Record number of passengers: cruises more popular than ever

The worldwide passenger numbers on cruise ships are according to the industry association Clia last year increased again. The number of Guests on ocean cruises were 37.2 million, which corresponded to an increase of 7.5 percent compared to 2024, as the German representative of the international association based in Washington announced. According to Clia, this is a historic high.

Despite the increase, the number of guests remained slightly below the forecast. The previous edition of the annual “State of the Cruise Industry Report” expected 37.7 million guests in 2025.

Proportion of US passengers is more than 50 percent

According to the association, Germany accounted for around 2.8 million passengers. The number of guests on ships in this country increased by 10 percent compared to the previous year. Germany is the second most important cruise market in the world after the USA. More than every second guest came from the USA. Numbers from non-members are also included in the statistics.

The Cruise Lines International Association (Clia) describes itself as the world’s largest cruise association. It includes the most important providers on the German market in terms of passenger numbers: Aida Cruises, Tui Cruises and MSC Cruises. The most important cruise ports in Germany according to passenger numbers are Hamburg, Kiel, Rostock-Warnemünde and Bremerhaven.

According to the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), around 2.9 million passengers boarded and disembarked ocean cruise ships in Germany in 2024. Clia put the passenger volume that year at around 2.6 million. Eurostat figures for 2025 were not yet available.