The first month of 2022 brings a record-high number of cruise ships in service since the pandemic pause.

According to the January edition of the Cruise Ships in Service Report by Cruise Industry News, 242 cruise vessels are expected to sail in January for 68 various cruise brands.

Royal Caribbean International continues to stay in the lead in terms of capacity. A total of 20 ships are expected to sail for the brand in January.

The cruise line is followed by Carnival Cruise Line with 17 ships and MSC with 13 vessels.

Other brands in the top 10 include Norwegian Cruise Line, AIDA Cruises, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises and Holland America Line. Overall, the top 10 account for 338,461 berths of the 433,999 total in January.

Some notable deployment plans for January include the first post-pandemic sailings of the Vision of the Seas and Norwegian Star on Jan. 24 and Jan. 16, respectively, as well as the Scenic Eclipse’s sailing to Antarctica on Jan. 7.

Expedition brands such as Lindblad and Hurtigruten are also expecting a beefed-up operation, with each brand adding two cruise vessels into their active lineups this month.

[Download the Cruise Ships in Service Report here]