How the cruise business makes money

• $72.5bn industry, 37.2M passengers, growing 8% a year for forty years.

• Cabins average $418 a night, against $186 for a Marriott room.

• Passengers spend another $178 a night onboard — bars, excursions, spa.

• Running the ships eats just over half of revenue; 44% is left before shore costs.

• Onshore costs — marketing and head office — take 13% of revenue.

What the most expensive cruises charge

• The four hotel brands at sea — Aman, Orient Express, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton — charge $4,000 to $12,000 a night. These are published fares.

• Only Aman and Orient Express top $10,000, and both have about 50 suites.

• Ritz-Carlton has ~226 suites and charges $4,000–5,000, at the bottom of that band.

• Fewer suites, higher rate. That is the pattern.

• A suite under 500 SF earns about $6 per square foot a night; one over 2,000 SF earns $4.34.

• Even these ships stay far below private yachts, where the median charter is ~$21,000 per cabin per night.

What the ships cost to build

• Cost is measured per gross tonne — enclosed volume, not weight. Suite area explains about 85% of ship size.

• Bigger ships are cheaper per tonne: about 14% cheaper each time size doubles.

• So the small exclusive ships are the expensive ones.

• Ritz-Carlton $8,600/ton. Four Seasons $12,900. Orient Express $16,300. Aman $30,400.

• Per suite: Ritz-Carlton ~$2m, Four Seasons ~$4.6m, Orient Express $8.0m, Aman $14.9m.

• Only four yards have built a hotel-branded ship. The two large ones are state-owned and booked past 2030.