List of cruise lines
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships and markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of their passengers. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain, and a hospitality staff headed by the equivalent of a hotel manager.
Because of mergers and consolidations, a cruise line may also be a brand of a larger holding corporation. For example, as noted below, Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line are cruise lines within the larger parent corporation Carnival Corporation & plc. This industry practice of using the brand, not the larger parent corporation, as the cruise line is also followed in the member cruise lines in Cruise Lines International Association ; the listing of cruise ship sales, transfers, and new orders; cruise line market share; and the member-based reviews of cruise lines.
Cruise ships can cruise in oceans or rivers. The listing of cruise lines below includes separate lists for both areas. Cruise lines operating ocean and river ships can be found in both lists.
List of ocean cruise lines
Operational
The following is a list of operational ocean cruise line.| Name | Owner | Headquarters | Notes |
| AIDA Cruises | Carnival Corporation & plc | ||
| American Cruise Lines | Based in Guilford, Connecticut, offers coastal cruises and paddle-steamer cruises | ||
| Aurora Expeditions | Operates arctic cruises with Polar Pioneer | ||
| Azamara Club Cruises | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | ||
| Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line | Formed by former executives from the defunct Celebration Cruise Line, operates the Grand Celebration | ||
| Birka Line | Subsidiary of Rederiaktiebolaget Eckerö, operates the Birka Stockholm | ||
| Bohai Cruises | China | Owns Chinese Taishan. | |
| Carnival Cruise Line | Carnival Corporation & plc | / | |
| Celebrity Cruises | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | ||
| Celestyal Cruises | Previously named Louis Cruises | ||
| Compagnie du Ponant | Based in Marseille, operates yacht cruises | ||
| Costa Cruises | Carnival Corporation & plc | ||
| Cruise & Maritime Voyages | South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd. | Shuts down due to coronavirus pandemic July 2020 | |
| Crystal Cruises | Genting Hong Kong | ||
| Cunard Line | Carnival Corporation & plc | ||
| Disney Cruise Line | Disney | ||
| Dream Cruises | Genting Hong Kong | ||
| Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines | |||
| FTI Cruises | Cruise branch of Bavarian travel company FTI Group, operates MS Berlin | ||
| Hansa Touristk | Privately owned, offers ocean cruises with MV Ocean Majesty and river cruises | ||
| Hapag-Lloyd Cruises | TUI Group | ||
| Holland America Line | Carnival Corporation & plc | ||
| Hurtigruten | Also marketed as Norwegian Coastal Express | ||
| Iceland ProCruises | Operates arctic cruises with MV Ocean Diamond | ||
| Jalesh Cruises | Operates MS Karnika via Zen Cruises | ||
| Majestic International Cruises | |||
| St Hilda Sea Adventures | Dunoon, offers Scottish island cruises | ||
| The Majestic Line | Dunoon, offers Scottish island cruises | ||
| Mano Maritime | |||
| Marella Cruises | TUI Group | ||
| MSC Cruises | Aponte family | / | |
| Mystic Cruises | Has yet to receive its first of three new builds | ||
| Nanhai Cruises | China | Exclusively run South China Sea cruises | |
| Nicko Cruises | Will operate the new build MS World Explorer in Northern Europe | ||
| North Pacific Expeditions | Teevin family | Offers Alaska cruises with M/Y Sea Star | |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd | ||
| Oceania Cruises | Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd | ||
| One Ocean Expeditions | Operates arctic cruises with MS Akademik Ioffe | ||
| P&O Cruises | Carnival Corporation & plc | ||
| P&O Cruises Australia | Carnival Corporation & plc | ||
| Pampa Cruises | Operates cruises with MS Salamis Filoxenia | ||
| Paul Gauguin Cruises | Branch of Regent Seven Seas Cruises till 2010, offers South Pacific cruises | ||
| Pearl Seas Cruises | Offers Great Lakes, New England and Cuba cruises | ||
| Phoenix Reisen | Zurnieden family | ||
| Plantours Kreuzfahrten | Operates MS Hamburg and several river cruise ships | ||
| Polar Cruises | Operates arctic cruises with MS Ocean Atlantic | ||
| Poseidon Expeditions | Arctic cruises with nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy | ||
| Princess Cruises | Carnival Corporation & plc | ||
| Pullmantur Cruises | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | Shuts down due to coronavirus pandemic July 2020 | |
| Quark Expeditions | Expedition cruising | ||
| Regent Seven Seas Cruises | Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd | ||
| Royal Caribbean International | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | ||
| Saga Cruises | Saga Group | ||
| Seabourn Cruise Line | Carnival Corporation & plc | ||
| SeaDream Yacht Club | Atle Brynestad | ||
| Silversea Cruises | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | ||
| Star Cruises | Genting Hong Kong | ||
| Transocean Tours | Since 2014 German branch of Cruise & Maritime Voyages | ||
| TUI Cruises | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and TUI Group | ||
| UnCruise Adventures | |||
| Variety Cruises | Yachts and small cruise ships | ||
| Vidanta Cruises | Grupo Vidanta | ||
| Viking Line | Cruiseferries | ||
| Viking Ocean Cruises | Viking Cruises | ||
| Windstar Cruises | Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. | ||
| Voyages to Antiquity |
Shipping line still in service
The following is a list of defunct ocean cruise line with their shipping line is still in service.| Name | Status | Headquarters | Notes |
| Club Cruise | No longer operates cruise ships | Continues to charter cruise ships to other companies | |
| Far East Shipping Company | No longer operates cruise ships | ||
| Finnlines | No longer operates cruise ships | ||
| Kristina Cruises | No ships in operation | Last cruise ship Kristina Katarina sold in 2013 | |
| Ocean Star Cruises | No ships in operation | ||
| Silja Line | No longer operates cruise ships |
Defunct
The following is a list of defunct ocean cruise line.| Name | Headquarters | Notes |
| American Classic Voyages | Bankrupt | |
| Baltic Shipping Company | ||
| Black Sea Shipping Company | ||
| Blue Star Line | Merged and sold into P&O Nedlloyd | |
| Celebration Cruise Line | Re-branded into Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line in 2014 | |
| Chandris Cruises | Merged and re-branded into Celebrity Cruises in 1988 | |
| Classic International Cruises | Liquidated on 20 December 2012 | |
| Commodore Cruise Line | ||
| Croisières de France | Owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., ceased operation in 2017 | |
| Crown Cruise Line | ||
| Cruise West | Ceased operations September 18, 2010 | |
| Dolphin Cruise Line | Merged into Premier Cruise Line | |
| EasyCruise | Sold to Hellenic Seaways | |
| Effoa | ||
| Epirotiki Line | Most well known for losing three of its cruise ships between 1988 and 1991, including the MTS Oceanos in 1991 | |
| Festival Cruises | ||
| Hamburg Atlantic Line German Atlantic Line Hanseatic Tours | Merged into Hapag-Lloyd Cruises | |
| Home Lines | Merged into Holland America Line | |
| Iberocruceros | Merged into Costa Cruises | |
| Imperial Majesty Cruise Line | Became Celebration Cruise Line in 2009 | |
| Island Cruises | ||
| Italian Line / Italian Cruises | ||
| Majesty Cruise Line | Merged into Norwegian Cruise Line | |
| Norwegian America Line | Merged into Cunard Line | |
| Norwegian Capricorn Line | Merged into Star Cruises | |
| Ocean Cruise Line | Formed in 1984 by a combination of British, Swiss and American travel interests | |
| Ocean Star Cruises | First Mexican cruise line | |
| Ocean Village | Operations ceased in 2010 | |
| Orient Lines | ||
| Orion Expedition Cruises | Taken over by and merged with Lindblad Expeditions in 2013 | |
| Peter Deilmann Cruises | Operations ceased in 2015 | |
| Polar Star Expeditions | Operations ceased in 2011 after major damage to MV Polar Star | |
| Premier Cruise Line | ||
| Renaissance Cruises | ||
| Royal Viking Line | Merged into Cunard Line | |
| Sally Cruise | Merged into Silja Line | |
| Shaw, Savill & Albion Line | ||
| Sitmar Cruises | Merged into P&O Cruises/Princess Cruises | |
| Swan Hellenic | Operations ceased in 2017 after shutdown of All Leisure Holidays | |
| Swedish American Line | ||
| Van Gogh Cruises | ||
| Voyages of Discovery | Operations ceased in 2017 after shutdown of All Leisure Holidays | |
| White Star Line | Merged with Cunard Line to form Cunard-White Star Line in 1934 | |
| Windjammer Barefoot Cruises |
List of river cruise lines
Operational
The following is a list of operational river cruise line.| Name | Headquarters | Notes |
| 1AVista | River cruises in Europe | |
| AmaWaterways | River cruises in Europe, Asia and Africa | |
| American Cruise Lines | Paddle-steamer cruises on US rivers | |
| Aqua Expeditions | Privately owned, eco-friendly river cruises on Amazon and Mekong rivers | |
| American Queen Steamboat Company | Mississippi river | |
| A-ROSA Flussschiff | River cruises in Europe, offered ocean-going cruises with A-Rosa blu 2002-04 | |
| Australian Pacific Touring | Privately owned, river cruises in Europe, Asia and Africa, shares many ships with AmaWaterways | |
| Avalon Waterways | River cruises in Europe, Egypt, Asia and South America | |
| Century Cruises | Operates along the Yangtze river | |
| CroisiEurope | Privately owned, river cruises in Europe and Asia | |
| Crystal Cruises | Owned by Genting Hong Kong, river cruises in Europe | |
| DouroAzul | Owned by Mystic Invest, river cruises in the Douro, Portugal | |
| Emerald Waterways | Owned by Australian river cruise operator Scenic, river cruises in Europe and Asia | |
| European Waterways | Operates converted trading barges on European Rivers | |
| Grand Circle Cruise Line | Owned by Grand Circle Corporation, river cruises in Europe | |
| Great Lakes Cruise Company | Privately owned, Great Lakes and river cruises in USA and Canada | |
| Hansa Touristk | Privately owned, offers ocean and river cruises | |
| Heritage Line | River cruises in Asia | |
| Lüftner Cruises | Privately owned, river cruises in Europe | |
| Nicko Cruises | Owned by Mystic Invest, river cruises in Europe and Asia | |
| Orthodox Cruise Company | River cruises in Russia | |
| Pandaw River Expeditions | River cruises in Asia | |
| Paradise Cruises | Ha Long Bay | |
| Phoenix Reisen | Privately owned, river cruises in Europe, Egypt, Asia and South America | |
| Plantours Kreuzfahrten | Offers ocean and river cruises | |
| President Cruises | Operates along the Yangtze river | |
| Reisebüro Mittelthurgau | Owned by Twerenbold Group, river cruises in Europe | |
| Riviera Travel | Luxury river cruises in Europe on the Rhone, Rhine, Danube, Duoro, Seine, Main and Moselle. Travel Brand of the Year 2017. | |
| Sanctuary Retreats | River cruises in Asia | |
| Scenic | Owned by coach tour operator Transit Scenic Tours, river cruises in Europe and Asia | |
| Tauck River Cruises | Privately owned, river cruises in Europe | |
| The River Cruise Line | River cruises in Europe | |
| Transocean Tours | Since 2014 German branch of Cruise & Maritime Voyages, river cruises in Europe | |
| Uniworld River Cruises | River cruises in Europe, Egypt and Asia | |
| Victoria Cruises | The only American-based cruise line operating along the Yangtze River | |
| Victoria Mekong Cruises | Partnership between Vietnam-based hospitality managers Thien Minh Group and Wendy Wu Tours | |
| Viking River Cruises | River cruise line of Viking Cruises with operating HQ in Basel, Switzerland, marketing HQ in USA | |
| Vodohod | Owned by UCL Holding, river cruises in Russia | |
| Yangtze Gold Cruises | Operates along the Yangtze River |
Defunct
The following is a list of defunct river cruise line.| Name | Headquarters | Notes |
| TUI FlussGenuss | Former river cruise branch of TUI Group, ceased operations in 2014 | |
| DDSG |