Cruise Ship Trivia
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161 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 161 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which line, offering leisure sea tours from 1844, is regarded as the world's oldest cruise line?
P&O
P&O advertised leisure voyages from Southampton to Gibraltar, Malta and Athens in 1844, the reason it is called the oldest cruise line; P&O Cruises became a subsidiary in 1977.
Q 02What was the world's first purpose-built cruise ship, launched in 1900?
Prinzessin Victoria Luise
Prinzessin Victoria Luise, built for the Hamburg America Line and launched in 1900, was the first purpose-built cruise ship; she was wrecked off Jamaica in 1906.
Q 03Which German shipping magnate's 1891 voyage on the Augusta Victoria is often called the first cruise?
Albert Ballin
Albert Ballin of the Hamburg America Line sailed with his wife among the 241 passengers on Augusta Victoria's 1891 Mediterranean excursion, widely called the first cruise.
Q 04Which ship became the world's largest cruise ship on entering service in January 2024?
Icon of the Seas
Icon of the Seas, at 248,663 gross tons, was built by Meyer Turku in Finland and took the largest-cruise-ship title from Wonder of the Seas on her January 2024 debut.
Q 05Which footballer named Royal Caribbean's new ship at a Miami ceremony in January 2024?
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi placed a football on a pedestal to release the champagne bottle against the hull at the Miami naming ceremony in January 2024.
Q 06Which cruise line operates the Oasis and Icon classes?
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean, founded in 1968 by Norwegian shipping partners, put its first ship, Song of Norway, into service in 1970 and launched Oasis of the Seas in 2009.
Q 07Where 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 08When completed in 1987, which ship became the world's largest passenger ship?
Sovereign of the Seas
Sovereign of the Seas, at 73,192 gross tons, was the largest passenger ship afloat when delivered in 1987; she sailed from Miami in January 1988 and was scrapped in Turkey in 2020.
Q 09Which ship entered service in 2004 as the first purpose-built ocean liner in 35 years?
Queen Mary 2
Queen Mary 2 was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique for Cunard and began regular Southampton–New York crossings in 2004, the first new liner since QE2 in 1969.
Q 10Retired 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 11In what year did Samuel Cunard's transatlantic shipping company begin?
1840
It started with four paddle steamers on the Liverpool-Halifax-Boston route.
Q 12Holland America Line was founded in 1873 in which city?
Rotterdam
Its current flagship is the seventh ship to bear the city's name.
Q 13Norwegian Cruise Line was founded in 1966 by Knut Kloster and which Israeli businessman?
Ted Arison
The partnership broke up badly and he went on to start Carnival Cruise Lines in 1972.
Q 14What was Norwegian's first ship, formerly a Southampton–Gibraltar car ferry, called?
Q 21Who sang The Love Boat theme over the opening credits for the first eight seasons?
Jack Jones
Jack Jones sang The Love Boat theme for the first eight seasons; Dionne Warwick recorded a new version for the ninth and final season in 1985–86.
Q 22Which port bills itself as the "Cruise Capital of the World"?
PortMiami
PortMiami is the busiest cruise and passenger port in the world, and the home port of Icon of the Seas.
Q 23Norwegian bought Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas in 1977, making it the first what?
Private cruise-line island
Great Stirrup Cay became the first private cruise-line island when Norwegian bought it in 1977; Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay sits on neighbouring Little Stirrup Cay.
Sunward
Sunward, an 8,666-ton car ferry Knut Kloster had built for a Southampton–Gibraltar service, began Miami–Caribbean cruises for the new line in 1966.
Q 15Which French liner did Norwegian buy in 1979 and rename SS Norway?
SS France
SS France became SS Norway after Norwegian Cruise Line bought her in 1979 and refitted her for cruising; at 316 metres she stayed the longest passenger ship ever built until Queen Mary 2 arrived in 2004.
Q 16Which is the world's largest privately held cruise company, based in Geneva and founded in Naples in 1988?
MSC
MSC Cruises dates from 1988, when Gianluigi Aponte bought the Naples-based Lauro line and its ship Achille Lauro; the brand took the MSC name in 1995.
Q 17Carnival Corporation is domiciled in which country?
Panama
Carnival Corporation is incorporated in Panama, although it is run from Miami; its British twin Carnival plc is registered in England, and together they own Princess, Holland America and Cunard.
Q 18Princess Cruises began in 1965 when founder Stanley McDonald chartered a ship for cruises to which coast?
The Mexican Riviera
Stanley McDonald chartered the Canadian Pacific ferry Princess Patricia, idle in winter, for 1965 cruises from Los Angeles along the Mexican Riviera, the start of Princess Cruises.
Q 19On which ship was the TV series The Love Boat set?
Pacific Princess
The Love Boat was set aboard Princess Cruises' Pacific Princess, which appeared in most episodes; the show ran on ABC from 1977 to 1986.
Q 20Who played Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat?
Gavin MacLeod
Gavin MacLeod played Captain Merrill Stubing; he, Bernie Kopell's Doc and Ted Lange's bartender Isaac were the only cast members to appear in every episode.
Q 24Disney'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 25Disney Magic, the first Disney Cruise Line ship, entered service in which year?
1998
Disney Magic, built by Fincantieri in Marghera, Italy, made her maiden voyage from Port Canaveral on 30 July 1998 as the line's first ship.
Q 26On a cruise ship, the open-air deck where the outdoor pools are found traditionally carries what name?
Lido deck
Lido deck takes its name from the British English word for an outdoor public pool, which probably spread via 'Lansbury's Lido' on the Serpentine in London.
Q 27Before 2015, SOLAS required a passenger muster drill within how long of departure?
24 hours
24 hours was the old SOLAS limit; after the 2012 Costa Concordia disaster the rule was amended from 2015 to require the muster before or immediately upon departure.
Q 28What 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 29The SOLAS treaty on safety at sea was first prompted by which disaster?
The sinking of the Titanic
The first SOLAS convention was adopted in London in 1914, two years after the Titanic sinking; later versions followed in 1929, 1948, 1960 and 1974.
Q 30What is a passenger ship's female sponsor, who names the vessel at its christening, called?
Godmother
A male sponsor is a godfather.