruise, we skipped our stop in Niue because the berth was needed for a late-running cargo ship. Onboard entertainment or services may also be affected by staff shortages or technical problems. Sometimes it's deliberate. Uniworld Boutique River Cruises is offering three "mystery cruises" in 2026. Aside from the starting and ending ports in Europe (so you know where to book your flights), passengers are not told any details in advance.