How much does it cost to fill up a cruise ship?

Filling up an ocean liner represents a colossal cost: depending on the size of the vessel, the invoice may vary from 600,000 euros for a small liner to almost 5 million euros (around 5.3 million dollars) for new-generation giants like the Icon of the Seas.

In navigation, fuel consumption reaches between 80,000 and 200,000 euros per day.

These figures can be explained by the the considerable power of these vessels A modern ocean liner uses diesel engines developing tens of thousands of horsepower to drive its propellers and ensure its propulsion.

the fuel selection, them sailing conditions and the ship size are all factors that significantly vary the final bill.

The budget required to refuel a cruise ship

To completely fill the tank of a cruising boat, costs vary considerably according to ship size.

• A small liner of around 2,000 passengers (like the Norwegian Spirit) requires between 600,000 and 900,000 euros of fuel.
• A medium liner from 3,000 to 4,500 passengers requires 1 and 1.5 million euros,
• while a ocean liner Oasis class (around 6,000 passengers) reaches 3 to 4 million euros.
• The new-generation LNG-powered giants, such as the Icon of the Seas (7,600 passengers), are able to exceed 4.9 million euros (around $5.3 million) for a full tank. In navigation, daily consumption represents between 80,000 and 200,000 euros per day.

There are three main factors influencing the bill:

• tank capacity,
• hourly consumption (linked to size and speed)
• and the duration of the journey between two refuelling points.

Here is an overview of filling costs according to ship class and some emblematic examples from the world fleet:

NB Daily navigation costs range from 80,000 to 200,000 euros, depending on speed and weather conditions.

👉 An ocean liner's consumption does not increase linearly with speed: going faster costs disproportionately more in fuel.

In concrete terms, going from 20 to 18 knots saves between 20 and 30 % of fuel, a margin which, on the scale of an entire fleet, represents hundreds of millions of euros a year. That's why most companies today use the “slow steaming”, deliberately sailing below their maximum speed to control costs.

And what does that mean for passengers?

For each passenger, the mass effect comes into play: transporting 5,000 people on a single vessel dilutes individual consumption of the total bill.

But beware of false reassurance per passenger-kilometre, a cruise ship remains one of the highest-emitting modes of transport, on a par with a short-haul flight, far ahead of the train.

And the balance sheet doesn't stop at the ship For many cruisers, the return flight to the port of embarkation adds to the footprint of their stay.

A Paris-Miami-Paris trip alone emits around one tonne of CO₂ per passenger: an order of magnitude comparable to the ship's carbon share on a week-long cruise, not an insignificant detail.

How often does a liner refuel?

A liner doesn't refuel at every port of call, but on average every 10 to 14 days, in a large port equipped for refuelling.

Its autonomy at sea is around 12 days, This corresponds to the major transatlantic crossings or Caribbean Sea itineraries.

How do you refuel a cruise ship?

Fueling a cruise liner is called the bunkering.

This operation takes place dockside, in major ports of call, and can take several hours depending on the volume to be charged.

Fuel is delivered either directly via pipelines connected to port facilities, or via specialized barges moored alongside the ship.

This second method, which is very common in ports with limited quayside infrastructure, makes it possible to refuel the liner without having to change location.

Bunkering is a highly supervised operation The process requires specialized teams and strict safety protocols to avoid any risk of spills at sea. For LNG ships, the process is even more complex, as the liquefied natural gas must be maintained at a very low temperature (-162°C) throughout the transfer.

How much does fuel cost on a cruise?

Fuel represents between 15 and 25 % of total expenditure of a cruise line, making it one of the highest cost items in the industry.

For example, Carnival Corporation spent around 1.65 billion euros (around $1.8 billion) on fuel in 2025, or almost 4.6 million euros per day ($5 million per day) for its entire fleet.

Royal Caribbean posted a bill of around 1 billion euros (around 1.1 billion dollars), or 2.9 million euros per day (3.1 million dollars per day).

Faced with volatile oil prices, the companies have set up a fuel overload mechanism A fuel surcharge passed on directly to the passenger. Carnival can apply up to $9 (around €8) per person per day when the barrel exceeds $70, while Norwegian goes up to $10 (around €9) per day from $65 per barrel. In March 2026, StarCruises activated a surcharge of 23 euros per night on its crossings.

This dependence on fuel can sometimes turn into financial drama. In 2022, the Crystal Symphony received a seizure warrant from the US Marshals for an unpaid fuel oil debt of 4.2 million euros ($4.6 million). The ship even diverted to the Bahamas in an attempt to avoid seizure from Miami, illustrating the extent to which the fuel can weigh on a company's financial equilibrium.

The most used fuel

Historically, liners were mainly powered by diesel engines. HFO (Heavy Fuel Oil), the cheapest fuel but also the most polluting.

Since the IMO 2020 regulation, which imposes a sulphur content limit of 0.5 %, the VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) has largely taken over.

In SECA zones (North Sea, Baltic, North American coasts), the use of the MGO (Marine Gas Oil), even less sulfuric, is mandatory.

The different types of fuel used by a cruise ship

Today, there are four main types of fuel for cruise ships:

• the HFO (Heavy Fuel Oil) Traditional heavy fuel oil, inexpensive but highly polluting, in decline since IMO 2020; ;

Please note: heavy fuel oil (HFO) is reserved for large commercial vessels: liners and container ships. Contrary to popular belief, trucks run on road diesel (B7/EN 590) and fishing boats on light marine diesel.

• the VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) now the most widely used fuel in the world fleet; ;
• the MGO (Marine Gas Oil) mandatory in low-emission zones (SECA zones) ;
• the LNG/GNL (Liquefied Natural Gas) MSC World Europa, Costa Smeralda, AIDAnova and Icon of the Seas.

In future, the methanol and the biofioul as the main avenues explored by the industry to further decarbonize cruise shipping.

Paquebot and CO₂: what's the real bottom line?

On average, a cruise ship emits between 0.25 and 0.43 kg of CO₂ per passenger per kilometer, depending on size, load factor and fuel used. This is on a par with, or even better than, a short-haul flight. Benchmark estimates put both at around 0.25 kg/pax-km at the most efficient point, well above that of a train.

The cruise business represents approximately 1 % of global shipping emissions, emissions, itself responsible for 2.5 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. These figures may seem modest, but they are accompanied by other, much more local pollutants: sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and fine particles, which are particularly problematic in ports and coastal areas.

Companies are not standing still. Switching to VLSFO and LNG has already significantly reduced sulphur emissions. MSC, Costa and AIDA are betting on LNG for their new ships, while CMA CGM and other freight players are exploring methanol and ammonia.

The stated aim of the International Maritime Organization : achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

To conclude, refueling a cruise liner is a multi-million euro operation, repeated every 10 to 14 days in ports all over the world.

A colossal cost, but one that is diluted over thousands of passengers, and one that is driving companies to innovate faster than you might think. Between slow steaming, LNG and the fuels of tomorrow, the cruise industry has understood that its future depends as much on its fuel pump as its travel brochures.