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In late December, my wife and I went on a cruise. It was a delightful 5-night affair in which we sailed down the Mexican coast from San Diego and visited the ports of Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada. At the former, we went whale-watching — a truly mind-blowing experience — and at the latter we went to a winery (I didn’t know there was Mexican wine and it turned out to be pretty good).
Our ship was called the Koningsdam and was operated by Carnival’s CCL 0.00%↑ Holland America Line, a mid-level outfit that provided a stylish atmosphere and quite good food. And it was a mid-size ship, carrying 2,650 passengers at full capacity.
Compare that, then, with the latest entrant into the rebounding cruise industry — Royal Caribbean’s RCL 0.00%↑ Icon of the Seas, which, at 250,800 tons and carrying almost 8,000 passengers, is the largest cruise ship in the world. It boasts 20 different decks; 40 restaurants, bars and lounges; seven pools; six waterslides and a 55-foot waterfall.