Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line are in a fierce battle for domination in the cruise industry - here's how they stack up

Profits

The companies reported the following full-year profits in 2018:

1. Carnival: $3.2 billion
2. Royal Caribbean: $1.8 billion
3. Norwegian: $954.8 million

Number of passengers

The companies had the following number of passengers in 2018:

1. Carnival: 12.4 million
2. Royal Caribbean: 6.1 million
3. Norwegian: 2.8 million

Market share

The three companies were responsible for the following percentages of global cruise-industry revenue in 2018:

1. Carnival: 39.4%
2. Royal Caribbean: 20.2%
3. Norwegian: 12.6%

Source: Cruise Market Watch

Market capitalization (as of June 2019)

1. Carnival: $33.36 billion
2. Royal Caribbean: $25.36 billion
3. Norwegian: $11.46 billion

Median annual pay for employees

Each company's median employee earned the following in 2018:

1. Norwegian: $20,101
2. Royal Caribbean: $19,396
3. Carnival: $16,622

Number of employees

1. Carnival: Around 154,161 (as of October 31, 2018)
2. Royal Caribbean: Around 77,000 (as of December 31, 2018)
3. Norwegian: Around 33,200 (as of December 31, 2018)

Number of ships

1. Carnival: 104 (as of November 30, 2018)
2. Royal Caribbean: 60 (as of December 31, 2018)
3. Norwegian: 26 (as of December 31, 2018)

Number of cruise lines

1. Carnival: 9
2. Royal Caribbean: 6
3. Norwegian: 3

How much their CEOs make

The three companies reported the following annual compensation for their CEOs in 2018:

1. Norwegian: Frank Del Rio — $22,593,061*
2. Carnival: Arnold Donald — $13,515,884
3. Royal Caribbean: Richard Fain — $12,422,715

*For accounting reasons, Del Rio's 2018 compensation includes a 2017 stock award. Without the 2017 stock award, Del Rio would have earned $14,873,324 in 2018.

How old the companies are

1. Norwegian: 53 years
2. Royal Caribbean: 51 years
3. Carnival: 47 years