180 free Cruise Ship trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Whether you have sailed twenty times or are packing for your first, this cruise ship trivia quiz will test what you actually know about life at sea. It starts with the history: P&O's 1844 sea tours, the first purpose-built cruise ship in 1900, Cunard and Holland America, the founding of Norwegian, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, MSC, Celebrity, Viking and Virgin Voyages, and how a Norwegian shipping partnership and an Israeli entrepreneur turned Miami into the cruise capital of the world. Then it covers the ships and the rituals: the Sovereign, Oasis and Icon classes and their record-breaking tonnage, Queen Mary 2 as the last true ocean liner, azipods and Panamax, godmothers and champagne, muster drills and the seven short blasts, the lido deck, private islands from Great Stirrup Cay to Castaway Cay, and the Love Boat's Pacific Princess. It also remembers the hard days: Achille Lauro, Costa Concordia, the Poop Cruise and Diamond Princess. The 50 cruise trivia questions run from easy to expert, and every answer was checked against documented sources, so it works for a sea-day trivia session, a travel-agent team meeting or a pub quiz.
30 of 180 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which line, founded in 1844, is regarded as the world's oldest cruise line?
P&O
Its first sea tours from Southampton visited Gibraltar, Malta and Athens.
Q 02What was the world's first purpose-built cruise ship, launched in 1900?
Prinzessin Victoria Luise
Built for the Hamburg America Line, she was wrecked off Jamaica in 1906 after her captain mistook one lighthouse for another.
Q 03Which German shipping magnate's 1891 voyage on the Augusta Victoria is often called the first cruise?
Albert Ballin
He and his wife were among the 241 passengers.
Q 04Which ship became the world's largest cruise ship on entering service in January 2024?
Icon of the Seas
At 248,663 gross tons, she was built by Meyer Turku in Finland and sails from Miami.
Q 05Which footballer christened Icon of the Seas at Miami in January 2024?
Lionel Messi
The ship runs on LNG and has 20 decks, seven pools and six water slides.
Q 06Which cruise line operates the Oasis and Icon classes?
Royal Caribbean
Founded in Norway in 1968, it is the largest line by revenue and put its first ship, Song of Norway, into service in 1970.
Q 07Oasis of the Seas, delivered in 2009, held the world's-largest title until which class arrived in 2024?
Icon
Her sisters Harmony, Symphony and Wonder of the Seas each took the record in turn.
Q 08Where was Symphony of the Seas built in 2018?
Saint-Nazaire, France
The Chantiers de l'Atlantique yard also built her sister Wonder of the Seas.
Q 09When completed in 1987, which ship became the world's largest passenger ship?
Sovereign of the Seas
She sailed from Miami on her maiden voyage in January 1988 and was scrapped in Turkey in 2020.
Q 10Which ship, in service since 2004, is the only true ocean liner still in active service?
Queen Mary 2
She still runs regular Southampton-New York crossings and remains the largest ocean liner ever built.
Q 11Retired in 2008, Cunard's QE2 opened as a floating hotel in 2018 in which city?
Dubai
She had been the line's flagship from 1969 until QM2 took over in 2004.
Q 12In what year did Samuel Cunard's transatlantic shipping company begin?
1840
It started with four paddle steamers on the Liverpool-Halifax-Boston route.
Q 13Holland America Line was founded in 1873 in which city?
Rotterdam
Its current flagship is the seventh ship to bear the city's name.
Q 14Norwegian Cruise Line was founded in 1966 by Knut Kloster and which Israeli businessman?
Q 21Who played Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat?
Gavin MacLeod
He, the ship's doctor and bartender Isaac were the only cast members in every episode.
Q 22Who sang The Love Boat theme over the opening credits for the first eight seasons?
Jack Jones
Dionne Warwick took over for the final season and the specials.
Q 23Which port bills itself as the "Cruise Capital of the World"?
PortMiami
It is the busiest cruise port on Earth and home port of Icon of the Seas.
Q 24Norwegian bought Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas in 1977, making it the first what?
Ted Arison
The partnership broke up badly and he went on to start Carnival Cruise Lines in 1972.
Q 15What was Norwegian's first ship, formerly a Southampton–Gibraltar car ferry, called?
Sunward
At 8,666 tons it was tiny by today's standards.
Q 16Which French liner did Norwegian buy in 1979 and rename SS Norway?
SS France
Until Queen Mary 2 arrived in 2004 she was the longest passenger ship ever built, at 316 metres.
Q 17Which is the world's largest privately held cruise company, based in Geneva and founded in Naples in 1988?
MSC
Founder Gianluigi Aponte started by buying the Achille Lauro.
Q 18Carnival Corporation is domiciled in which country?
Bermuda
It owns more than 90 ships across eight brands, from Carnival and Princess to Holland America and Cunard.
Q 19Princess Cruises began in 1965 when founder Stanley McDonald chartered a ship for cruises to which coast?
The Mexican Riviera
The Princess Patricia was normally laid up for winter, so he sailed her from Los Angeles instead.
Q 20On which ship was the TV series The Love Boat set?
Pacific Princess
The show ran on ABC from 1977 to 1986 and made Princess Cruises a household name.
Private cruise-line island
Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay sits on the neighbouring Little Stirrup Cay.
Q 25Disney's private island Castaway Cay was formerly known as what?
Gorda Cay
Disney signed a 99-year lease with the Bahamas in 1997, running to 2096.
Q 26Disney Magic, the first Disney Cruise Line ship, entered service in which year?
1998
She was built by Fincantieri in Marghera, Italy.
Q 27What is the traditional name for the open-air level of a cruise ship where the pools are?
Lido deck
The word is British English for an outdoor public pool and probably came via "Lansbury's Lido" on the Serpentine.
Q 28Under SOLAS, a passenger muster drill must be held within how long of departure?
24 hours
Since Costa Concordia, lines run it before the ship leaves port at all.
Q 29What is the ship's general emergency alarm signal?
Seven or more short blasts then one long
Strobe lights in corridors accompany it for hearing-impaired passengers.
Q 30The SOLAS treaty on safety at sea was first prompted by which disaster?
The sinking of the Titanic
The current 1974 version has 167 contracting states covering about 99 percent of merchant tonnage.