Aircraft carriers and cruise ships have a lot of similarities, but there is one major difference – size. An aircraft carrier is much bigger than a cruise ship, and it has to be in order to accommodate the size and weight of the aircraft it carries.
Aircraft carriers are typically 1,000 feet long, or about three football fields in length. They also weigh over 100,000 tons when fully loaded with fuel, personnel and equipment.
The flight deck alone is four acres in size. In contrast, cruise ships are usually between 500 to 900 feet long and weigh around 60-100 thousand tons when fully loaded with passengers, crew and supplies.
The sheer size of an aircraft carrier gives it an advantage over a cruise ship when it comes to carrying more people and supplies. An aircraft carrier can house up to 4500 people including the crew while a cruise ship can only accommodate around 3000 passengers. Cargo space on an aircraft carrier is also much larger than that of a cruise ship which means the vessel can carry more supplies for extended periods of time without having to make port for re-supply runs.
The power of an aircraft carrier is another factor that sets it apart from a cruise ship. The vessels use nuclear reactors for propulsion instead of diesel engines like most other vessels including cruise ships.
This allows them to travel longer distances at much greater speeds than smaller vessels like cruisers or destroyers – up to 30 knots or 34 miles per hour in some cases! Cruise ships usually have maximum speeds of around 22 knots or 25 miles per hour and usually rely on diesel engines for propulsion.
The weapons systems on board an aircraft carrier are also far superior compared to those found on a cruise ship. Aircraft carriers typically have anti-aircraft missiles as well as anti-ship missiles which give them the capability to defend against aerial attacks as well as engage other naval vessels in combat if necessary. Cruise ships usually have fewer weapons systems such as machine guns or cannons for defense against pirates but nothing else that could be considered offensive weaponry.
Overall, there is no question that an aircraft carrier is bigger than a cruise ship in terms of size, capacity, speed and armament capabilities – making it one of the most powerful vessels ever created by man!
Conclusion: It is clear that an aircraft carrier is bigger than a cruise ship by almost every measure – size, capacity, speed and armament capabilities – making it one of the most powerful vessels ever created by man!