I was just wondering, is Titanic the largest luxury liner ever constructed, or did they go above and beyone even Titanic Standards on a different ship? I've looked around, but I can't find any figures on what the largest luxury liner of all-time is!

-- Steve Parkin (steveparkin@hotmail.com), February 07, 1998

Answers

Steve:

Titanic was, in 1912, the largest passenger ship ever built, but it was surpassed many times in the ensuing years. Her sister ship, Brittanic, was slightly larger in gross tonnage, due to the the additional safety measures added in the wake of the Titanic accident.

I don't know what the largest passenger liner ever built is/was, but some notable ships which exceeded Titanic's size (882 feet in length, 46,000 tons) were:

Queen Mary, 975 feet, 80,774 tons; Queen Elizabeth, 987 feet, 83,673 tons; QE2, 963 feet, 70,327 tons (these figures are from the Cunard website, http://www.cunardline.com/scripts/cunard/getfleet.idc)

Cheers!

-- Kip Henry (kip-henry@ouhsc.edu), February 07, 1998.

Cal said in the movie that Titanic was 150 feet longer than Mauretania.

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@ccs.carleton.ca), February 07, 1998.

Those numbers Kip has from the Cunard site seemed strange to me. I've been to the Queen Mary in Long Beach several times; books I purchased on board gave the length at 1019 feet, 80,744 gross tons, in line with what I have seen in encyclopedia and general ship books. From the same books I learn that the Queen Elizabeth (the first) was 1031 feet long, with a gross tonnage of 83,673. I've just seen the same web pages Kip mentions, and can't account for the discrepancies.

If memory serves correctly, the SS France was the longest passanger liner by a few feet (1035 feet?). The Queen Elizabeth was the largest in terms of gross tonnage. The S.S. United States (990 feet), from the 1950's, was the fastest transatlantic liner, the last holder of the so-called "Blue Riband" for speediest Atlantic crossing, 3 days, ten hours, forty minutes. The most luxurious ever is, of course, to some extent a matter of subjective opinion, but consensus seems to be with the Normandie (1029 feet, 83,000 tons).

The SS France is still in service, as the cruise ship Norway. As far as I know the QE2 is the only ship that still makes semi-regular Atlantic crossings.

-- Thomas Shoebotham (cathytom@ix.netcom.com), February 08, 1998.

I was watching a documentary about Ocean Liners and they were talking about the future of superliners. A shipbuilding company is building one that is like Las Vegas on the sea. Costs $2billion and weighs 250 000 tons! If I remember correctly it'll also carry about 20 thousand people. Now thats a lot of lifeboats!

-- Lianne (liannegraham@one.net.au), February 12, 1998.

In the Guiness Book of World Records, the RMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest ocean liner built. Size for ships has always been measured in gross tonnage. Just because a ship is longer or wider etc. does not mean it is bigger. The Normandie falls just after that. The largest passenger ship still operating today is the new Grand Princess. Fortunately, it is not considered an ocean liner. Its ghastly appearance defiles the term.

-- Jason Cowden (trekkie56@hotmail.com), December 08, 1998.

No doubt about that, Mr. Cowden. Most passenger ships today are a visual disgrace...more like apartment buildings on barges than a true ocean-going liner. Only a few, such as the QE2 and the Norway (ex France), still have the classic lines reminicient of Titanic or the Queen Mary.

There are rumors from Cunard Line, the company that own the QE2, that they want to build a Queen Mary 2, as a companian to the QE2, and build it as a true "ocean liner", capable of both Atlantic crossings and cruises. It would be nice, but, as with the earlier discussion on the Titanic 2, I'll believe it when I see it.

-- Thomas Shoebotham (cathytom@ix.netcom.com), December 08, 1998.

I believe QE2 to be the last of the stately liners still existing. She was a frequent visitor here up until a few years ago when she ran aground in Buzzards Bay (due to outdated charts I believe). I hope, with the resurgence (sp?) of the cruise industry that ships such as these gain a new life and we get back to the great transatlantic liners and not just these floating boxcars that are so prevelent today.

Regards,Peter

-- Peter Nivling (pcnivling@capecod.net), December 10, 1998.

I think the nowadays ships are really boring. I mean like you guys were saying there is no unique designs or all out luxury lets say then the titanic. Yeah they might be bigger but they have no taste. The titanic or qe2 or any of the older liners show skill, design, just an overall better ship.

-- Mike Zinga (buffettsteve@yahoo.com), January 29, 2003.

Your figures on Queen Mary are correct Tom. The Queen Elizabeth was re-fitted in 1936 in oreder to retain her status as the largest liner in the world. Queen Elizabeth still retains the status as the largest luxury liner ever built.I have also been to Queen Mary, i lived in Long Beach for a year and visited the grand old lady quite often. As far as the largest ship ever, i would have to do some research and find out. Titanic only remained the largest luxury liner in the world until Olympic's refitting after Titanic's sinking, putting Oly at the top of the list for the time. Titanic's younger sister, Britannic, would have been the largest, but she never had a fare paying passenger aboard. Converted to a hospital ship part way thru her fitting out, Britannic was immediately commission as the HMHS Britannic. On her 6th voyage, with 1100 "passengers", Britannic sank from an explosion in her bow. It hasnt been determined whether she was torpedoed or if she struck a mine, but the mine theory seems more likely. Remarkably, only 30 of her 1100 passengers were killed, and the majority of those were killed when their lifeoats were sucked into the still turning propellers as Captain Bartlett tried to beach the stricken liner on the island of Kea. Britannic today lies in roughly 390 ft of water and is the largest liner on the ocean floor. Her current owner is Simon Mills.

-- Robert Custer (diesel_mechanic01@yahoo.com), February 18, 2003.

The new Cunard liner "Queen Mary 2" at 150,000 tons will be at the time of her maiden voyage in December, 2004 the largest liner/cruise ship ever built. she will also surpass the "France"/"Norway" in length by at least 90 feet and width by 40 feet. The current holder (s) of the largest cruise ship are the voyager class of ships owned by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line at 142,000 tons and at over 1020 feet long. These are cruise ships and not proper liners. A true ocean liner can travel at high speeds in often rough weather, possibly carry passenger's autos and some cargo and have a deeper draft (below the waterline part of the ship) for a smoother crossing of the seas. The last ocean liner built was the beautiful Cunard "Queen Elizabeth 2" of 1969 at 70,000 tons and 963 feet now not the largest passenger ship but perhaps the last beautiful ship built. regards.

-- bruce mcpherson (bruce.mcpherson@sbcglobal.net), May 13, 2003.

I DON'T HAVE ANY ANSWERS THAT ARE NOT ALREADY HERE ON THIS SITE. I TOO HAVE BEEN TO THE QUEEN MARY IN LONG BEACH. AS THEY CALL HER (BIGGER THAN LIFE)AND SHE TRULY IS. SHE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OCEAN LINER I HAVE EVER SEEN. A TRUE LOVER OF THE OCEAN LINERS MUST STAY ON BOARD THE NOW "HOTEL QUEEN MARY." DOES ANYONE REMEMBER HOW MANY MEN WERE KILLED WHEN SHE RAN OVER HER ESCORT SHIP DURING A CROSSING FROM GREAT BRITIAN TO THE U.S.? I KNOW IT WAS MANY. I READ THAT SHE SLICED THROUGH IT LIKE A KNIFE THROUGH HOT BUTTER. NONE OF THE ESCORT SHIP CREW HAD A CHANCE. THE ONLY OTHER THING I WAS WONDERING IS, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHEN THE NEW QUEEN MARY II WILL BE READY. I AM VERY ANXIOUS TO SEE HER.

-- JOHN STORMS (MSXSIPXEXMUDXBUG@AOL.COM), August 02, 2003.