By Michael Goldstein , CONTRIBUTOR From Forbes

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

There is an arms race building cruise ships, where bigger is apparently much better. Whether built from the keel up to be the world’s largest, like the new Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas, or literally cut in half and reassembled with an added section like a Frankenstein monster (Silversea’s Silver Spirit), these ocean behemoths are growing ever larger.

So far, the size of the ships (and their sheer number) seem to be expanding because the number of passengers continues to grow. According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) a projected 27.2 million passengers are expected to sail in 2018, up 10% from 24.7 million passengers in 2016. This, in turn, was an increase of 20.5 percent over five years from 2011-2016. The total cruise market is about $38 billion, with three companies, (Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian) controlling approximately 80% of the market.

The CLIA says member cruise lines will debut 27 new ocean, river and specialty ships this year, joining 449 ships already in service. By far the highest percentage of cruise ships are deployed in the Caribbean (35.4%) followed by the Mediterranean (15.8%). Interestingly, while Americans accounted for the largest group of cruisers (11.1 million), cruising is growing quickly among Chinese customers, the second largest group at 2.1 million.

This week the new heavyweight champ, the Symphony of the Seas, set sail on its maiden voyage in the Mediterranean. More than 5500 guests embarked on a five-night preview voyage calling at Naples and Rome.

The enormous ship measures 1,188 feet, or almost four football fields, in length and has a gross tonnage of 228,081 across 18 decks. Symphony can accommodate 5,518 passengers at double occupancy (up to a maximum capacity of 6,680 passengers), all served by a 2,200-person crew.

By contrast, US Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, the largest warships ever built, house around 6,000 personnel (crew and aircrew). These carriers have a displacement of 102,000 tons, and a flight deck length of 332.9 meters, about thirty meters shorter than Symphony of the Seas.

Symphony holds about a platoon more passengers (39) than the previous titleholder, Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas. But Symphony’s reign as queen of the cruise is scheduled to be a short one, as a new entry from Royal Caribbean ship will be even larger when launched in 2021.

As part of the ‘bigger is better’ trend, even smaller cruise ships, like the Silversea all-suite Silver Spirit, are growing bigger. In the case of the Silver Spirit, which carries 608 guests and a crew of 412, marine architects and workers at Fincantieri Shipyard in Palermo literally chopped the ship in half amidships. The operation was necessary to add a 49-foot section in the center, including 846 tons of steel, 360,892 feet of cabling, and 26,247 feet of piping. The payoff will be a capacity increase of 15%, a 20% increase in outdoor seating and the expansion of the pool deck area.

The advent of ever-larger cruise ships is not without controversy. Some claim the giant ships create a “supersized pollution problem” while cities like Venice (and potentially Dubrovnik) influenced by the #touristgohome movement are attempting to ban cruise ships and their hordes of tourists from crowded city centers.

Nonetheless, cruising continues to gain in popularity among many groups, including “skip-gens” (grandparents with grandchildren), Millennials and even the less-than-affluent (33% of cruisers had incomes under $80K). So the giant ships, and their packs of passengers will keep coming.

IMAGES:
ilversea’s Silver Spirit preparing to add 49-foot section.
MALAGA, SPAIN – MARCH 27: eRoyal Caribbean’s ‘Symphony of the Seas’ during its presentation in Malaga on March 27, 2018 in Malaga, Spain. The ship, which weighs 228,000 tonnes, is at 362 metres (1,188 feet) long just 20 metres shy of the length of the Empire State Building. It holds an ice rink, water park and full-size basketball court along with 2,700 cabins. (Photo by Daniel Perez Garcia-Santos/Getty Images)

For more on this story go to: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2018/04/04/enormous-ships-like-symphony-of-the-seas-reflect-growing-cruise-industry/#6c8dfbf065ee