How Fast Does a Cruise Ship Go? Real Speeds From the Ships I've Sailed
- The Walking Cruiser
- 1 hour ago
- 7 min read
Most cruise ships sail at 18 to 22 knots, which is about 20 to 25 miles per hour. That is roughly the speed of a car pottering through a built up area. Top speed on a big modern ship is usually only 2 to 3 knots higher than that, and you will almost never experience it. The fastest passenger ship in service, Cunard's Queen Mary 2, can hit 30 knots, but she is an ocean liner rather than a true cruise ship, and that is a very different job.
So the honest answer is that cruise ships are slow. Deliberately slow. And once you understand why, the number stops being disappointing and starts being quite interesting.
In this article
How fast does a cruise ship actually go?
What is a knot and why don't they just use mph?
Real speeds I've recorded onboard
Why don't cruise ships sail at top speed?
How far does a cruise ship travel overnight?
What is the fastest cruise ship in the world?
Do cruise ships slow down at night?
What slows a cruise ship down?
How do you check your ship's speed while onboard?
Frequently asked questions
How fast does a cruise ship actually go?
Between 18 and 22 knots for most of the time you are at sea. In miles per hour that is 20 to 25 mph. In kilometres per hour it is roughly 33 to 41 kph.
Royal Caribbean's own answer puts their fleet at 18 to 20 knots depending on the ship and the itinerary, and that matches what I see on the screen in the cabin. The bigger Oasis class ships sit around 20 knots with a top speed near 22.5. Icon of the Seas, for all her size and her six LNG engines, has a cruising speed of about 24 knots.
Now here is the part that surprises people. Size does not make much difference. A 12,000 ton expedition ship and a 250,000 ton megaship end up doing broadly similar speeds, because they are all designed around the same compromise: fast enough to reach the next port by breakfast, slow enough that the fuel bill does not get silly and the ride stays comfortable.
Cruise ship speed at a glance
Typical cruising speed: 18 to 22 knots (20 to 25 mph)
Typical top speed: 2 to 3 knots above cruising speed
Fastest passenger ship in service: Queen Mary 2, 30 knots
One knot: 1.15 mph, or 1.85 kph
Distance covered in 24 hours at 20 knots: roughly 480 nautical miles
What is a knot and why don't they just use mph?
A knot is one nautical mile per hour, and one nautical mile is 1.15 land miles. So 20 knots is about 23 mph.
The reason ships use it rather than mph is practical rather than traditional. A nautical mile is tied to the Earth's own grid, one minute of latitude, so it makes chart work and navigation far simpler at sea. If you are plotting a course across an ocean, working in a unit that maps onto the lines on your chart saves a lot of maths.
The quick mental shortcut: take the knots, add about 15 percent, and you have your mph. 20 knots becomes 23 mph. 22 knots becomes 25 mph.
Real speeds I've recorded onboard
This is where most articles on this topic stop and just repeat the brochure figure. I have actually watched the number on the cabin TV and the bridge cam across a fair few sailings, so here is what it really looks like in practice.
The pattern I keep noticing is that the advertised cruising speed and the speed you actually see are rarely the same. On short Caribbean hops the ship is often loafing along well below 20 knots because the next port is only a few hours away. On a long repositioning leg it picks up.
Why don't cruise ships sail at top speed?
Fuel, mostly. And it is not a small difference.
Fuel burn does not rise in a straight line with speed, it rises much more steeply. Pushing a ship a few knots faster can increase consumption dramatically, because you are shoving a very large object through water that pushes back harder the faster you go. Cruise lines would rather spend that money on almost anything else.
There is no operational reason to hurry either. The itinerary is built backwards from the port times. If the next port is 200 nautical miles away and you have 14 hours overnight, the ship only needs to average about 14 knots. So that is what it does. Arriving early would just mean sitting outside the harbour waiting for a berth.
The third reason is comfort. Higher speed means more vibration and more motion, and a ship that is trying to sell you a relaxing week does not want either.
Top speed does get used, just rarely. Dodging a storm system, making up time after a late departure, or responding to a medical emergency or a man overboard call. Those are the times you will feel the ship really moving.
How far does a cruise ship travel overnight?
At a typical 20 knots, a ship covers about 480 nautical miles in 24 hours, or roughly 550 land miles.
For an overnight sail between two ports, you are usually looking at a 12 to 14 hour window, so 170 to 280 nautical miles is the normal range. That is why Caribbean itineraries work the way they do. The islands are conveniently spaced for a ship doing about 18 knots overnight.
It is also why some itineraries have a sea day dropped in. Not because the ship needs a rest, but because the next port is too far to reach overnight without burning a fortune in fuel.
What is the fastest cruise ship in the world?
Cunard's Queen Mary 2, with a top speed of 30 knots (about 34.5 mph).
But I would put an asterisk on that. QM2 is technically an ocean liner, not a cruise ship. She was built to cross the North Atlantic on a schedule in whatever weather turns up, which means a thicker hull, a pointed bow and a hull that sits deeper in the water. All of that costs money and comfort, and it is why almost nobody builds them any more.
Among purpose built cruise ships, several vessels from Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Holland America have been recorded above 25 knots during sea trials. There is no official record because ships essentially never run flat out in service, so nobody is really measuring.
For context on how much has been given up in the chase for size: the SS United States managed over 38 knots on her maiden voyage in 1952. No passenger ship built since has come close.
Do cruise ships slow down at night?
Often, yes, and it is intentional.
If the ship reaches its cruising speed too early it arrives before the port is ready, so the captain will ease off overnight. A slower ship at night also means less vibration and less motion, which matters a lot when several thousand people are trying to sleep.
You will sometimes notice the opposite as well. If the ship left late, you may wake up to a noticeably livelier ride while it makes up the time.
What slows a cruise ship down?
Several things, and you can usually feel at least one of them.
Weather. Headwinds and heavy seas cost speed. A following sea can add a knot or two.
Currents. The Gulf Stream is the obvious one. Running with it or against it makes a measurable difference on Caribbean and transatlantic routes.
Hull condition. Marine growth on the hull creates drag. This is why ships get hull cleaning and fresh anti fouling coatings in dry dock, and it is a genuine efficiency issue rather than a cosmetic one.
Traffic and pilotage. Approaching port, ships drop to a crawl. Manoeuvring speed in a harbour is only a few knots.
Whale zones and speed restrictions. Some regions impose mandatory speed limits at certain times of year to protect marine life. Alaska and parts of the US east coast both have them.
How do you check your ship's speed while onboard?
Four easy ways, and I use all of them.
The cabin TV. Nearly every ship has a bridge cam or navigation channel showing current speed, heading, position, wind and sea temperature. This is the quickest option.
The cruise line app. Royal Caribbean and several others display voyage data in the app.
The deck plan screens. The big interactive screens by the lifts often carry the same navigation data.
A ship tracking site or app. Marine Traffic and similar sites show live speed over ground, though you will need onboard wifi for it.
If you want the most accurate picture, the bridge cam channel is the one to trust. Tracking sites can lag.
Frequently asked questions
How fast does a cruise ship go in mph?
Most cruise ships travel at 20 to 25 mph, which is 18 to 22 knots. Top speed is usually around 25 to 30 mph.
Is 20 knots fast for a ship?
For a cruise ship it is a normal working speed. Compared with other vessels it is middling. Container ships and naval vessels regularly run faster, and a speedboat will leave a cruise ship standing.
How fast is a cruise ship compared to a car?
About the same as a car doing 25 mph through a town. The difference is that the ship keeps that speed up for 24 hours a day.
Can a cruise ship outrun a storm?
Sometimes, and captains do reroute to avoid weather. But a hurricane can move faster than a cruise ship, so the usual tactic is to go around a storm system rather than try to outpace it.
Why does the ship feel like it is not moving?
Because it is not accelerating or turning much, and stabilisers are damping the roll. Constant speed in a straight line is very hard to sense. If you feel movement, it is usually the sea rather than the speed.
Do bigger cruise ships go faster?
Not really. Size and speed are barely linked. Icon of the Seas cruises at around 24 knots and much smaller ships do similar. The design target is efficiency, not pace.
How many miles does a cruise ship travel in a day?
Around 480 nautical miles at 20 knots, which is roughly 550 land miles. Shorter overnight hops between nearby ports will be far less.
What is the top speed of a Royal Caribbean ship? Royal Caribbean puts the fleet's average cruising speed at 18 to 20 knots. Top speeds vary by class, with Oasis class ships capable of around 22.5 knots.
Does the ship go faster on a sea day?
Usually yes, because on a sea day the ship is covering distance rather than waiting for a port slot. Sea days are often when you will see the highest numbers on the bridge cam.
Does speed make seasickness worse?
Speed itself is not the main factor, sea state is. That said, a ship pushing hard into a swell will move more than one taking it gently.
