A laid-up ship is out of passenger service but still intact: not scrapped, not preserved permanently, and not yet returned to work. Layup can be warm, with systems maintained and a crew aboard ready for reactivation, or cold, with a ship shut down for a longer wait. Ships reach this state for many reasons — a market shock, an operator's failure, a sale or charter that has not completed, a conversion awaiting work, or seasonal or legal limbo. The dataset note on each ship below tells its individual story, and readers should start there. Laid-up status is also the most changeable in the directory: a ship listed here may next be sold, chartered, converted, returned to service, or sent for recycling.
– Dataset note: Laid up in Trinidad since 2007
– Dataset note: Operating; formerly: Berlin, Princess Mahsuri, Orange Melody
– Dataset note: Operating; formerly: Spirit of Nantucket and Nantucket Clipper
– Dataset note: Detained at Elefsina, Greece, since June 2026 after abandonment arrest; judicial auction set October 2026
– Dataset note: Renamed Buenavista in 2026 for Corazul Cruceros; service commencement to be confirmed
– Dataset note: Laid up under Seajets ownership
– Dataset note: Entered service in 2021. Largest sailing ship ever built.