The cruise line industry offers voyages onboard passenger vessels for leisurely travel to popular destinations across the globe. These companies generally provide a comprehensive vacation experience, including lodging, food, entertainment, and often shore excursions in varying packages. Currently, the industry is witnessing a rising trend in sustainability practices, as companies are urged to reduce environmental impact and showcase responsible tourism. This involves implementing renewable energy sources, waste management systems, and conservation initiatives onboard to create a greener, more sustainable operation. The industry's future seems to be veering towards eco-conscious vacations, with companies prioritizing sustainable strategies.


Top 26 Sustainable Cruise Line Companies

1. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

  • Website: ncl.com
  • Headquarters: Miami, Florida, United States
  • Founded: 1966
  • Headcount: 10001+
  • Latest funding type: Post Ipo Debt
  • LinkedIn

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is a leading cruise company offering a wide range of cruises and vacation experiences. With a focus on flexibility and choice, NCL provides a Freestyle experience, allowing passengers to dine, entertain, and explore destinations on their own terms. NCL offers cruises to popular destinations like Alaska, the Caribbean, Bermuda, and more. With luxurious accommodations, award-winning entertainment, and exceptional customer service, NCL provides a memorable vacation experience for all types of travelers.


2. Royal Caribbean International

  • Website: royalcaribbean.com
  • Headquarters: Miami, Florida, United States
  • Founded: 1969
  • Headcount: 10001+
  • Latest funding type: Post Ipo Debt
  • LinkedIn

Royal Caribbean is a cruise ship company that offers unforgettable vacations to various travel destinations. They provide opportunities to relax on beautiful beaches, explore rainforests, and snorkel vibrant reefs on Caribbean and Bahamas cruises. Their itineraries cater to families and offer a range of activities for all ages.


3. Carnival Corporation

  • Website: carnivalcorp.com
  • Headquarters: Miami, Florida, United States
  • Founded: 1972
  • Headcount: 10001+
  • Latest funding type: Post Ipo Equity
  • LinkedIn

Carnival Corporation & plc is a global cruise company that offers a wide range of cruise itineraries and vacation experiences. They operate various cruise lines including Costa, Holland America Line, AIDA Cruises, and Princess Cruises. With a focus on health, safety, sustainability, and customer satisfaction, Carnival Corporation & plc provides premium-quality cruises and innovative onboard services.


4. Holland America Line

Holland America Line is a cruise company that offers luxury travel experiences and cruise vacations. With a commitment to safety and security, they provide a diverse range of shore excursions, onboard activities, and amenities. Customers can enjoy their vacations on Holland America Line's ships, exploring various destinations around the world.


5. Cunard

  • Website: cunard.com
  • Headquarters: Southampton, England, United Kingdom
  • Founded: 1840
  • Headcount: 5001-10000
  • LinkedIn

Cunard.com is a company that offers services in the travel industry, specializing in luxury ocean cruises. With a legacy that spans over 180 years, Cunard.com provides exceptional travel experiences, combining elegance, sophistication, and world-class hospitality.


6. Hurtigruten Group

Hurtigruten is a company that specializes in sustainable and knowledge-centered expedition cruises. With a history dating back to 1893, they offer a wide range of cruise experiences in various destinations around the world.


7. P&O Cruises

  • Website: pocruises.com
  • Headquarters: Southampton, So15 1St, United Kingdom
  • Founded: 1837
  • Headcount: 5001-10000
  • LinkedIn

P&O Cruises is a company that offers cruises to various destinations. They provide accommodation, dining options, entertainment, and amenities onboard their ships. Customers can enjoy a range of holiday types, including themed cruises, world cruises, and cruises for solo travelers. P&O Cruises is known for its family-friendly and adult-only ships, which cater to different types of customers. The company operates its own ships and offers a variety of services, including customer support and booking management.


8. Azamara

  • Website: azamara.com
  • Headquarters: Coconut Grove, Florida, United States
  • Founded: 2007
  • Headcount: 1001-5000
  • Latest funding type: Acquired
  • LinkedIn

Azamara is a luxury cruise line that offers destination immersion experiences worldwide. With a commitment to safety, comfort, and care, Azamara provides passengers with a unique and personalized travel experience. From exploring exotic locations to enjoying onboard amenities and entertainment, Azamara offers a truly memorable journey.


9. Silversea Cruises

  • Website: silversea.com
  • Headquarters: Monaco, Monaco, Monaco
  • Founded: 1994
  • Headcount: 1001-5000
  • Latest funding type: Acquired
  • LinkedIn

Silversea is a luxury cruise company that offers all-inclusive cruises to over 900 destinations across all 7 continents. With a range of ships and personalized services, Silversea provides a fine dining experience, luxury oceanview suites, and a variety of shore excursions and land programs.


10. Windstar Cruises

Windstar Cruises offers extraordinary cruise experiences to various destinations around the globe. With their intimate yachts accommodating between 148 to 342 guests, they provide a luxurious and immersive journey. They offer a range of services and enrichment programs, including culinary excellence, local immersion, and shore excursions. Windstar Cruises is known for their personalized and unique cruise tours, combining the best of land and sea.


11. Metropolitan Touring

Metropolitan Touring is a travel operator specializing in Galapagos Islands tours and South America travel. They offer small cruise ships, yacht, and vessel expeditions, as well as hotel accommodations and cultural tours. With a focus on sustainability, Metropolitan Touring provides unique experiences for travelers to explore the stunning wildlife and natural beauty of the Galapagos Islands and other destinations in South America.


12. Variety Cruises

Variety Cruises is a leading small ship cruise company that offers unique and immersive travel experiences. With a focus on enriching the natural and cultural environment of destinations, they strive to provide sustainable and responsible tourism. They offer a variety of cruises to destinations such as Greece, Seychelles, Tahiti, Cape Verde, West Africa, Costa Rica & Panama, Egypt, Jordan, and Italy & Malta.


13. Cruise Saudi

Cruise Saudi is the leading force behind the cruise industry in Saudi Arabia, offering a seamless and exceptional experience for guests. With state-of-the-art cruise terminals and a focus on sustainable tourism, Cruise Saudi aims to transform the country's coastline into a desirable destination.


14. Catlante Catamarans

Catlante Catamarans offers luxury all-inclusive cabin cruises in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean. Their modern and spacious catamarans provide maximum comfort while respecting the environment. With professional and attentive crews, they promise ideal vacations for those who love discoveries, secret beaches, conviviality, nature, and tranquillity.


15. Blue World Voyages: Active, Healthy Lifestyle Cruising

Blue World Voyages is a cruise line offering fully dedicated sports and wellness travel experiences onboard bespoke ships. It caters to active adults, solo adventurers, empty-nesters, and families looking to combine personal health with personal fun, on sea-going adventures. The company provides unique services that set it apart from traditional cruising, such as custom-fitted sports equipment, chef-driven farm-to-table dining, and in-cabin wellness amenities.


16. Ponant

  • Website: ponant.com
  • Headquarters: Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Cote D'Azur, France
  • Founded: 1988
  • Headcount: 201-500
  • LinkedIn

Ponant is a luxury cruise line that offers intimate sea voyages aboard their sleek and French-flagged cruise yachts. They provide a privileged travel experience with exceptional service and innovative ship designs, exploring destinations worldwide.


17. Global Cruises LLC

Global Cruises LLC is a global leading tour operator providing differentiated, diverse, and extraordinary shore excursion experiences to cruise lines worldwide.


18. CLIA Europe

We represent the cruise industry. Together we’re leading best practice and responsible cruising. Cruising supports over 400,000 jobs across Europe and the UK. We are also the leading cruise training body in Europe, delivering award-winning training, seminars and events to the UK and European travel trade. Our members have exclusive access to webinars, conferences, training and networking opportunities. We operate the only official accreditation scheme in the Europe for cruise selling travel agents.


19. Northern Expeditions AB

Northern Expeditions AB is a company based in Göteborg, Sweden that offers expedition-style cruises to the Arctic region.


20. Cruise Ship Interiors Expo

Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Americas (CSI) is the world’s only exhibition and conference exclusively dedicated to connecting the buyers and suppliers of the cruise design industry. Meet over 250 IMO certified exhibitors catering to the cruise interiors community.


21. Oliver Design

OLIVER DESIGN is a naval design and architecture firm with over 25 years of experience and hundreds of projects completed for shipowners and shipyards worldwide. In addition to designing and outfitting all types of boats, the company has also worked on leisure concepts, whether in specific areas of ferries and cruises, floating restaurants or amusement parks related to the sea.


22. Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Barcelona, 4-5 December 2019

Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Europe is a highly focused exhibition and conference catered exclusively to the European cruise interior design industry. The event provides a gateway for the cruise interiors supply chain to meet with the most esteemed cruise lines, designers, and shipyards.


23. Sail Croatia

Sail Croatia offers luxury small ship cruises along the Dalmatian coastline with mindful activities for body and soul. They provide various itineraries and ship types to suit different budgets and travel styles.


24. Sustainable Ships

We highlight and applaud the cruise lines that are implementing proven policies and making significant investment in technologies to improve ocean health and provide a healthy environment for passengers and crew. Cruise companies are continuing to demonstrate good stewardship of the our rivers, oceans and global destinations.


25. Tradewind Voyages

Tradewind Voyages is a luxury sustainable cruise company offering voyages to Mediterranean and Caribbean destinations. They provide a variety of services and amenities, including cabins, dining, wellness facilities, shore excursions, and spa treatments.


26. Cruise & Ferry

CruiseandFerry.net is a news and insight provider for the global passenger shipping industry, covering both cruise and ferry businesses. Their content includes coverage of building and refurbishment, marine operations, onboard experience, and ports and destinations.


Want to find more sustainable cruise line companies?


If you want to find more companies that offer eco-friendly, leisurely cruise vacations you can do so with Inven. This list was built with Inven and there are hundreds of companies like these globally.


With Inven you'll also get to know the company's:


  • Ownership: Which of these are private equity backed? Which are family-owned?
  • Contact data: Who are the owners and CEO's? What are their emails and phone numbers?
  • Financials: How do these companies perform financially? What are their revenues and profit margins?

...and a lot more!