It’s no exaggeration to say there is an “arms race” when it comes to building new cruise ships. With interest in cruising booming over the past decade, cruise lines continue to plan and build new ships — and each one seems to be bigger and better than the one before.
Whereas a decade or two ago you might enjoy a ship with a pool and a rock-climbing wall, new ships today have everything from go-kart tracks to waterparks to roller coasters. And that’s just for activities by the pool.
Head inside and you’ll find more restaurants than ever before, lounges, and neat perks in cabins that simply didn’t exist years ago.
Of course all these new ships and features lead to more choice for cruise passengers, which can mean more indecision.
In order to have fun on a cruise do you have to sail on a new cruise ship? Are old cruise ships run down or boring?
Ultimately, it leads to the question of if you should sail on a new ship or if an older one will work just fine for your vacation. (Note: We define an “older” ship as something built more than 15 years ago.)
Below, we cover some of the things to think about when deciding if you should sail a newer or older ship, along with our opinion on the matter based on our experience cruising…
New Ships Offer the Latest and Greatest
As we mentioned above, new ships are coming out regularly, with many lines seeing a new ship once a year. Meanwhile, innovations seem to move just as quickly. Whether it’s small tweaks like more electrical outlets in a cabin or major new amenities like the first roller coaster at sea, when you sail on a new ship you are getting the best of what a cruise line can offer.
It’s obviously appealing to experience latest features. But that’s not to say that older ships aren’t worth sailing. In fact, older ships are kept updated and regularly refurbished to keep the experience for passengers similar across the fleet.
But when you compare older vessels side-by-side with a line’s newest ships, the differences are going to be substantial.
There Are More Things to Do on a Newer Ship
In line with offering the latest in innovations for a cruise ships, new ships have more things to do compared to older vessels. While on the surface you might think this only relates to activities on board like go-karts, laser tag, or the like, it actually applies to features both big and small.
New ships are larger and have more space, which means not only more room for activities but also more public spaces like restaurants, shops, and lounges. So instead of only having a few options for bars or restaurants, for example, you can have more than a dozen.
If you’re the type that simply wants to lounge by the pool, then this might not be a big deal. But for those who want lots of things to do and experience on their cruise, it’s a good reason to look toward newer ships.
Older Ships Have Cheaper Prices
So if new ships are so much bigger and better than older ships, why sail on older ships at all? One big reason is that you’ll usually find cheaper fares that can make your vacation more affordable.
The new mega ships have a lot to offer and also get a lot of marketing and publicity when they launch. This results in plenty of interest in bookings on the new vessels. But older ships aren’t just forgotten — cruise lines want them to sail completely full too. By dropping prices, the cruise lines can get more people to sail.
For example, a recent search for a Royal Caribbean cruise found an 8-night Caribbean cruise aboard Adventure of the Seas from Port Canaveral, departing July 2026 for $1,381 per person for an interior room. Adventure of the Seas first set sailing in 2001, so it’s close to 25 years old.
Searching more, we also found a 7-night Caribbean cruise aboard Star of the Seas also departing Port Canaveral in July 2026. This trip aboard the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet costs $2,118 per person for the least expensive cabin.
That’s nearly $750 more per person, despite the trip being a day shorter on the newer ship.
Older Ships Often Sail From Smaller Ports
When it comes to cruising, everyone knows about Miami or Fort Lauderdale. What many people might not realize is that a number of smaller ports combine to serve millions of passengers each year… and it’s often thanks to older ships. Cruise ports like Tampa, Mobile, Baltimore, and others are almost exclusively served by older vessels.
Why is this such a big deal? While cruise fare may be your biggest expense when sailing, it’s not your only one — especially if you live a long way from a port. Having to fly to a port can cost hundreds of dollars, or thousands if you are sailing as a family.
Instead, by providing cruises from smaller ports using older ships, the cruise lines make it easier to drive to your cruise, saving yourself a considerable chunk of change.
Newer Ships Have More Room Choices
If you sail an older ship, you’ll usually find four choices of cabin — interior, oceanview, balcony, or a suite. On new ships you still have the same basic categories, but there is a lot of variation and different styles and type of each room.
For instance, Norwegian Cruise Lines has an exclusive “resort within a resort” called The Haven. This area features only a few dozen luxury rooms that are a step beyond what you’ll find anywhere else on the ship. Other lines like MSC (Yacht Club) and Celebrity (The Retreat) have similar setups.
But it’s not just the fanciest rooms. Newer ships have a lot of variation across all cabin types so you can find exactly what works for your vacation.
Bottom line, you’ll find more choices for cabins on newer ships.
Older Ships Are Refurbished Constantly
Imagine a Las Vegas hotel that was built in the 1990s. Each day thousands of people come and go, the doors never close, and it doesn’t take too long for the hotel shows its age. It’s a similar situation on a cruise ship, except that it also sails every day in a salty, humid environment.
To keep things fresh, older ships are regularly refurbished — often at significant expense. It’s not unheard of for a refurbishment to run into hundreds of millions of dollars..
Meanwhile, these updates aren’t just to patch up worn-out parts of the ship. They are often complete overhauls that will change the layout, add spaces or restaurants, activities, and otherwise bring an older ship more in line with its newer counterparts. The result is that at least some of the popular features on the newest ships make their way to older vessels to make the experience more similar.
All that is to say that older ships will still feel older, but they won’t feel run down or shabby.
Fewer People May Be on Older Ships, But They Might Feel More Crowded
If you’re the sort of person who likes some quiet time away from the crowds, then you might think that an older ship would be better for you. After all, older ships are usually smaller, which means there are fewer people on each sailing. While the largest ships can hold more than 7,000 passengers, a smaller ship might hold 2,500.
But one thing to keep in mind is that even though there are fewer people on smaller ships, there is also less overall space. The result is that the ship may not feel less crowded than a newer, larger vessel. Instead, it is often the case that larger ships — with more bars, restaurants, and public spaces — may be easier for you to find a quiet place out of the way from the crowds that gather in these spots.
That said, don’t be surprised if the pace on smaller ships does feel a little less hectic compared to larger vessels. We’ve found the vibe in general is simply quieter on smaller ships
If you want to consider a ship with more elbow room, we have a listing of cruise ships ranked by “space ratio” — the size of the ship dividend by number of passengers.
Older Ships Often Sail Shorter Cruises
Over the past few years there’s been a big push by cruise lines to offer shorter cruises. Whereas a week-long cruise means a long time off work for many people, taking a four or five-day cruise that includes sailing over a weekend means only a few days away from the office. In addition, these shorter trips are often less expensive for passengers.
Most of the time shorter trips are on older ships. Newer ships often sail week-long cruises. Note that Royal Caribbean is bucking this trend with newer mega ships sailing from Florida on short 3/4 day cruises. This, however, is the exception rather than the rule.
So if you want a cruise that’s not as long, you’ll often end up on an older ship.
You’ll Often Find Fewer Kids on Older Ships
There are lots of passengers who prefer to sail a quieter cruise. In that case, older is usually better.
If sailing a mass-market line like Carnival or Royal Caribbean, a lot of focus and marketing of new ships is on things to do that appeal to families. Essentially, these ships become kid magnets. After all, if a family is looking to cruise, they are more likely to sail the ship with a full waterpark compared to the one that just has a simple pool.
This generally means fewer kids on those older ship that have less to do. The families stick to the newer ships giving a more calm atmosphere on older vessels.
So Should You Sail On a New or Old Cruise Ship?
So should you take that cruise on an older ship or only focus your search only on those new ships? The information above should give you some idea on what you might prefer, but we want to share our personal preference as well.
Having sailed on countless cruises across multiple cruise lines and everything from 25-year-old ships to the inaugural sailing of a new ship, we have some experience on the real differences between new versus old.
When given the option, we prefer to sail on newer ships. For us, the big benefit is that there is simply so much more to do on newer ships. The innovation on cruise ships is happening quickly, and newer ships have a lot more to offer in everything from activities to the design of public spaces.
So do we never sail older ships? It’s the exact opposite, in fact.
The deals you can find on older ships mixed with short journeys make them perfect for quick getaways where you want to vacation without spending a bundle. Meanwhile, refurbishments keep the ships feeling updated so it’s not as if you are having a “second class” experience. We also find that sometimes it’s nice to have a quieter cruise when we want to relax.
Bottom line: Our opinion is to sail newer ships when you have the opportunity, but don’t fret if an older ship makes more sense for your budget or schedule. You’ll still have a lot of fun.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I know when a ship was built?
Not sure when a ship first started sailing? In this case Wikipedia is your friend. They offer up a full list of the fleets of each cruise line, along with their first year sailing. Here are the fleet listings for the three biggest cruise lines in North America:
What’s a little harder to find is the refurbishment date of a cruise ship. For that, we suggest simply Googling the ship’s name + refurbish to bring up news stories about the last time it went to drydock.
Do any new ships sail shorter trips?
Want to take a shorter cruise but also sail on a new ship? That can be tough, but not impossible. If you have a ship in mind, look at its future schedule. We’ve found that there are often a few dates here and there where a ship may sail a shorter trip to help adjust its schedule for the future.
In particular you can find these shorter trips right when a new ship starts sailing from a new port. It may arrive on a Tuesday and need to schedule a shorter trip to then sail weekly trips on a Saturday.
One exception is Utopia of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas. This newer Oasis-class ship from Royal Caribbean sail short getaways regularly.
Do you prefer older ships or newer ones when you sail? Let us know in the comments below…
On Norwegian Cruise lines, one stark difference between old and new ships, I think the new ships were designed by the bean-counters. No matter where you go on the public areas, you cannot walk very far without running into an “opportunity” to spend money. For the older ships, which we love, there is a real Promenade Deck where you can walk completely around the ship, or you can play shuffleboard, or you can just read in a lounge chair. Plenty of room. Fun. No place to spend money. On the newer ships, there is the Waterfront, a place to walk, but you don’t get very far without a corner to turn with a place to spend money. Also, with the older ships, you can always attend the 7pm or 9pm shows in the big theater. In the new ships, there are too many passengers, so now you have to make reservation for many of the shows. We’ll cruise on the new ships, but if we have a choice, we’ll take the older ships.