How Much Fuel Does a Cruise Ship Use

Among the many questions passenger liners inspire, perhaps the most common is: "How much fuel does a cruise ship use?" For the biggest of these ships, the answer is quite remarkable.

It takes a lot of fuel to move a cruise ship.

Though cruise ships continue to get bigger, there's always hope for better fuel efficiency. Yet when it comes to large ships, "fuel efficiency" is a concept that needs some modification, to account for the size and function of these floating resorts.

Indeed, the demands of a cruise ship are unique. On board, a ship provides everything you need for a vacation, but it also provides transportation to a destination. Enter fuel consumption. To move these behemoths it takes a lot of fuel.

Take for instance, the Queen Elizabeth 2. This storied passenger liner was built for speed and is capable of sailing at the brisk clip of 32.5 knots. Compare this to most cruise ships, which travel at 21-24 knots, and you can see that the QE2 was a water rocket. Yet, how much fuel did it take to travel so fast?

According to Cunard executives, the company's QE2 averages49 feet per gallon on the high seas.

When answering the question: "How much fuel does a cruise ship use?" there are two main factors that need to be considered:

• The size of the ship
• The average speed of the ship

In the QE2's case, the ship is huge (962.9 feet long) and it travels at a speed that requires more fuel. Similar to a car, traveling at higher speeds means an increase in aerodynamic drag, which directly impacts fuel use. Given that most cruise ships travel at 21-24 knots, this isn't often an issue.

Size however remains key to fuel consumption and efficiency. As the size of cruise ships continues to grow, so too does the demand on fuel. A smaller ship will use less fuel than a large ship to travel the same distance.

On average, ships get 30 feet to the gallon. Here are a few more remarkable numbers to ponder:

• Queen Mary 2: 1,132 feet long, 40 feet per gallon of fuel
• Freedom of the Seas: 1,112 feet long, 28,000 gallons of fuel per hour
• Disney Wonder and Magic: 964 feet long, 57 feet per gallon of fuel

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