The Midsize Ship Gap

From the moment a ship enters the water, the countdown to its eventual demise begins. Ships have a far more finite life span than a land-based hotel or resort. Battered by the elements that continually seek to destroy them, ships are built and designed for a set period of time. This “service life” is typically three or four decades, give or take. After that point, maintaining a ship becomes a costly expenditure.

While major investments have been made to grow the small luxury and expedition segments, and to keep pace with the ever-growing megaship race, the “midsize” ships of the late 1990s and early 2000s have slipped through the cracks.

Simply put, no major mainstream industry player has plans on the drawing board to renew its sub-120,000-gross-ton fleet. Arguably cruising’s most flexible mainstream fleet, this includes vessels like Royal Caribbean’s Vision- and Radiance-class ships, Carnival’s Spirit class, Norwegian’s Jewel- and Sky-class ships, Celebrity’s Millennium class, and Holland America’s Vista class.

These sub-3,000-pax ships are ideal for several reasons. They offer flexible deployment options. They are low enough to clear bridges like Tampa’s Sunshine Skyway Bridge and Vancouver’s Lions Gate, while still offering that “big ship” experience: multiple dining venues, Broadway-calibre entertainment, and plenty of bars and lounges. They can go where the big ships cannot.

There’s just one problem: the midsize fleet is approaching its third decade in service, and the clock is ticking. With every passing year, maintaining these older ships becomes increasingly expensive. Most are still pressed into week-long service on high demand runs. And, as of this writing, no cruise line has concrete plans to replace them.

The midsize crisis

Part of the problem that mainstream lines currently find themselves in can be traced back to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. To stay afloat, cruise lines jettisoned old tonnage and took on enormous amounts of debt. Now, with the industry booming, even the oldest vessels are sailing full and commanding onboard spend rates that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

But new ships cost money, and midsize ones cost more on a per-berth basis than, say, monsters like Icon of the Seas. Coupled with debt loads that won’t go away and a good decade-long wait at the shipyards, new midsize mainstream ships aren’t likely to materialise anytime soon – and that’s bad for the global cruise fleet. More capital must be invested in retrofitting these existing vessels, from both a mechanical and a passenger standpoint, to keep them competitive and running smoothly.

Another factor is that big ships make headlines. They generate their own PR buzz. Love it or hate it, people – and the media – get excited about ships like Icon of the Seas. Mid-range vessels don’t generate the same organic excitement outside of traditional cruise circles.

“The concept started smaller, but growth, as always in the cruise industry, proved endemic.” The late maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham wrote those words over three decades ago in a commemorative book about Royal Caribbean’s history and the development of the Vision-class ships. These ships were originally designed to house 800 cabins, which increased to 850, then 902 cabins aboard Legend of the Seas. Designers even lengthened the ship at the 11th hour, just to squeeze another block of 20 cabins into the general arrangement plans.

That addition – to size, to economy of scale, to continually wanting more – is another big part of the hold-up in the industry’s response to replacing its midsized fleet.

Value for money

Despite their age, some of today’s midsize mainstream ships are outperforming their more famous predecessors. White Star Line’s RMS Olympic was scrapped after 24 years of service, while the SS United States barely eked out 18 years before rising costs and the advent of air travel forced its withdrawal from service. Others lasted longer: Cunard’s famous Queen Elizabeth 2 sailed for 38 years, while Norwegian Cruise Line’s Normandy (the former France) had passed 40 years of service before a boiler explosion in 2003 sealed its fate.

By comparison, today’s cruise lines are squeezing more value for money from their current midsize fleet: Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas, launched in 1996, turns 30 this year. Ditto Carnival Sunshine, the former Carnival Destiny, which also made its debut in 1996.

Other ships that are still in service for their original operators and will soon turn 30 include Rhapsody of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas in 2027, and Carnival Elation, Carnival Paradise, Grand Princess, and Vision of the Seas in 2028.

The big bump happens in 2030, when a massive number of midsize ships hit their third decade of service. This includes Carnival’s Spirit class; Celebrity’s Millennium class; and Holland America’s Vista class.

Cruise lines, however, are eager to get more mileage out of their fleets than ever before.

“Grandeur of the Seas reaching its 30th anniversary is a strong example of how world-class innovation and rigorous maintenance can extend the life of a ship well beyond initial expectations,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement to CruiseTimes. “With regular dry docks, rigorous upkeep, and strategic amplifications, both Vision and Radiance-class ships – and others across the Royal Caribbean fleet – can remain active for decades.”

Grandeur of the Seas in Tampa

To get a better perspective on the current midsize fleet, CruiseTimes sailed Royal Caribbean’s oldest ship, Grandeur of the Seas, on a weeklong trip from Tampa to the Caribbean. It’s also the smallest vessel in the fleet, a statistic that seems strange considering its 915-foot length and 2,400 passenger count.

Built in 1996, it was the third of the Vision-class ships: six vessels built in identical pairs of two. Splendour of the Seas and Legend of the Seas were built in 1995 and 1996 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, while the larger (and differently styled) Grandeur and Enchantment of the Seas were built by Kvaerner Masa-Yards of Helsinki. Chantiers built the final two vessels, named Rhapsody and Vision of the Seas, which offer different exterior styling yet again.

Splendour and Legend have moved on to tertiary service with TUI as part of Marella Cruises. Grandeur, the oldest Vision-class vessel remaining with Royal Caribbean, soldiers on, along with sisters Enchantment, Rhapsody, and Vision.

Royal had initially planned to transfer Grandeur of the Seas to its Pullmantur subsidiary in 2021, but those plans were cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Scrapping looked like a viable option in 2020 as Royal jettisoned Empress of the Seas (now Empress with Cordelia Cruise) and Majesty of the Seas (now in long-term lay-up under Seajets ownership), but Grandeur, like a cat with nine lives, lived on.

Right off the bat, Grandeur and its larger Radiance-class counterparts are the only Royal Caribbean ships that can sail from Tampa, thanks to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that spans Lower Tampa Bay and offers just 180 feet of air draft clearance. In fact, Royal Caribbean deploys its Vision-class ships primarily out of several set homeports, including Tampa; San Juan; Colón, Panama; Cartagena, Colombia; and Baltimore.

In Tampa, we were docked alongside Enchantment of the Seas on our departure, and sister Rhapsody of the Seas on our return, along with the 1998-built Carnival Paradise.

A Grandeur experience

While Grandeur offers a completely different passenger experience than its larger brethren, that isn’t always a bad thing. A port stop at Costa Maya, Mexico, saw enormous lines for passengers coming and going from larger fleetmate Harmony of the Seas, but no such backlog existed for the smaller Grandeur. Ditto at Roatán, where we docked with the much-larger Carnival Jubilee.

On board, the small(er) ship advantage revealed itself: no lines. No crowded bars and lounges. Ample deck chairs. Wide – one might even say cavernous – stairwell landings forward and aft.

Look hard enough, and you’ll see the dings of three decades in service. Public rooms sparkle, and the ship is remarkably rust-free and well painted. Cabins seem to be run the hardest, with dings in the furniture and bathrooms in need of a complete refit. But beds and bedding are new, televisions have been refitted, and the entire vessel is wired with Starlink internet.

Sailing aboard a 30-year-old ship didn’t detract from the experience. The crew of Grandeur of the Seas were among the friendliest we encountered on any recent sailing, and the food – never really a strong point on a mainstream ship – surprised in consistency and quality.

No one seemed to mind that Grandeur lacked the bells and whistles of its newer counterparts; in fact, numerous passengers that CruiseTimes spoke with noted they had purposely sought the ship out because of its manageable size. Many were here for a repeat cruise, having sailed “Lady G” multiple times.

Design with purpose

The demographics on board fascinated as well: families, couples, retirees, newlyweds – and not just from the United States. Passengers that CruiseTimes spoke with hailed from as far away as Ireland.

“Our fleet’s diverse ship classes cater to different types of travelers, so everyone can vacation their own way without compromise,” Royal Caribbean told CruiseTimes in a statement.

On 29 January 2026, Royal Caribbean announced it had signed a letter of intent for two brand-new Discovery-class ships from French shipyard Chantiers de L’Atlantique. The deal, which includes the option for up to four more vessels, will see the first ship debut in 2029, with a sister following in 2031. The Discovery class – long rumoured to be a smaller class of ship that could replace Vision- and Radiance-class vessels – was announced without any specifics of tonnage or passenger count in a press release laden with flowery adjectives.

“These ships will be a showcase of what’s possible when design meets purpose, ultimately bringing the world closer to our guests,” Jason Liberty, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, said in a statement. “Through our partnership with Chantiers de l’Atlantique, we are leveraging France’s world-class shipbuilding ecosystem and new technology to, once again, reimagine the industry for decades to come.”

Disney Cruise Line, too, has committed to building smaller ships: a trio of 105,000-gt vessels that will debut from 2029, with deliveries through 2031. These ships will be bigger than the line’s smallest vessels, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, but will be smaller than the Dream- and Wish-class ships.

While it remains to be seen whether Royal Caribbean’s new Discovery class will fit into the same size range as Disney’s newbuilds, one thing is clear: in order to maintain itineraries that call for these “smaller” vessels, cruise lines will either have to keep the existing fleets running well into the future, or plan for their replacements sooner rather than later.

 The Midsize Cruise Fleet, by Year

Cruise ships still in operation for their original owners only; greater than 70,000 gt, less than 110,000 gt; over 20 years of operating age. BOLD denotes oldest original vessel currently in the fleet.

Source: CruiseTimes research

¹ To Cordelia Cruises.

² Norwegian Spirit is the oldest vessel in the NCL fleet, but it was originally ordered for Star Cruises and transferred in 2004 and is therefore not counted in this list.

³ To Margaritaville at Sea.