75 Inspirational Ocean Quotes You Must Read

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Whether you’re someone stepping out onto their balcony on their very first cruise, or you’re an experienced cruiser who’s spent many a day at sea, there’s a certain magic about the ocean – she’ll forever have a hold on your heart.

We forget, living on land, that so much of the earth is covered in water and there are so many mysteries and wonders beneath her surface. This is why it’s quite an inspirational view to behold. People may love a sea view from their hotel, but there’s nothing like a true view of the big wide ocean from a cruise ship.

Sunset view of the ocean

Unfortunately, most of us can’t spend our entire lives on a cruise, no matter how much we may want to. But that’s where these sea quotes come in real handy.

They serve as a reminder of life at sea for any ocean lover, casting you back to your last cruise and those feelings of wonder you experienced as the salty breeze gently surrounded you.

But seeing as they are meaningful sea quotes, these don’t just help to jog your memory of happier times. They can serve a number of purposes, including just being generally inspirational.

If you’re in need of a little pick-me-up, then spending some time absorbing these quotes and sayings about the sea will no doubt put you into a good headspace. They might calm you, evoking feelings of gentle lapping waves.

Or they might spark something, whether it’s a new idea or some motivation you were looking for, especially if you’re having a tough day at work and just need a little boost of energy.

It doesn’t even have to be something quite that grand.

Maybe you’re just looking for some ideas for your social media, and you want to reflect your love of the ocean by finding some thought-provoking sea quotes for Instagram.

They’re a good way of getting some extra likes and potentially finding others with an interest in life by the sea who may follow you.

Whatever you’re looking for, these ocean quotes will hopefully help you find it – but don’t blame me if you get carried away and finish this page with a new cruise booked!

Inspirational Quotes About The Sea

“A full moon sprinkled the black ocean with diamonds, and she could imagine fairies dancing in the silver foam that laced the huge, dark waves.”

Patricia Hagan
Quote about the ocean under the moon

“At night, when the sky is full of stars and the sea is still you get the wonderful sensation that you are floating in space.”

Natalie Wood
Quote about the ocean at night

“Being out there in the ocean, God’s creation, it’s like a gift He has given us to enjoy.”

Bethany Hamilton
Quote about the ocean as a gift from God

“Each kiss of an ocean wave is passed along, as long as there is life on and in the seas.”

Anthony T. Hincks
Quote about the waves of the ocean

“Every time I slip into the ocean, it’s like going home.”

Sylvia Earle
Quote about the ocean being home

“Every time you dive, you hope you’ll see something new – some new species. Sometimes the ocean gives you a gift, sometimes it doesn’t.”

James Cameron
Quote about diving in the ocean

“I believe in the ocean curing all bad moods. I believe in the waves wiping away worries. I believe in seashells bringing good luck. I believe in toes in the sand grounding my soul.”

Unknown
Quote about the ocean curing bad moods

“I couldn’t imagine living in a state that didn’t reach the ocean. It was a giant reset button. You could go to the edge of the land and see infinity and feel renewed.”

Avery Sawyer
Quote about living near the ocean

“I go to the ocean to calm down, to reconnect with the creator, to just be happy.”

Nnedi Okorafor
Quote about the calming effect of the ocean

“I have always been fascinated by the ocean, to dip a limb beneath its surface and know that I’m touching eternity, that it goes on forever until it begins here again.”

Lauren DeStefano
Quote about the ocean and its eternity

“I love the ocean. I’ve always liked the blue, so tranquil and peaceful and gliding. And the fear of it.”

Siouxsie Sioux
Quote about the tranquil blue ocean

“I love the smell of rain, and I love the sound of the ocean waves.”

Amy Purdy
Quote about the sound of ocean waves

“I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and the lows.”

Drew Barrymore
Quote about the soft currents of the ocean

“I think I love the ocean because it’s calm, beautiful, infinite. But also angry, harsh, and magnificent. And that intrigues me.”

C.B.
Quote about the ocean being calm but also magnificent

“I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea.”

Alain Gerbeault
Quote about the freedom and adventure of the ocean

“I was happy anywhere I could see the ocean.”

Ai Yazawa
Quote about the happiness of ocean views

“I will find comfort in the rhythm of the sea.”

Charlotte Eriksson
Quote about the rhythm of the ocean

“If everyone could just live near the ocean, I think we’d all be happier. It’s hard to be down about anything knee-deep in the sand.”

Crystal Woods
Quote about happiness living near the ocean

“If you want to hear the distant voice of the ocean put your ear to the distant lips of a seashell.”

Curtis Tyrone Jones
Quote about the sound of the ocean in seashells

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

Ryunosuke Satoro
Quote about the ocean as a metaphor for collectiveness

“It’s out there at the sea that you are really yourself.”

Vito Dumas
Quote about the sea and finding oneself

“Looking out at the ocean, it’s easy to feel small – and to imagine all your troubles, suddenly insignificant, slipping away. Earth’s seven oceans seem vast and impenetrable, but a closer look tells another story.”

Ted Danson
Quote about the vast oceans of the world

“Looking out over the ocean you can see reflections of God.”

Catherine Pulsifer
Quote about the reflections of God in the oceans

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the couragee to lose sight of the shore.”

Andre Gide
Quote about the ocean and courage to explore

“Never underestimate the power of the ocean.

Heidi Klum
Quote about the power of the ocean

“Ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time.”

H. P. Lovecraft
Quote about the ancient wonder of the ocean

“Ocean, n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man – who has no gills.”

Ambrose Bierce
Quote about the ocean relative to man

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”

Unknown
Quote about the memories of the ocean

“She loves the serene brutality of the ocean, loves the electric power she felt with each breath of wet, briny air.”

Holly Black
Quote about the power and brutality of the ocean

“Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly.”

Van Morrison
Quote about letting your soul and spirit fly like the ocean and sky

“Take me to the ocean. Let me sail the open sea. To breathe the warm and salty air and dream of things to be.”

Erica Billups
Quote about the warmth of the open sea and air

“The beauty and mystery of the ocean, fills our lives with wonders, vast beyond our imagination.”

M. L. Borges
Quote about the beauty and mystery of the ocean

“The ocean is a central image. It is the symbolism of a great journey.”

Enya
Quote about the symbolism of the ocean

“The ocean is a mighty harmonist.”

William Wordsworth
Quote about the ocean as a harmonist

“The ocean is everything I want to be. Beautiful, mysterious, wild, and free.”

Unknown
Quote about the ocean being beautiful, wild and free

“The ocean is this beautiful, unexplored place. Why on Earth everyone isn’t down there, I don’t know.”

Graham Hawkes
Quote about the unexplored ocean

“The ocean makes me feel really small and it makes me put my whole life into perspective…it humbles you and makes you fell almost like you’ve been baptized. I feel born again when I get out of the ocean.”

Beyonce Knowles
Quote about the perspective the ocean offers

“The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination, and brings eternal joy to the soul.”

Robert Wyland
Quote about how the ocean empowers heart, imagination and joy

“The ocean’s beauty is in its clear waters, but its strength lies in its dark depths”

Matshona Dhliwayo
Quote about the beauty and strength of the ocean

“The sea is an underwater museum still awaiting its visitors.”

Phillip Diole
Quote about the sea as an underwater museum

“The sea is as near as we come to another world.”

Anne Stevenson
Quote about the sea as another world

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

Jacques Cousteu
Quote about the spell the sea casts on us

“The sound and smell of the sea cleanses my soul.”

Unknown
Quote about the sea cleansing the soul

“The thing about the ocean is that the surface won’t always tell you what is going on underneath.”

Jennifer Arnett
Quote about what's beneath the surface of the ocean

“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater, you realize that you’ve been missing the whole point of the ocean. Staying on the surface all the time is like going to the circus and staring at the outside of the tent.”

Dave Barry
Quote about the point of the ocean

“They say home is where the heart is. For most people, that consists of four walls and a welcome mat. But for me, it’s the ocean”

Unknown
Quote about home being the ocean

“Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part.”

Hermann Broch
Quote about those who live by the sea

“To me, the sea is a continual miracle; the fishes that swim-the rocks-the motion of the waves-the ships, with men in them, what stanger miracles are there?”

Walt Whitman
Quote about the sea as a continual miracle

“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.”

John F. Kennedy
Quote about the ties we have to the ocean

“What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.”

Werner Herzog
Quote about the ocean and lurking monsters

“When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.”

Rainer Maria Rilke
Quote about the impact of the sea on anxious thoughts

“Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.”

Robert Henri
Quote about the potent power of the sea

“Wild waves rise and fall when they arrive and that’s what makes the calm sea alive”

Munia Khan
Quote about the wild waves bringing the sea to life

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”

Rumi
Quote about the nature of ocean within a drop

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

Mahatma Gandhi
Quote about the ocean representing humanity

“You never really know what’s coming. A small wave, or maybe a big one. All you can really do is hope that when it comes, you can surf over it, instead of drowning in its monstrosity.”

Alysha Speer
Quote about the waves of the ocean

“You only need to stand near the ocean to feel the power of the universe and a closeness to the one who created it.”

Susan Gale
Quote about the power of the universe reflected through the ocean

“You will love the ocean. It makes you feel so… I don’t know. Small, but not in a bad way. Small because you realize you’re part of something bigger.”

Lauren Myracle
Quote about the love of the ocean

“Be alone with the sea for it is there you will find answers to questions you didn’t realize exist.”

Khang Kijarro Nguyen
Quote about the ocean providing spiritual answers

“Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.”

Sarah Kay
Quote about the beauty of the shoreline

“Dance with the waves, move with the sea, let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.”

Christy Ann Martine
Quote about dancing with the waves of the sea

“That the sea is one of the most beautiful and magnificent sights in Nature, all admit.”

John Joly
Quote about the magnificence and beauty of the sea

“If the ocean can calm itself, so can you. we are both salt water mixed with air.”

Nayyirah Waheed
Quote about the calmness of the ocean and similarities to humans

“It’s the sound of the sea that makes you believe in mermaids.”

Anthony T. Hincks
Quote about the sounds of the sea and mermaids

“Let the waves carry you where the light can not.”

Mohit Kaushik
Quote about letting the waves carry you

“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too”

Vincent van Gogh
Quote about the heart of man being like the sea

“The ocean has a life of its own. Its tides, whirlpools, currents and eddies are a testament to its conflicting emotions.”

Anthony T. Hincks
Quote about the tides and whirlpools of the ocean

“The sea knows no limits, makes no concessions. It has given us everything and it can take everything away from us.”

John Ajvide Lindqvist
Quote about how the sea has no limits

“The sound and smell of the sea cleanses my soul.”

Unknown
Quote about the sound and smell of the sea

“The universe is an ocean upon which we are the waves. While some decide to surf, others venture to dive.”

Charbel Tadros
Quote about the universe as an ocean

“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”

William James
Quote about the connection of islands in the sea

“We have the responsibility to care for the ocean as it cares for us”

Suzanne van der Veeken
Quote about caring for the ocean

“When she saw the waves crashing on the shore, her heart leaped inside her in excitement. She still had a love affair with the ocean.”

Sharon Brubake
Quote about the ocean waves crashing on the shore

“You stand next to the sea and you’re in touch with all your longings and all your losses.”

Elizabeth Hay
Quote about feeling in touch with the sea

“Summer is calling me with the music of an ocean breeze. I must go dance with the waves of love.”

Debasish Mridha
Quote about the music of the ocean breeze in summer

Final Word

There are some wonderfully profound quotes about sea and life, and the sea in general, some spoken by wordsmiths and poets, and others attributed to celebrities or influential figures.

Many focus on the depths of the ocean, and the mysteries that she holds. Others talk of the shoreline, and the view of the waves while standing on land. And there are many sea air quotes too, as people discuss the impact that the sea breeze has on them.

Use this list however you want to. You might want to pop back to the site every day to find new sea love quotes to inspire you for the day ahead. Or if you’re just feeling like you miss spending time near or on the ocean, sit down with a drink and wistfully read through the whole list.

Some of the sea quotes will no doubt speak to you more than others, which is a sign of just how vast and incredible the sea really is – there are so many different ways to view it and interpret it, that it impacts us all differently.

As you can tell, some people find it to be magnificent. Others use the ocean as a metaphor for other aspects of their life or the wider universe. There are some who hold the sea to be powerful and even a little scary – something to be respected, absolutely.

You’d be surprised just how many people talk about the sea in a profound way. But remember there are millions of people who’ve cruised on it, millions more who visit beaches for fun days out, and there are some unlucky people who live so far from it that they’ve never seen it, and can only imagine it through the lens of others’ experiences.

Did any of these quotes about the ocean surprise you? Is there a name you recognise that you weren’t aware was a sea lover? Or maybe you’ve heard some of these quotes before but never realised who they were attributed to?

And if you have your own favourite ocean quotes then I’d love for you to add them in the comments – especially if you know who first said them.

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Cruise Mummy

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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