Wondering about the 10 most expensive cruise ships ever built? Cruise ships have been around for nearly 150 years with the formation of the company Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company. The company was the first to introduce cruising opportunities for passengers and is considered to be the oldest cruise company in the world as well.

However, with the advent of airplane travel and safe bridges facilitating travel over short spans of water, including the 10 longest bridges in the world, ocean travel began declining steadily and was in danger of being wiped out. Cruise ships adapted to modern times and offered luxurious facilities and unique experiences which increased their popularity significantly.

Operating a cruise ship is not an easy task. Cruise ships run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The costs are astronomical as well, with even maintenance breaks costing millions of dollars. Furthermore, considering the amenities and attention provided to the passengers by the cruise, there is little margin for error.

We aimed to find out the 10 most expensive cruise ships ever built. In order to do this, we didn’t just look at the cost of material and labor used for building the ship — though that’s a vital part of the cost of the ship, we believe that the crew is part of the expense too. The larger the crew, the greater the cost. However, since it’s not as important as the actual cost of building it, we have divided the rankings in a 70/30 ratio, with 70% being allocated to the cost of building the ship and 30% towards the number of crew. This allowed us to calculate accurate rankings, while using multiple criteria helps neutralize the inherent biases present in any given criterion.

10. Freedom of the Seas

Cost of building the ship: $800 million

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 9

Number of crew members in the ship: 1,360

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 7

9. Liberty of the Seas

Cost of building the ship: $800 million

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 9

Number of crew members in the ship: 1,360

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 7

8. Independence of the Seas

Cost of building the ship: $828 million

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 8

Number of crew members in the ship: 1,360

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 7

7. Norwegian Breakaway

Cost of building the ship: $840 million

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 7

Number of crew members in the ship: 1,595

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 4

6. Queen Mary 2

Cost of building the ship: $880 million

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 6

Number of crew members in the ship: 1,238

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 10

5. Disney Dream

Cost of building the ship: $900 million

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 5

Number of crew members in the ship: 1,458

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 5

4. Disney Fantasy

Cost of building the ship: $940 million

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 4

Number of crew members in the ship: 1,450

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 6

3. Norwegian Epic

Cost of building the ship: $1.2 billion

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 3

Number of crew members in the ship: 1,753

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 3

2. Oasis of the Seas

Cost of building the ship: $1.24 billion

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 2

Number of crew members in the ship: 2,394

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 1

1. Allure of the Seas

Cost of building the ship: $1.4 billion

Ranking according to cost of building the ship: 1

Number of crew members in the ship: 2,384

Ranking according to number of crew members in the ship: 2

Employing over 2,000 crew members while costing nearly one and a half billion dollars, the Allure of the Seas tops the list of 10 most expensive cruise ships ever built. Launched in 2009, the ship has several ‘neighborhoods’, ice skating rinks, a theater that can seat over 1,000 people, and over 2 dozen dining options that include the first ever Starbucks at sea as well. Not only is this the most expensive cruise ship ever built, but it is also the largest and has a length of over 350 meters.