According to 2024 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, the Mediterranean will maintain its position as the second biggest cruising region in the world.

That is despite slightly less passenger capacity in 2024, with the Mediterranean expected to host about 16 percent of the world’s cruise passengers.

Coming in third and fourth, the regions of Northern/Western Europe and Asia/Pacific register, each, less than ten percent of the world’s cruise market share.

It wasn’t always that way, as Asia/Pacific briefly was the second largest region for capacity, driven by the build up in China, with the Mediterranean occupying the second position in the ranking since 2019.

Cruise Industry News’ independent research also shows that the region’s capacity will be down about one percent compared to 2023. Those numbers are still well above pre-pandemic numbers.

MSC Cruises will be the largest player in the region in 2024, with a total of 16 ships sailing different itineraries.

Costa Cruises comes in second, with eight different ships sailing across the European sea. Norwegian Cruise Line follows close and will also operate a total of eight ships in the Mediterranean in 2024.

With five ships in the region each, Royal Caribbean International and AIDA Cruises complete the top five ranking.

Other brands with significant capacity in the Mediterranean include Celebrity Cruises, Marella Cruises, P&O Cruises, TUI Cruises, Princess Cruises, Celestyal Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Holland America Line, Azamara and Virgin Voyages.