Below, we contrast contemporary cruise ships with the Titanic. We’ll consider size, passenger capacity, crew, and other factors. You can see a side-by-side comparison of the Titanic and the biggest cruise ship in the world as well as a comparison to the typical cruise ship.
We won’t discuss the Titanic’s sinking. James Cameron will take care of that. The Titanic, which was the largest passenger ship of its era, will be contrasted with contemporary cruise ships.
Titanic Vs Cruise Ship Size
When comparing the Titanic to modern cruise ships, let’s make sure to note that this ship was built over 100 years ago!
The Titanic was HUGE for its day and age! She is unquestionably smaller when compared to contemporary cruise ships. However, it wasn’t any smaller than what you might have anticipated given the time frame.
Our infographic above shows the comparison between the The Titanic and contemporary cruise ships. The size statistics of the Symphony of the Seas are also compared to those of the woman. The largest cruise ship in the world as of 2022 is Symphony of the Seas. Check out our post here for the 25 largest cruise ships in the world.
In the chart, you’ll find a column for “modern cruise ships.” For the cruise lines Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, NCL, and Disney, that includes all of their active ships.
Titanic Tonnage
What was the Titanic’s gross tonnage? 46,328 gross tons were carried by the Titanic. This weighs less than the 113,525 GT of contemporary cruising ships. At 228,081 GT, the Symphony of the Seas is the largest ship.
Titanic Length
What was the Titanic’s ship length? The length of the Titanic was 883 feet. With a length of 980 feet, this is comparable to contemporary cruising ships. From end to end, the Symphony of the Seas is 1,184 feet long.
Titanic Draft
What is the draft of the Titanic? The distance between the water’s edge and the ship’s hull’s bottom is known as the draft. For its draft, the Titanic measures 35 feet. She is only bigger than her contemporary counterparts in terms of size. The Symphony of the Seas has a draft of 31 feet compared to the 27 feet of the typical ship today.
Titanic Beam
What was the Titanic’s beam or width? A ship’s “beam” is essentially its width. The Titanic was 92 feet wide side to side. Today’s cruise ships have beams that are 119 feet wide. The Symphony of the Seas has a 137-foot beam.
Deck Count
How many passenger decks did the ship have? There were ten decks in the Titanic. Eight of those were passenger decks. The Symphony of the Seas has a total of 16 passenger decks, whereas modern cruise ships typically have 13 passenger decks.
Cabin Count
How many cabins were on the Titanic? On the Titanic, there were 840 staterooms. There were 416 first class cabins in total. There were 162 rooms in the second class, and 262 of these were for third-class travelers. The Symphony has a total of 2,745 staterooms, which is more than the 1,401 cabins that the average cruise ship has today.
Titanic Passenger Count
How many passengers did the Titanic hold? 3,353 people were able to board the Titanic. There were 900 crew members and 2,453 passengers in total. The average passenger and crew capacity of contemporary cruise ships is 3,077. The Symphony of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise ship, can accommodate 5,518 people. There are 7,718 passengers on board, and there are 2,200 crew members on board to serve these visitors.
Ship Speed
How fast was the Titanic? The vessel could travel at a top speed of 23 knots. That is approximately 26.5 mph for our land-based citizens. The average cruise ship today can travel at a maximum speed of 29 knots, while the largest ship operated by Royal Caribbean can travel at 22 knots.
Was the Titanic a Cruise Ship Or Ocean Liner?
Although the Titanic is frequently mistaken for a cruise ship, it is actually classified as an ocean liner.
This distinction is crucial.
Transporting people or goods between locations is the main function of ocean liners. Ocean liners are used for transportation, as opposed to cruise ships, which are frequently destinations unto themselves.
For the purpose of setting the Titanic apart from its rivals, its owner, White Star Line, designed it to be both opulent and cozy.
The ship’s common areas were decorated in a regal European style with elaborate woodwork and opulent furnishings. Not to mention the renowned sweeping staircase.
Cunard Line, White Star Line’s main rival, concentrated on accelerating its vessels. They took great pride in how quickly they could ship passengers across the Atlantic.
White Star Line believed that improving passenger comfort would help them stand out from the competition and draw in more travelers.
Ocean liners like the Titanic are essentially extinct.
Only one ocean liner is still in service; the Queen Mary 2. The top speed of this well-known luxury vessel is 30 knots, while the typical cruise ship cruising speed is 18 to 22 knots.
Traditional transatlantic voyages from Southampton to New York are still provided by the Queen Mary 2.
Construction Costs
The Titanic’s construction would have cost about $400 million in today’s money.
The cost of building a cruise ship is much higher than what may seem like a lot of money.
The construction of a cruise ship of average size costs about $1 billion. Royal Caribbean spent $1.35 million building Wonder of the Seas and a record $1.6 billion on constructing Oasis of the Seas.
Cruise Fares on Titanic Compared to Cruise Ship
It cost a lot of money to board the Titanic. A first-class suite on the Titanic in 1912 cost 870 pounds ($4,000), compared to 7 pounds ($35) for a third-class ticket.
A third-class ticket would have cost 850 pounds ($1,071), and a first-class suite would have cost 105,000 pounds ($133,132), adjusted for inflation.
Nowadays, cruise prices are comparable. Although you can find 7-night cruises for under $420 per person, tickets to sail on a brand-new cruise ship cost about $750 per person. On a contemporary ship, a suite costs about $25,000 for a 7-night itinerary, which is a significant discount.
How Fast Was the Titanic Compared to a Modern Cruise Ship?
Now that we are aware of the Titanic’s and the Space Shuttle’s disparate sizes, modern cruise ships, it’s time to see if size played a difference regarding speed.
The Titanic had a cruising speed of only 21 knots (39 kilometers per hour, 24 miles per hour) and could achieve a top speed of 24 knots (44 kilometers per hour, 28 miles per hour).
The Titanic didn’t put much emphasis on speed. The ship’s main function was to transport passengers on opulent trips across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Titanic’s top speed is almost identical to that of contemporary cruise ships!
Compared to Titanic’s maximum speed, the Oasis of the Seas’ top speed is 24.5 knots, while 2020’s Mardi Gras ‘is around 23 knots.
A few contemporary cruise ships have top speeds of 30 knots. For reasons of safety and fuel efficiency, however, they never move at top speed.
In comparison to the Titanic, modern ships are built much larger and feature cutting-edge propulsion systems. The sheer size of today’s mega cruise ships prevents more horsepower from translating into a faster speed, though.
However, cruise ships aren’t built to travel quickly.
Cruise ships typically don’t need fast speeds because they typically travel short distances between ports over the course of days, unlike ocean liners that travel long distances over long periods of time.
An average cruise ship travels at 18 to 22 knots.
Cabin Comparison
Aside from the obvious size difference, the quality of cabins and the variety of activities and entertainment are perhaps the most notable differences between the Titanic and a contemporary cruise.
According to their level of wealth, passengers on the Titanic were assigned to first, second, and third classes.
There were about 350 first-class rooms on board Titanic in total. If necessary, passengers in second class could travel in the first-class staterooms.
Balcony cabins were not available on the Titanic.
For first-class travelers, the most opulent staterooms were reserved. They had opulent interior decorations and were a decent size. First-class cabins were decorated in a variety of architectural styles, such as Georgian, Jacobean, and Italian Renaissance. To accurately recreate the historical components of each decor style, the designers paid close attention to detail.
Many first-class travelers shared communal bathrooms despite their luxurious accommodations. In addition, freshwater was in short supply on board the ship, so passengers of all classes took seawater baths.
The Titanic’s laundry service was unavailable for the same reason. However, first-class travelers received daily linen changes.
The accommodations in the ship’s second class weren’t nearly as cozy. The second-class cabins had simpler furnishings and a smaller size.
With two or four cabins per stateroom, second-class travelers slept on bunk beds. Bunk beds are still common on cruise ships, especially in family-sized cabins.
On the Titanic, however, third-class travelers had the least comfortable accommodations. This class of visitors stayed in cabins that held ten people each. On the Titanic, there were about 1000 passengers who used third-class facilities.
On the ship, there were two bathrooms for men and women that third-class passengers shared.
Today’s cruise ships model their cabins after upscale hotels, like the Titanic. Fortunately for today’s cruise ship passengers, every stateroom has a full bathroom, air-conditioning, TVs, and many even private balconies.
To Conclude
Modern cruise ships are significantly larger than the Titanic in terms of height and tonnage thanks to advancements in shipbuilding. The majority of modern cruise ships are much larger than the Titanic, with some being three times as big. However, some small cruise ships today are comparable in size to the Titanic.
