Princess Cruises Ships By Size: Biggest to Smallest

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Princess Cruises has a fleet that is growing in size – and not just in terms of the number of ships.

The trend for Princess, as it is for many cruise lines, is to build ships that are bigger and bigger – accommodating more guests and making room for exciting new features. Cruising is all about the ‘new’, and bigger ships mean you can fit more in.

Sky Princess cruise ship sailing

Following the launch of Sun Princess in 2024, and with sister ship Star Princess launching in 2025, let’s take a look at how these newest ships compare to the rest of the fleet in terms of size.

Just how big are Princess ships?

Princess Cruises’ current fleet includes a mix of mid-size ships that cater to between 2,000 and 4,300 passengers. The cruise line doesn’t have any super-ships like some other cruise lines that can host 6,000+.

This means that the biggest Princess ships still somewhat short of the largest cruise ships in the world, but that’s not what Princess is aiming for. Instead, it is gradually increasing capacity through larger ships, without spending huge sums on ships that the cruise line maybe can’t fill.

The biggest Princess ship

The biggest ship currently sailing for Princess is also the newest – Sun Princess. Her sister ship Star Princess will be a similar size. With a gross tonnage of just over 177,000, they’re around 20% larger than the previous biggest ships – Enchanted Princess and Sky Princess.

Cruise Mummy with Sun Princess

There are six ships in the Royal Class, but the earlier ships – Royal Princess, Regal Princess and Majestic Princess – are slightly smaller. They each have a guest capacity of between 3,560 and 3,600.

The smallest Princess ship

The current smallest ship in the Princess Cruises fleet is Coral Princess, the first ship in the Coral Class. It has a gross tonnage of 91,627 and a maximum guest capacity of 2,000 while carrying 895 crew.

The Coral Class ships were built to Panamax specifications, meaning that they were a suitable size to be able to sail the Panama Canal, which opens up more opportunities for itineraries (and allows the ships to switch between the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines of the US much easier.

Coral Princess cruising the Panama Canal

Of course, since the two ships launched, there have been more locks opened in the canal that have more space, so some larger ships are still able to make the journey.

Princess Cruises has previously owned several smaller ships, but over time has modernised its fleet by selling off some of its older ones. The very first ship in the fleet was Princess Patricia, which only sailed for the cruise line for a year and had a gross tonnage of just 6,062.

More recently, the Sun-Class ships have been gradually sold off by the cruise line, with a gross tonnage of around 77,500. As I say, the trend for Princess is very much to move to larger ships.

List of Princess cruise ships by size

Here’s a breakdown of all the Princess Cruises ships by size:

ShipTonnage (GT)DecksLengthWidthGuestsCrew
Star Princess177,88221345m / 1133ft42m / 139ft43001600
Sun Princess177,88221345m / 1133ft42m / 139ft43001600
Enchanted Princess145,28119330m / 1083ft38m / 126ft36601346
Sky Princess145,28119330m / 1083ft38m / 126ft36601346
Discovery Princess145,00019330m / 1083ft38m / 126ft36601346
Majestic Princess143,70019330m / 1083ft38m / 126ft35601346
Regal Princess142,71419330m / 1083ft38m / 126ft35601346
Royal Princess142,22919330m / 1083ft38m / 126ft35601346
Sapphire Princess115,87518290m / 952ft37m / 123 ft26701100
Diamond Princess115,87518290m / 952ft37m / 123 ft26701100
Ruby Princess113,56119290m / 951ft36m / 118ft30801200
Emerald Princess113,56119290m / 951ft36m / 118ft30801200
Crown Princess113,56119290m / 952ft36m / 118ft30801200
Caribbean Princess112,89419290m / 952ft36m / 118ft31401200
Grand Princess107,51717289m / 949ft36m / 118ft26001150
Island Princess92,82216294m / 964ft37m / 122ft2200895
Coral Princess91,62716294m / 964ft37m / 122ft2000895

If you’re also interested in seeing Princess Cruises ships listed by age from newest to oldest, then you should also take a look at this guide: Princess Cruises Ships By Age.

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The different classes of Princess Cruises ships (biggest to smallest)

Princess Cruises’ ships are split into different classes, and every class that is launched is bigger. The largest class of ships is the new Sphere Class of ships.

Here’s a breakdown of the Princess Cruises ships by class:

ClassShipsGross Tonnage
Sphere ClassSun Princess (2024)
Star Princess (2025)
177,882
Royal ClassDiscovery Princess (2022)
Enchanted Princess (2020)
Sky Princess (2019)
Majestic Princess (2017)
Regal Princess (2014)
Royal Princess (2013)
142,229 to 145,281
Gem Class (a subset of Grand Class)Diamond Princess (2004)
Sapphire Princess (2004)
115,875
Crown Class (a subset of Grand Class)Ruby Princess (2008)
Emerald Princess (2007)
Crown Princess (2006)
113,561
Caribbean Class (a subset of Grand Class)Caribbean Princess (2004)112,894
Grand ClassGrand Princess (1998)107,517
Coral ClassIsland Princess (2003)
Coral Princess (2002)
91,627 to 92,822

It’s worth a quick discussion about Grand Princess when we’re talking about Princess Cruises ships ranked by size.

Grand Princess, when she launched in 1998, was the largest cruise ship in the world at the time. And she remained the flagship of the fleet until 2013, when Royal Princess launched, despite numerous ships being built for the fleet that were bigger.

Grand Princess at sea

While she was the founding ship of the Grand Class, that wasn’t originally the case – when she was first launched, she was considered to be a larger sister to Sun Class ships. It was only when the next ship launched, Golden Princess, that the Grand Class was created.

Are bigger Princess Cruises ships better?

There’s no definitive answer as to whether bigger ships are better – the Princess cruise ships ranked by size isn’t the same as ranking them by quality. It depends on a number of factors.

The pros of bigger ships are:

  • They’re newer, and so generally they look and feel more attractive and relaxing
  • They have more dining venues to choose from
  • They usually have a wider selection of stateroom choices
  • They will have extra attractions compared to smaller ships
  • Fares on similar itineraries can be cheaper

Meanwhile, the pros of smaller ships are:

  • They’re normally quieter and less crowded
  • They can travel to some destinations that larger ships can’t

For the sake of comparison, let’s take a look at Sky Princess and Emerald Princess, which are near the top and bottom of the list in terms of size. I’ve chosen these two because they offer some itineraries that are comparable as well.

CriteriaSky PrincessEmerald Princess
Max capacity (guests & crew)50063080
Number of dining venues1511
Number of swimming pools4 pools and 8 outdoor hot tubs4 pools and 4 outdoor hot tubs
Number of stateroom and suite types75
Cost per night
Based on a 14-night Iceland cruise, per person in an Interior Stateroom in Summer 2025
£85 / $110£77 / $100
Sky Princess in Kotor, Montenegro

Why are newer ships sometimes less expensive?

There could be a few reasons, but mainly it’s down to the fact that because there are more passengers on board, the ship is able to charge less to still make a good profit.

Prices will vary all the time, so this is a guide, and you might find that older ships sometimes have cheaper fares due to their lower popularity with guests. It depends on a number of factors.

But what’s clear is that, if you want the newest and most modern ship then you’ll want a bigger one. The biggest Princess cruise ship will have more features than the smallest. However, if you prefer a quieter cruise with less queuing, then a smaller ship is the better choice.

And check the itineraries too, because there are some ports that only the smaller ships will be able to take you to. Princess Cruises’ fleet doesn’t have the small ships that can take you on expedition cruises, but there are some ports that only the Coral and Grand Class ships can easily get to.

Island Princess in the Panama Canal

The bottom line

It’s clear that, in the view of Princess Cruises’ senior management team that sign off on new ships, bigger is better. And there are a lot of benefits to bigger ships, including the space to add exciting features and the potential for lower fares.

But there’s still something quite calming about smaller ship sailings, and the feeling that you do have a more relaxed and quieter experience. So, as the trend continues for Princess to build bigger and bigger, consider booking a cruise on their smaller ships before they are also sold off, like many that used to occupy the fleet.

The size of Princess cruise ships will only grow, so take advantage of the smaller ships while you can.

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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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