The 2000s list holds 105 ships and shows cruising becoming mainstream and global. Established classes multiply across Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, MSC, Norwegian and Holland America, while new brands and regional operators take both newbuilds and transferred tonnage. Ships in the 90,000 to 115,000 GT range become the industry's workhorses, balancing capacity, itineraries and cost across the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska and beyond. Luxury, expedition and small-ship cruising grow in parallel, but the defining moment comes at the decade's end, when Oasis of the Seas arrives in 2009 at a scale far beyond anything before it. The list therefore reads as both consolidation and leap: steady fleet growth, then a step change.
2000
76,152 GT · P&O Cruises · Active
30,277 GT · Azamara · Active
30,277 GT · Azamara · Active
62,735 GT · Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines · Active
108,806 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
101,509 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
90,940 GT · Celebrity Cruises · Active
90,940 GT · Celebrity Cruises · Active
Magna Carta Steamship Company Ltd · Active
85,861 GT · Margaritaville at Sea · Active
65,542 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
2,842 GT · Lindblad Expeditions · Active
78,309 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
90,090 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
5,000 GT · Star Clippers · Active
48,075 GT · Regent Seven Seas Cruises · Active
28,258 GT · Silversea Cruises · Active
28,258 GT · Silversea Cruises · Active
61,396 GT · Holland America Line · Active
2001
137,276 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
30,277 GT · Azamara · Active
108,977 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
85,942 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
85,920 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
85,920 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
90,940 GT · Celebrity Cruises · Active
65,542 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
91,740 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
42,363 GT · Regent Seven Seas Cruises · Active
43,188 GT · ResidenSea · Active
82,305 GT · Holland America Line · Active
2002
42,289 GT · AIDA Cruises · Active
90,090 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
110,000 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
42,289 GT · Celestyal Cruises · Active
91,627 GT · Princess Cruises · Active
68,870 GT · Crystal Cruises · Active
92,822 GT · Princess Cruises · Active
65,591 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
139,999 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
92,250 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
82,820 GT · Holland America Line · Active
80,439 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
115,875 GT · Princess Cruises · Active
2003
85,619 GT · Adora Cruises · Active
112,894 GT · Princess Cruises · Active
110,000 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
88,500 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
115,906 GT · Princess Cruises · Active
102,669 GT · Margaritaville at Sea · Active
139,863 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
16,151 GT · Hurtigruten · Active
4,050 GT · Lindblad Expeditions · Active
148,528 GT · Cunard Line · Active
30,277 GT · Oceania Cruises · Active
90,090 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
82,862 GT · Holland America Line · Active
2004
84,342 GT · P&O Cruises · Active
34,924 GT · Gotland Alandia Cruises · Active
110,000 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
110,000 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
102,784 GT · Tianjin Orient International Cruise Line · Active
90,090 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
65,591 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
2005
113,561 GT · Princess Cruises · Active
92,409 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
82,318 GT · Holland America Line · Active
93,502 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
2006
110,000 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
114,147 GT · Costa Cruises · Active
113,561 GT · Princess Cruises · Active
156,271 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
154,407 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
93,558 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
93,530 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
90,049 GT · Cunard Line · Active
2007
69,203 GT · AIDA Cruises · Active
68,500 GT · AIDA Cruises · Active
113,300 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
86,273 GT · Holland America Line · Active
12,800 GT · Hurtigruten · Active
92,409 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
92,627 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
93,530 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
116,017 GT · P&O Cruises · Active
2008
Grand Circle Dubrovnik Doo · Active
128,250 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
121,878 GT · Celebrity Cruises · Active
114,500 GT · Costa Cruises · Active
155,889 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
137,936 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
137,936 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
113,561 GT · Princess Cruises · Active
2009
71,304 GT · AIDA Cruises · Active
69,203 GT · AIDA Cruises · Active
115,055 GT · P&O Cruises · Active
92,720 GT · Carnival Cruise Line · Active
121,878 GT · Celebrity Cruises · Active
92,720 GT · Costa Cruises · Active
10,944 GT · Ponant Cruises · Active
32,477 GT · Mitsui Ocean Cruises · Active
92,409 GT · MSC Cruises · Active
155,873 GT · Norwegian Cruise Line · Active
226,838 GT · Royal Caribbean International · Active
39,519 GT · Silversea Cruises · Active