About five years ago, I wrote a post on this blog listing the oldest cruise ships serving at the time at the world’s major cruise lines. I published the post on March 6, which was five days before the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus disease to be a worldwide pandemic. A lot of ships were sidelined and scrapped as a result of the pandemic, but the industry rebounded and there’s been a round of new ships that have entered service in the past couple of years.
In this post, I am reposting the list with relevant updates, mostly for my curiosity. Keep in mind that I am getting most of this information from Wikipedia so there might be some errors. This time, the table is arranged in order by the age of the cruise line’s oldest ship.
| Cruise Line | Oldest Ship in Fleet | Year Built | Tonnage | Based in an English-Language Country? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variety Cruises | To Callisto | 1963 | 499 | |
| Quark Expeditions | Ocean Adventurer | 1975 | 4,376 | Yes |
| Hurtigruten | Vesteralen | 1983 | 6,261 | |
| Phoenix Reisen | Artania | 1984 | 44,588 | |
| SeaDream Yacht Club | SeaDream I | 1984 | 4,253 | |
| Windstar Cruises | Wind Star | 1986 | 5,307 | Yes |
| Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines | Balmoral | 1988 | 43,537 | Yes |
| Viking Line | Viking Cinderella | 1989 | 46,398 | |
| Ambassador Cruise Line | Ambience | 1991 | 70,285 | Yes |
| Club Med | Club Med 2 | 1991 | 14,983 | |
| Compagnie du Ponant | Le Ponant | 1991 | 1,489 | |
| Heritage Expeditions | Heritage Explorer | 1991 | 8,378 | Yes |
| Margaritaville at Sea | Margaritaville at Sea Paradise | 1991 | 52,926 | Yes |
| Mano Maritime | Crown Iris | 1992 | 40,876 | |
| Celestyal Cruises | Celestyal Journey | 1994 | 55,819 | |
| Silversea Cruises | Silver Cloud | 1994 | 17,400 | |
| American Cruise Lines | Queen of the West | 1995 | 2,115 | Yes |
| Crystal Cruises | Crystal Symphony | 1995 | 51,044 | Yes |
| Marella Cruises | Marella Discovery 2 | 1995 | 69,472 | Yes |
| Carnival Cruise Line | Carnival Sunshine | 1996 | 103,881 | Yes |
| Royal Caribbean International | Grandeur of the Seas | 1996 | 73,817 | Yes |
| Paul Gauguin Cruises | Paul Gauguin | 1997 | 19,200 | Yes |
| Disney Cruise Line | Disney Magic | 1998 | 84,130 | Yes |
| Oceania Cruises | Regatta/Insignia | 1998 | 30,277 | Yes |
| Princess Cruises | Grand Princess | 1998 | 107,517 | Yes |
| Azamara Cruises | Azamara Onward | 1999 | 30,277 | Yes |
| Hansa Touristk | Europa I | 1999 | 28,890 | |
| Holland America Line | Volendam | 1999 | 61,214 | Yes |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | Norwegian Spirit | 1998 | 75,904 | Yes |
| Regent Seven Seas Cruises | Seven Seas Navigator | 1999 | 28,803 | Yes |
| Celebrity Cruises | Celebrity Millennium | 2000 | 91,000 | Yes |
| P&O Cruises | Aurora | 2000 | 76,152 | Yes |
| MSC Cruises | MSC Armonia | 2001 | 65,542 | |
| Adora Cruises | Adora Mediterranea | 2003 | 85,619 | |
| Costa Cruises | Costa Fortuna | 2003 | 102,669 | |
| Cunard Line | Queen Mary 2 | 2003 | 149,215 | Yes |
| AIDA Cruises | AIDAdiva | 2007 | 69,203 | |
| Pearl Seas Cruises | Pearl Mist | 2007 | 5,109 | Yes |
| Poseidon Expeditions | 50 Years of Victory | 2007 | 23,439 | Yes |
| Seabourn Cruise Line | Seabourn Sojourn | 2010 | 32,346 | Yes |
| TUI Cruises | Mein Schiff 3 | 2014 | 99,526 | |
| Viking Ocean Cruises | Viking Star | 2015 | 47,842 | |
| Aurora Expeditions | Greg Mortimer | 2019 | Yes | |
| Saga Cruises | Spirit of Discovery | 2019 | 58,119 | Yes |
| Virgin Voyages | Scarlet City | 2020 | 108,192 | Yes |
| Atlas Ocean Voyages | World Navigator | 2021 | 9,935 | |
| Swan Hellenic | SH Minerva | 2021 | Yes | |
| Explora Journeys | Explora I | 2023 | 63,621 |