A white ship with a red and black funnel sails past small green islands.

Ocean Liners and Cruise Ships: What’s the Difference? 

What’s the difference between an ocean liner and a cruise ship?

It’s a question I frequently hear, and one I recall getting a lot when I worked aboard the Queen Mary. They’re pretty much the same, right? Not quite. There are definitely a lot of similarities, with both often being large passenger vessels. There are some big differences that set ocean liners apart from cruise ships, however. It comes down to purpose, design, and speed. 

Purpose

Generally speaking, ocean liners are designed to transport passengers and/or cargo on a fixed route from one point to another, with stops along the way like a city bus. They’re primarily used as a means of transportation and run on a set schedule.

The SS Great Western, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, began the world’s first regularly scheduled transatlantic passenger service in 1838 and is considered to be the first ocean liner (although her eventual fleet mate, SS Great Britain, also claims this title). Many other shipping companies soon followed the Great Western Steamship Company’s lead. Regular passenger service to all corners of the world was a well-established global industry by 1900. Whether immigrants making their way to the United States or Australia or socialites heading to Europe for a grand tour, ocean liners were the only way to cross. At least until the jet airliners came about in the late-1950s. 

As shipping companies struggled to survive in the Jet Age, many began switching over to cruising as a means of staying viable. Companies like Cunard, Holland America, and P&O were successful and are still around today. Others were unsuccessful and went bankrupt, merged with other companies, or got out of the passenger business entirely (like the Italian Line).  

Cruise ships, on the other hand, are typically designed for shorter voyages and intended to visit several ports along the way. These vessels are primarily used for tourism and leisure: the cruise itself is what typically draws passengers aboard.

Caribbean Princess (barely visible at left), Norwegian Jade, and Oasis of the Seas at San Juan, Puerto Rico in January 2024. Author’s collection.

While it was common for ocean liners to make stops to pick up additional passengers and mail, it was rare that people would be allowed off the ship to sightsee. This is definitely not the case with cruise ships today. Ships like Norwegian Gem, Celebrity Beyond, and Scarlet Lady spend hours in any given port and have shore excursion teams dedicated to getting passengers off the ship. It’s now common for cruise lines to have their own private, tropical islands or resort-like getaways. 

Design

“An ocean liner could…be used as a cruise ship, but not all cruise ships can be used as ocean liners,” the Marine Insight website notes. A lot of this is due to the way the ships are constructed. Ocean liners tend to be built with thicker steel and sit lower in the water to withstand rough weather and sea conditions. They are also sleeker and more aerodynamic to help cut through waves. Compare that to the generally boxy appearance that most modern cruise ships have. However, ocean liners’ deeper drafts often made it difficult to visit some warm weather ports. 

As the shipping companies lost passengers and profits to commercial jets, many began switching over to cruising in the 1950s and 1960s. But this was far from the first time that ocean liners would be put on cruise service.

Take a look at the Cunard Line.

The original Mauretania was put to cruising during the Great Depression but was ill suited for the warm weather itineraries she was sailing. Passengers cooked in the ship’s interiors, which had been designed for the colder North Atlantic. Cunard eventually painted Mauretania white to help with the heat, but she was retired shortly thereafter in 1934. 

A black and white photo of a ship with four funnels.
RMS Mauretania was painted white in 1932 to help keep passengers cool on cruises. Public domain.

After World War II, dual-purpose ships became popular. One of the earliest was Caronia, nicknamed the “Green Goddess” for her unique light green livery. Built primarily for cruising, she had an outdoor swimming pool, as well as bathrooms and showers in every cabin. Captain Donald Sorrell, her first master, also noted, “Not a penny had been spared in her building; to Britons….she was magnificent. Some of the younger members of my crew, all of whom were hand-picked, had never seen anything like it.”

But Caronia was also built to withstand the tough North Atlantic route, having been originally intended as a running mate to Mauretania II (herself converted to cruising service in 1962). The “Green Goddess” made regular transatlantic runs until 1959 when she became a fulltime cruise ship. To keep her competitive edge, Caronia was fully air conditioned in 1956 and had a large lido deck added in 1965. However, newer cruise ships were proving to be even more popular with passengers. Cunard eventually withdrew Caronia from service in 1967 and sold her the following year. 

RMS Caronia at Southampton in June 1966. The Union-Castle liner Pendennis Castle is behind her. Courtesy of Flickr user Professor SB.

Some existing ocean liners, such as Saxonia and Ivernia, found themselves converted to cruising service. This went beyond a simple Caronia-style light green hull repaint (later changed to white). Captain Bob Arnott recalled that Saxonia and Ivernia were “given a £3m transformation into luxury cruise liners and renamed, respectively, Carmania and Franconia.” Both ships received a lido deck and outdoor pool, and had their passenger spaces refurbished. They maintained their transatlantic routes to Canada in the summer, but during winter turned to cruising the Caribbean and Mediterranean. In 1967, Franconia became a dedicated cruise ship. However, both were eventually laid up in 1971 and sold off to new owners. 

When Queen Elizabeth 2 made her debut in 1969, Cunard perfected the ocean liner/cruise ship balance. For the duration of her 40-year career, the QE2 transitioned seamlessly between her two roles. However, Cunard’s first purpose-built cruise ships, Cunard Adventurer and Cunard Ambassador, were less than successful. They were deemed to be small for starters. Cunard Ambassador caught fire in 1974 and was sold off to become, as Captain Arnott put it, “the Pacific’s first lamb liner.” The livestock carrier was eventually sold for scrap in 1983. Cunard Adventurer was later sold in 1977 and replaced with the more successful Cunard Countess and Cunard Princess. Both stayed in Cunard service until the mid-1990s. Other cruise ships, like Vistafjord and Cunard Crown Dynasty, eventually joined the fleet as well.

RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1973. Courtesy of Wolfgang Fricke.

In 2004, Queen Mary 2 debuted. Unlike its more recent ships, Cunard built her as an ocean liner (though she would also be used for cruising like QE2). The ship used 40% more steel than the average cruise ship in keeping with her intended regular transatlantic service. With Queen Elizabeth 2’s retirement in 2008, Queen Mary 2 has become known as the “Last Great Ocean Liner.”  

Speed

Generally speaking, ocean liners are faster than cruise ships. This is essential in order to keep their schedules. Ocean liners need to be fast enough to cover long distances and not be slowed down by rough or inclement weather. Passenger ships competed for the illustrious Blue Riband, awarded for the fastest eastbound and westbound transatlantic crossings. The last ocean liner to win it was the SS United States, when she captured it in 1952 from RMS Queen Mary.

The SS United States on a cruise to St. Thomas, 1966. The SS United States took 23 cruises in her career. Courtesy of the SS United States Conservancy.

Cruise ships have schedules too, of course, but the demands aren’t usually as tight. They generally cover much shorter distances than the 3,000+ miles from Southampton to New York. Itineraries generally have some buffer time built in before the ship needs to depart (much to the relief of pier runners everywhere). 

Consider these three ships’ speeds. Queen Elizabeth 2 had a top speed of 34 knots (39 mph; 63 km/h) and cruising speed of 28.5 knots (32.8 mph; 52.8 km/h). Today, Queen Mary 2 has a top speed of 30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h) and a cruising speed of 26 knots (30 mph; 48 km/h). The new Icon of the Seas, by contrast, has a cruising speed of just 22 knots (25 mph; 41 km/h). The Queens would definitely beat the Icon in a race! 

However, those speeds come at a cost. Literally. The fuel costs of these faster speeds are not insignificant. I remember being told by a Cunard engineering officer that Queen Mary 2 could cross the Atlantic in five days with no trouble. However, it was far more cost effective to do it in eight. It’s not a new story. As more and more shipping companies experienced financial woes in the 1960s, in many cases it simply became too expensive to fuel their ships. Many of these old ocean liners were sold off or scrapped as a result.

Final Thoughts

There you have it. The biggest differences between ocean liners and cruise ships come down to purpose, design, and speed. This is by no means an exhaustive explanation, however. I’ve done my best to distill the essence of each difference and use historical examples to illustrate the various points. I’ve tried to break it down so that laymen like me can understand the differences.

References

One response to “Ocean Liners and Cruise Ships: What’s the Difference? ”

  1. Mannie Gentile Avatar
    Mannie Gentile

    Zach, thanks for a concise analysis. I learned a thing or two.
    Mannie