World’s largest cruise liners: luxury ships boast water slides, spas, ice rinks and more

After the industry was decimated during the global pandemic when cruise lines from North America to Australia docked their ships, cruising is now getting back to a new version of the pre-Covid normal. Royal Caribbean’s’ Wonder of the Seas made its maiden voyage last month, becoming the largest cruise liner at sea with a capacity for almost 7,000 passengers and weighing in at more than 237,000 gross tonnes.

The Oasis-class ship is the latest of Royal Caribbean's vessels to dominate the rankings of the world's biggest ships. And the cruise line has already unveiled plans for Utopia of the Seas, which will be the next biggest in the world when it sets sail in 2024.

The largest cruise ship in the world in 2022 is the Wonder of the Seas. This 362-metre vessel made its maiden voyage in March, cruising from Florida to the Caribbean. The mega-ship can host 6,988 guests and 2,300 crew members, and weighs more than 237,000 gross tonnes.

It features eight distinct neighborhoods, including Central Park, where travelers will find real trees and plants stretching from one end of the deck to the other. It's also home to the tallest water slide at sea and the biggest AquaTheatre where divers, dancers, acrobats and more put on Broadway-standard performances.

The mega cruise ship had been scheduled to sail to Dubai in 2021 as part of its initial season at sea, but the plans were shelved because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, she's sailing around Europe this summer.

2. 'Symphony of the Seas', Royal Caribbean — 228,081 gross tonnes

In 2018, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas set off on its maiden voyage with a seven-night sail around the Mediterranean.

Weighing in at more than 228,000 gross tonnes, the Oasis-class ship was the biggest in the world and is now ranked the second-largest. It has a seven-neighbourhood concept that includes bionic robot bartenders, a waterfront entertainment zone and a first-rate water park where travellers can brave the Ultimate Abyss, a water slide that swings down 10 decks from more than 45 metres above sea level.

With capacity for up to 6,400 passengers, the 17-deck, $1.35 billion ship sails around the western Caribbean, with voyages to St Kitts, St Thomas, Nassau, St Maarten, Puerto Rico and Haiti.

3. 'Harmony of the Seas', Royal Caribbean — 226,963 gross tonnes

Setting sail in May 2016, Harmony of the Seas was named after the Harmony module (also known as Node 2) in the International Space Station. She took her maiden voyage to Southampton in the UK and is billed as a family-friendly cruise liner known for a fantastic line-up of water-based attractions. These include two surf simulators, three water slides, three swimming pools, and what was Royal Caribbean's first Ultimate Abyss water slide. Hanging off the back of the ship, this twin-tube slide plunges nine decks, spinning and twisting as it goes. The ship also has an adults-only solarium, an ice-skating rink, two rock-climbing walls and a basketball court.

Harmony of the Seas can carry 6,780 passengers and has a gross tonnage of 226,963. She was also the first Oasis-class ship to showcase virtual balconies for the cruise liner, offering travellers staying in interior cabins real-time views of the outdoors. Harmony currently serves itineraries in the Caribbean, Mexico and Honduras.

4. 'Allure of the Seas', Royal Caribbean — 225,282 gross tonnes

Constructed in Finland, the Allure of the Seas set sail in November 2009 when she somewhat accidentally became the world’s longest ship, surpassing her sister ship Oasis of the Seas with a tiny 50-millimetre advantage. According to the shipyard, this was not intentional and such a small difference in length is most likely down to the temperature of the steel at the time of measurement. She has a gross tonnage of 225,282 and can accommodate 6,780 travellers.

While Royal Caribbean’s other cruise liners count the likes of Gloria Estefan, Steffi Graf and Whoopi Goldberg as godmothers, the Allure of the Seas is rather bizarrely godmothered by the fictional Princess Fiona from the 2001 animated film Shrek.

With several restaurants, bars and upscale shopping, the ship also has four outdoor swimming pools, a casino and a comedy club. Based at her home port of Miami, she currently sails year-round on seven-night Western and Eastern Caribbean cruises. However, later this year, she’s set to move to a new home port in Texas.