Deluxe cruising, also known as family-friendly cruising is the largest cruise segment with the world’s leading cruise lines operating in this segment with some of the world’s largest ships. These ships are designed to cater to all ages, ensuring that families can create lasting memories together.
These family friendly ships can accommodate between 1500 and 6000 guests and the larger ships with a gross tonnage of more than 13000T are like floating cities. These ships have a range of onboard amenities like spas, health clubs, pools, multiple dining options and restaurants, intimate lounges, incredible entertainment, children's programs, casinos and more. And innovations onboard some of these ships include a go kart race track at sea, roller coasters, elaborate theme and water parks and lots more. To create some level of exclusivity in these floating cities, some cruise lines like MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line have created a ‘business class’ like exclusive accommodation with special amenities only available to these guests.
These deluxe ships sail to all the popular cruising destinations in the world like Caribbean, Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Alaska. The itineraries are designed in a manner where these ships can dock and the port has the infrastructure to welcome these big ships. As a result, many of the sailing itineraries to these destinations tend to be similar.