How do you “weigh” a cruise ship?
Source: Our analysis of the creator's lived experience, based on what they said in this video.
Creator's Key Takeaways
The measure that we use for cruise ships today is not a weight measurement.
Gross tonnage is a standard non-linear measure of a ship's overall internal volume.
A convention came into complete effect in 1982, and since then all passenger ship tonnage, regardless of the age of the ship, has been measured in gross tonnage.
GRT is an internal volume-based measure.
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Everything you think you know about ship size is wrong. Have you ever noticed that a "250,000 Ton" cruise ship doesn't actually weigh that much? It turns out that Gross Tonnage isn't a weight measurement at all—it's a measurement of air. In this video, we pull back the curtain on the "Tonnage Myth." I’ll explain why the math changed in 1982, why modern ships look "bigger" on paper than they are in reality, and how one ship—the P&O CANBERRA—managed to grow by 4,000 Tons without a single physical change. What we uncover in this maritime deep dive: The Weight Lie: Why ships are never actually put on a scale. Volume vs. Mass: How Gross Tonnage became the confusing global standard. History of the Moorsom Commission: Why Titanic’s 45,000 Tons is different from a modern ship's 45,000 Tons. Size Paradox: Why the QE2 is longer than ships that are "twice her size." Whether you’re a maritime enthusiast or just curious about how these behemoths stay afloat, this is the definitive guide to understanding how we actually measure the world's greatest ships. Support My Work If you enjoyed this deep dive, you can support the channel by picking up a copy of my new book, The Evolution of the Passenger Ship, available now at all good bookshops. It traces the history of these vessels from early sail to the modern era. 📚 Read my books: https://www.frameandcross.com/books 👕 Browse cruise merch: https://themaritimehistorian.teemill.com/ 🎶 Listen to The Expert Cruise Show: https://theexpertcruiseshow.com/ 🛳️ Explore Maritime History at my Substack: https://themaritimehistorian.substack.com/ 🚢 My Cunard History Website: https://www.chriscunard.com/ 🛳️ My Cruise News Blog: https://chrisframeofficial.com/ Imagery References: Icon of the Seas: Royal Caribbean - https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/ Andrew Sassoli-Walker - https://www.solentphotographer.com/ Henderson & Cremer Collection. Licenses: Wonder of the Seas: CC BY SA 4.0 Jörg Fuhrmann - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wonder_of_the_Seas.jpg Wind Surf: CC BY SA 2.0 Kees Torn - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wind_Surf_(ship,_1989)_001.jpg Titanic Images - All Public Domain USA / UK. Levithan Image - Library of Congress, Public Domain (USA): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SS_Leviathan.jpg Empress of Britain and Olympic - Public Domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RMS_Empress_of_Britain_entering_dry_dock.jpg Titanic (Thumbnail): CC.0 Public Domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titanic-Cobh-Harbour-1912.JPG Pexels Imagery: Video by Jean Pablo Silva from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/video/aerial-view-of-a-cruise-ship-at-the-port-in-puerto-rico-15366340/ Video by Pixabay from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/video/aerial-shot-of-cruise-ship-854976/ Thumbnail 2024 created with support from Bing AI / Copilot Designer: Adobe Stock: August 2023 thumbnail Royalty Free Standard License. Royal Caribbean: Inage of Utopia of the Seas Tags: #cruisenews #iconoftheseas #cruiseship #cruiseline #royalcaribbean #utopiaoftheseas #ididntknow #didyouknow #facts #interestingfacts #rci #oceanliner #cruiseship #cruiseships #cruisenewsupdate #oceanlinerdesigns #titanic