Bring back Boaty McBoatface: Ship names are too confusing (and boring)

November 12, 2025 — 5:00am

Among ships launched this year are MSC World America, Norwegian Aqua, Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, Star Princess, Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady and Celebrity Xcel.

Congratulations to Celebrity and to Virgin Voyages, since no cruise ships have previously had those names. But there is currently a ship called The World, several previously called America, a whole cruise line called Aqua Expeditions, and far too many Stars past and present to list.

It was once easy to discern which ships belonged to which cruise line. The White Star Line had Titanic and Olympic and other -ics, and Cunard had Carpathia, Hibernia and other -ias, though how ancient Roman provinces inspired cruise-ship names is anyone’s guess.

Today Cunard sticks with queens’ names, Holland America’s ships all end in -dam, Royal Caribbean’s finish with “of the Seas”, and Silversea’s ships all start with Silver. So far, so clear.

But after that, things go haywire. Of course, you can understand a single cruise line reusing names that have become familiar, as Holland America has done with Rotterdam and Cunard with Queen Elizabeth.

But what’s with Viking Sky, Norwegian Sky and Sky Princess? Or Silver Spirit, Norwegian Spirit, Sea Cloud Spirit and Windstar’s Wind Spirit? And let’s not get started on Sun because it will make your head spin.

Sometimes you have to think the mirroring is deliberate. Disney and Carnival currently confuse us with Dream and Magic, for example, and Seabourn and Azamara both use Quest and Pursuit.

Regent Seven Seas and Royal Caribbean – whose ships couldn’t be more different – share Navigator, Voyager, Explorer and Mariner, the latter not to be confused with Oceania’s Marina.

Wouldn’t you know it, a couple of expedition ships favour Explorer, too. Yet expedition companies, on the whole, show far less tendency to copycatting. Ponant’s ships are named after French explorers such as La Perouse, Champlain and Charcot.

Lindblad Expeditions’ names such as Resolution and Endurance are perhaps too rugged to be stolen by larger ocean ships. Celebrity Endurance or Carnival Endurance don’t sound like ships you’d want to be on.

Expedition lines are unusual in favouring male names, since ships’ names are traditionally female. Cruise lines also like to use names that evoke relaxation, goodwill and luxury – many ships, especially on rivers, are named after gemstones.

Astronomy is favoured in names such as Norwegian Sky, National Geographic Orion and… well, Viking Sky and Viking Orion. Viking also has a more original Saturn, Venus and Neptune.

Among other names that are recycled: Dawn, Breeze, Jewel and Pride. No wonder some people think every cruise ship is the same-same.

The lack of imagination is a mystery, but don’t ask the public to help out. In 2016 the British were asked to name a new polar research vessel and infamously came up with Boaty McBoatface.

There was an embarrassed backdown and the ship was named Sir David Attenborough instead. At least that is, for the moment, unique.

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