Princess Cruise Ships by Age (2026 Data)

Grand Princess, the oldest ship in the Princess Cruises fleet, entered service in 1998¹. The two newest, Sun Princess and Star Princess, followed 26² and 27² years later at 175,500¹ gross tons each, 1.63² times Grand Princess's size. Across all 17¹ ships the fleet averages 14.8² years in 2026, yet the average berth is only 13.3² years old, because the newest ships are also the biggest.

Below, every Princess ship is listed by age, size and refurbishment, next to the fleets of Holland America, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Silversea and Viking. The second half turns to money: what these cruises are advertised for per night, what the companies take in per guest per day, and what gratuities, drinks, WiFi and insurance add to the fare.

The Princess fleet, oldest to newest

Princess sails 17¹ ships in 2026. Counted from the year each entered service, the mean age is 14.8² years and the median 18² years.¹ Grand Princess is the oldest at 28²; it made its first cruise on May 26, 1998.³ Star Princess, which began its inaugural voyage from Barcelona on October 4, 2025, is the youngest at 1² year.

Eight of the 17 ships entered service between 2003 and 2008, from Coral Princess to Ruby Princess, so the fleet has a heavy middle of ships around 18 to 23 years old. Enchanted Princess is listed as entering service in 2020, when it was handed over on September 30; because of the pause in cruising, its first US voyage with guests was on November 10, 2021.³ Founded in 1965 and based in Santa Clarita, California, Princess carries about 2 million⁴ guests a year.⁴

Here are the Princess cruise ships by age and refurbishment: each of the 11² ships that entered service by 2014, from Grand Princess to Regal Princess, had a refurbishment dated between 2015 and 2018 in the fleet facts of May 2018.⁵ Grand Princess, the oldest, was refurbished in 2016; Crown, Emerald and Ruby Princess in 2015. No newer fleet-wide list is available, so works after 2018 cannot be compared ship by ship.

Most of the fleet flies the flag of Bermuda: 14¹ ships, against 3¹ registered in the United Kingdom, Diamond, Sapphire and Majestic Princess.¹ Fincantieri's yard at Monfalcone, Italy, built most of the fleet, including Grand Princess and every Princess ship from Crown Princess on; Coral and Island Princess came from Chantiers de l'Atlantique in France and Diamond Princess from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan.³

Princess cruise ships by age and size

Size and age run together. The 8² ships of 140,000 gross tons or more all entered service in 2013 or later, and they hold 30,280² of the fleet's 54,890¹ lower berths, or 55%².¹ Weighting each ship by its berths gives an average age of 13.3 years, 1.5² years younger than the average ship. The 8 ships that entered service in the 2000s still hold the largest share of berths, 40.1%².

Sun Princess and Star Princess, the Sphere-class pair, have 21³ decks and 2,157³ staterooms and are 1,133³ feet (345² m) long.³ Each holds 4,310¹ guests in lower berths with a crew of 1,600³, or 2.69² guests per crew member. Coral Princess, at 91,627¹ gross tons the smallest ship in the fleet, carries 2.23² guests per crew member.¹³ Gross tonnage measures a ship's enclosed volume, not its weight.

How the Princess fleet grew

In fiscal 2003 the Princess brand counted 11⁶ ships and 19,880⁶ lower berths; by fiscal 2025 it had 17⁷ ships and 54,890 berths, 2.76² times as many.⁶⁷ The pandemic years cut the count to 14⁸ ships and 42,610⁸ berths, and fiscal 2025 ended 12%² above the 48,900⁹ berths of 2019. Princess holds 20%⁷ of the capacity of Carnival Corporation, its parent.

The growth came from bigger ships more than from more ships. The average Princess ship had 1,807² lower berths in 2003 and 3,229² in 2025, while the ship count grew by six.⁶⁷

Princess's sister brand tells the opposite story. Holland America Line belongs to the same parent, but it has added no ship since 2021 and has fewer ships than it had in 2010.

Holland America: 18 years on average

Holland America sails 11⁷ ships.⁷ Counted from each ship's maiden voyage, the fleet averages 18.1² years in 2026, with a median of 20².²⁹ Volendam, whose maiden voyage was on November 12, 1999, is the oldest at 27², and its R-class sister Zaandam follows at 26². Rotterdam, the youngest at 5², entered service in 2021; the fleet sheet lists its maiden voyage as scheduled for August 1, 2021.²⁹

Six of the 11 ships are 20 years or older in 2026.²⁹ The fleet runs in four classes: the two R-class ships of 61,214²⁹ and 61,396²⁹ gross tons with 1,432²⁹ guests each, four Vista-class ships of about 82,300²⁹ tons, two Signature-class ships of about 86,500²⁹ tons and 2,100²⁹ guests, and three Pinnacle-class ships of 99,500²⁹ tons or more with about 2,650²⁹ guests each.²⁹ The ships' own capacities add up to 22,922² guests; the parent company counts 23,030⁷ berths for the brand at the end of fiscal 2025, a gap of 108².⁷

Holland America ended fiscal 2025 close to its 2010 level. It counted 23,492¹⁶ berths in fiscal 2010 and 23,030 in fiscal 2025, with a peak of 26,480²⁴ in 2018 and a low of 18,820⁸ on 9⁸ ships in 2020, and it holds 8%⁷ of the parent's capacity.¹⁶²⁴⁸

Norwegian cruise ships by age

Norwegian Cruise Line had 20³⁰ ships in service at the end of 2025. Counted from the year each was built, they average 15.7² years in 2026, with a median of 17.5².³⁰ Norwegian Spirit, built in 1998, is the oldest at 28², followed by Norwegian Sky at 27². Norwegian Aqua, built in 2025, is the youngest, and two more Prima-class ships, Norwegian Luna and Norwegian Aura, are due in 2026 and 2027.³⁰

Two of the oldest ships are leaving. Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun are to be leased out on ten-year terms, with a nominal purchase option, from 2026 and 2027.³⁰ Ten of the 20 ships are 19 years or older, while the three Prima-class ships delivered so far, Norwegian Prima, Viva and Aqua, are between 1² and 4² years old.

Norwegian's parent, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), also owns Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Across the three brands it had 34³⁰ ships with about 71,400³⁰ berths, from about 500 to over 4,000 berths a ship, and 17³⁰ more ships planned for delivery through 2037, and the 34 ships average 16.2² years.³⁰ Oceania's 8³⁰ ships average 17.75² years, with Oceania Insignia and Oceania Regatta, both from 1998, the oldest; Regent's 6³⁰ ships average 15.67² years.

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Silversea

Royal Caribbean Group runs three brands of its own. Royal Caribbean International had 29³¹ ships in service entering 2026, with about 111,000² berths; counted from the year each entered service, they average 17.1² years, with a median of 19².³¹ Grandeur of the Seas, from 1996, is the oldest at 30², and Star of the Seas, from 2025, the youngest. Wonder of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas are the largest, at about 5,700³¹ berths each, and a 30th ship, Legend of the Seas, joins in 2026.³¹

Icon of the Seas was built in 2023 but entered service in 2024, so it counts as 2² years old here.

Celebrity Cruises is younger. Its 15³¹ ships average 13.9² years, from Celebrity Millennium, 26² years in service, to Celebrity Xcel, delivered in 2025, and hold about 38,900² berths.³¹ One of them, Celebrity Flora, carries only 100³¹ guests.

Silversea, the group's luxury line, has the widest spread. Its 12³¹ small ships average 13.75² years, but the median is only 7.5², because half the fleet arrived from 2020 on while Silver Cloud, from 1994, is 32² years old, the oldest ocean ship of any line on this page.³¹ The 12 ships hold about 5,500² berths. With its partner brands TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises counted, the group lists 189,420³¹ berths and has 38,730³¹ more on order.

Viking's young fleet

Viking had 103³² ships at the end of 2025: 89³² river vessels, 12³² ocean ships and 2³² expedition ships.³² Almost all of them were built in the last fifteen years.

Viking cruise ships by age

The 12 ocean ships average 6.1² years in 2026, counted from the year each was built, with a median of 6². That is about 41%² of the Princess average. Viking Star, from 2015, is the oldest at 11²; Viking Vesta, from 2025, the youngest.³² Ten of the ocean ships carry at most 930³² passengers each and the two newest 998³², so the whole ocean fleet holds 11,296² guests, about a fifth of the Princess fleet's berths. The expedition ships, Viking Octantis (2021) and Viking Polaris (2022), take 378³² passengers each.

Viking river cruise ships by age

Viking's 89³² river vessels average 12.1² years, but six of them sail on Russian and Ukrainian rivers, where, because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Viking has no itineraries for sale.³² Leaving those six out, the 83² vessels in use average 9.9² years, and the oldest is Viking Ra, built in 1989 and refurbished in 2018, at 37². The oldest of all is Viking Rurik, built in 1975 and now 51² years old.³²

The backbone is the Longship, a 190³²-passenger design for Europe's rivers: 59³² standard Longships were built from 2012 to 2025 and average 10.8² years, and counting the narrower variants for the Douro, the Seine and the Elbe, 71² Longship-type vessels average 10.2² years.³²

Viking built its river fleet in one wave. 17² of today's river vessels date from 2014 alone and 51² from 2012 to 2016, while no vessel now in the fleet was built in 2018.³² A second, smaller wave has followed since 2019, and Viking plans to raise its total berths by 54.7%³² from the end of 2025 to 2031, not counting the six Russian and Ukrainian vessels.

Which cruise line has the oldest ships?

Set side by side, the big lines fall into three groups. Holland America, Carnival Cruise Line, Oceania and Royal Caribbean International average 17² to 18² years; Norwegian, Regent, Princess, Celebrity and Silversea 13.75² to 15.7² years; Viking's river and ocean fleets 9.9² and 6.1² years.^29333031132 The lines date their ships differently, from the year built to the maiden voyage, so the table gives each line's basis.

Averages hide the extremes. Among ocean ships, the oldest hull is Silversea's Silver Cloud at 32, and Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas and Carnival Sunshine are both 30; Princess's oldest, at 28, is the same age as Norwegian Spirit and Oceania's two oldest ships.³¹³³³⁰

Age is one question; price is the other.

What cruises on these lines cost

Advertised prices for 7-night sailings in 2026 and 2027, across all cabin types, put the lines in a clear order. Carnival was cheapest at $149³⁴ per person per night and Disney Cruise Line most expensive at $574³⁴, 3.85² times as much.³⁴ These are advertised fares before taxes and port charges, which add about $100³⁴ to $300³⁴ per person.

How much is a Princess cruise

Princess averaged $178³⁴ per person per night, or $1,246² for 7 nights, third-cheapest of the eight lines.³⁴ An interior cabin averaged $136³⁴ a night and a suite $256³⁴; oceanview and balcony cabins both averaged $188³⁴.

How much is a Norwegian cruise

Norwegian averaged $204³⁴ per person per night, or $1,428² for 7 nights, $26² a night more than Princess.³⁴ Its interior cabins averaged $169³⁴ and its suites $283³⁴. Celebrity lists no interior cabins and suites weigh heavily in its sample, so its all-cabin average of $381³⁴ sits between its balcony price of $247³⁴ and its suite price of $634³⁴.³⁴

When and where a cruise starts matters as much as the line. Across all lines, sailings in January averaged $160³⁴ a night and those in July $231³⁴, 44%² more.³⁴

Seattle was the most expensive US departure port at $262³⁴ a night, and Tampa the cheapest at $126³⁴, less than half as much.³⁴

How much is a Viking cruise

For Viking, the clearest price measure is what the company takes in per guest. In 2025 its ocean cruises brought in $827² per guest per cruise day and $9,148² per guest over an average of 11.1² days.³² These are company averages over all cabins and itineraries, and they include air and land extensions sold with the cruise, so they are not a quoted fare.

So how much is a Viking river cruise? In 2025 Viking's river cruises outside the United States brought in $935² per guest per cruise day and $7,404² per guest for a cruise of 7.9² days on average.³² That per-day figure is 3.57² times Carnival Corporation's $262² and more than twice NCLH's $389²; all are company averages, and Viking's include air and land extensions sold with its cruises.

The river segment's revenue per guest per day rose 18%² in two years, from $792² in 2023, while its ships sailed 96.0%³² full in 2025.³² Viking sells no third or fourth berths, so its occupancy cannot exceed 100%.

Bookings for 2026 point higher again. By February 15, 2026, Viking had sold 86%³² of its 2026 capacity, and river bookings stood at $906³² per guest per day, against $841³² for 2025 at the same point.³²

The companies behind the lines

Three listed companies own most of the lines on this page. Carnival Corporation owns Princess, Holland America and Carnival Cruise Line among eight brands; Royal Caribbean Group owns Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity and Silversea; NCLH owns Norwegian, Oceania and Regent.⁷³¹³⁰ Measured by passenger capacity days in 2025, Carnival Corporation had 55.4%² of the three companies' combined capacity, Royal Caribbean Group 30.6%² and NCLH 14.0%².

Ticket revenue per guest per day

Ticket revenue per passenger cruise day is each company's ticket income divided by the days its guests spent on board. It is a company average across every brand, cabin and itinerary, including port costs and air sold with the cruise, not a fare anyone pays. For NCLH it rose from $218.89² in 2019 to $264.56² in 2025, 21%² more.³⁵³⁰ These are current dollars. US consumer prices rose about 26%² from 2019 to 2025, so in 2019 dollars NCLH's 2025 figure was about $210², slightly below its 2019 level.³⁶

Royal Caribbean Group's figure rose from $175.37² to $213.86² over the same years, 22%² more in current dollars, or about $170² in 2019 dollars, and Carnival Corporation's from $151.01² to $171.28².⁴⁰³¹⁷

Carnival Corporation, which includes Princess and Holland America, had the lowest figure of the three in every year from 2015 to 2025.⁷³¹

Guests, occupancy and revenue

NCLH carried 3.0 million³⁰ guests in 2025, 11%² more than in 2019, and Royal Caribbean Group 9.4 million³¹, 44%² more.³⁰³¹

Royal Caribbean Group's guest count has risen every year since 2021, to 9.446 million³¹ in 2025.³¹

Occupancy above 100% is normal for these companies, because it counts third and fourth guests in a cabin against a capacity of two. In 2021 NCLH's ships sailed only 52.7%³⁷ full and Royal Caribbean Group's 49.3%⁴¹; by 2025 they were back at 103.5%³⁰ and 109.7%³¹.^37413031

Royal Caribbean Group's occupancy fell lower in 2021 and climbed higher by 2025.⁴¹³¹

Revenue has passed its pre-pandemic level by a wide margin. NCLH took in $9,828 million³⁰ in 2025, 1.52² times its 2019 revenue, and Royal Caribbean Group $17,935 million³¹, 1.64² times.³⁰³¹

Royal Caribbean Group's revenue was the larger of the two in every year, about 1.8² times NCLH's in 2025.³¹³⁰

The pandemic years left deep losses. From 2020 to 2022 NCLH lost $10.79 billion², Royal Caribbean Group $13.21 billion² and Carnival Corporation $25.83 billion².³⁷⁴¹²⁵ All three were profitable again in 2025, Royal Caribbean Group the most at $4,268 million³¹.³¹

Cruise length separates the companies too. An NCLH guest spent 8.43² days on board on average in 2025, a Carnival Corporation guest 7.48² and a Royal Caribbean Group guest 6.20², down from 7.13² in 2015.³⁰³¹⁷

Cruising also reaches far inland. Cruise activity supported 332,700⁴⁴ US jobs in 2024, directly and through suppliers and spending, and 172,100⁴⁴ of them were in Florida.⁴⁴ No cruise line publishes its own jobs by state, so the map shows the whole industry.

Extras: gratuities, drinks and WiFi

Each of these five lines adds a daily crew charge to the fare, per guest. In standard cabins it ranges from $17⁴⁵ on Carnival to $20⁴⁶ on Norwegian, with Princess and Holland America at $18⁴⁷ and Royal Caribbean at $18.50⁴⁸.^4546474948 Suites pay more on every line, up to $25⁴⁶ on Norwegian.

Packages bundle drinks, WiFi and gratuities into one daily price. On most Princess ships the Plus package costs $65⁵⁰ per person per day before sailing, or 37%² of a $178³⁴ night, and includes up to 15 drinks a day of up to $15 each, WiFi for one device and crew appreciation.⁵⁰³⁴ Premier costs $100⁵⁰ and covers unlimited drinks of up to $20 and WiFi for four devices. Both cost $5² a day more when bought on board, and more again on Sun and Star Princess.⁵⁰

On Norwegian the drinks come with the fare on many sailings: an unlimited open bar is part of the Free at Sea offer on cruises of up to 7 days, except on Pride of America, and an upgrade to Free at Sea Plus costs $49.99⁵⁶ per person per day in 2026.⁵⁶ WiFi is priced per cabin, from $29.99⁵⁷ a day for the basic pass.⁵⁷ Over a 7-day cruise, Norwegian's standard service charge comes to $140² per guest, against $126² on Princess.⁴⁶⁴⁷

What the ages and prices mean for you

For the price of a cruise, fares vary more by departure port and month than by the choice between Princess and Norwegian. Seattle sailings averaged $136² a night more than Tampa sailings and July sailings $71² more than January ones, while Norwegian and Princess were $26² apart.³⁴

The extras then add a steady share. Two guests on a 7-night Princess cruise at the average advertised fare pay $2,492², and their crew appreciation adds $252², or 10%².³⁴⁴⁷ A newer ship does not lower the daily charges either: crew appreciation is set by cabin type, not by ship, and on Sun and Star Princess, the newest, the packages cost $5² a day more.⁴⁷⁵⁰

Conclusions

1. A Princess berth is younger than a Princess ship. The 8 ships of 140,000 gross tons or more, all from 2013 on, hold 30,280 of 54,890 berths, or 55%, so the average berth is 13.3 years old against 14.8 for the average ship.¹
2. Younger fleets take in more per day, but not because they are young. Viking's ocean ships average 6.1 years and its ocean cruises took in $827 per guest per day; NCLH's 34 ships across Norwegian, Oceania and Regent average 16.2 years and the group took in $389. The two figures describe different products, since Viking's include air and land extensions and its ships are small, so fleet age alone does not explain the gap.³²³⁰
3. Ticket income per guest day is back above 2019 in dollars. NCLH and Royal Caribbean Group lost $10.79 billion and $13.21 billion in 2020-2022, and by 2025 their ticket revenue per guest per day, a company average rather than a price, was 21% and 22% above 2019 in current dollars, slightly less than the 26% rise in US consumer prices.³⁰³¹³⁶
4. Extras can add a large share to a mid-priced fare. On a $178-a-night Princess cruise, the Plus package at $65 a day equals 37% of the nightly fare, and two guests' 7-night crew appreciation of $252 adds 10% to their $2,492 fare.⁵⁰⁴⁷³⁴