5 Cruise Ship Water Parks (and Water Slides) You Don't Want to Miss

If you’re looking to make a real splash on your vacation, cruise ships with waterslides and water parks can easily become the highlight, especially for families.

Cruisers often fall into two categories when it comes to water parks on cruise ships: either you must have slides and water playgrounds onboard, or you have never given them much thought at all.

Either way, knowing which cruises with waterslides rise above the rest can be an important factor in your hunt for the perfect cruise vacation.

Cruise ship water parks, usually topped by a jumble of cascading tubes in brilliant colors, are an especially attractive diversion on cruise itineraries in the Bahamas, Caribbean, and other warm-weather destinations offered by most cruise lines.

And the onboard water park game grows more daring, more techno-oriented, and frankly, more fun each year, with features and attractions that rival those on land. When it comes to the best waterslides and water parks at sea, five cruise lines stand out because of their impressive aquatic chops. Here are our favorites.

1. Most Carnival Ships Offer WaterWorks and a Plethora of Thrilling Waterslides

Looking out over the waterslide aboard Carnival Conquest)

Offering the largest fleet of water parks at sea by far, Carnival Cruise Line is known for keeping things fun and light, even while drenched head to toe.

All of the line’s cruise ships have waterslides, and all but Carnival Conquest and Carnival Luminosa have a version of Carnival's extravagant WaterWorks aqua park. This water playground includes, at minimum, a 300-foot slide and side-by-side racing slides among other water features.

Carnival Jubilee, Mardi Gras, and Carnival Celebration are among the line’s newest cruises with waterslides – and they’re pretty impressive. These water parks feature a pair of spiral racing slides, Blue Lightning and Orange Thunder, plus the line’s signature Twister waterslide, which offers a multi-spiral, multi-deck drop to the pool area.

Add in a giant dumping bucket and an enormous splash space, and you’ve got a floating paradise for water park lovers.

Carnival Splendor debuted the Green Lightning, one of the best waterslides for those looking for a heart-pumping experience at sea. The slide features a bowl-shaped capsule with a floor that suddenly drops you 37 feet before shooting you through a slingshot curve. While there aren’t any extra age restrictions beyond WaterWorks’ rules, this one is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Carnival Breeze, Carnival Magic, and Carnival Dream offer Twister and DrainPipe, a 104-foot tube that empties into a giant funnel. Carnival Breeze and Carnival Magic also have PowerDrencher tipping buckets, mini-racers, and splash parks for younger kids.

The WaterWorks area onboard Carnival Sunshine edges out the other slides with a 334-foot-long Twister waterslide and twin 235-foot-long slides that are part of Speedway Splash. Mini-racers, a splash park, PowerDrencher, and a total of 40 interactive water features are also available.

Meanwhile, Carnival Vista and Carnival Panorama feature an enclosed water tube Kaleid-O-Slide, on which riders make their way around 455 feet of twists and turns on one- or two-person rafts. As if that weren't dizzying enough, the slide actually looks like a kaleidoscope, with colorful rotating lights and trippy visual effects.

Carnival Horizon is the line’s only cruise ship with a water park themed after Dr. Seuss. It features a 450-foot striped, twisting Cat in the Hat slide and a polka-dotted Fun Things raft slide featuring two loops and special effects, among other kid-friendly water features.

On Carnival Firenze and Carnival Venezia, the massive blue-and-yellow slides twist and turn multiple times on Deck 12, making them fun for passengers of all ages (although weight and height restrictions apply). A small area with colorful water features for younger kids can be found at the bottom of the twin slides.

Carnival Jubilee’s water park is located within the Ultimate Playground, which also includes the BOLT rollercoaster. The water area features two big twisting slides and a few smaller slides for younger kids. The toddler area is somewhat bigger than those on Firenze and Venezia, but has fewer water features.

2. MSC Offers Dozens of Cruises with Waterslides and Themed Aqua Parks

Waterpark on MSC Grandiosa (Photo: Ashley Kosciolek)

MSC Cruises aims to be family-friendly, and it has solidified -- or, rather, liquified -- this promise with plenty of cruises with waterslides. Each water zone has its own sea theme.

MSC World America and MSC World Europa have identical water parks located within the Harbor District. Each aqua park features three slides, including a raft slide that can be enhanced with VR technology, twin racing slides, and a free-fall slide. The vertical drop has been described by many passengers as one of the scariest waterslides at sea and is certainly not for everyone.

The Ocean Cay Aquapark on MSC Euribia also offers three slides, including a raft slide that juts out over the side of the ship, a slower raft slide, and a fast slide that dumps cruisers in a bowl before exiting into the pool.

MSC Seascape aims to entertain the North American cruise market with its Pirate’s Cove Aqua Park, with an obvious pirate ship theme.

Connected to the ship’s main pool, Pirate’s Cove has three water slides – including one for rafts and a slower slide – water cannons, drench buckets, and climbing features. Slides take passengers three decks down. One has a small but sudden drop towards the end, but they’re all appropriate for kids 7 and older.

Near-sister ship MSC Seaside, meanwhile, entices cruise travelers with a state-of-the-art Forest Aquaventure water park. The area includes five waterslides: two high-speed racing slides with clear loops that extend over one side of the ship; Aquatube, an innertube slide; a flume slide for families; and an interactive Slideboarding tube, which combines video games, lights, and music with a 367-foot waterslide.

And onboard MSC Meraviglia, the theme shifts to snow and ice in the Polar Aquapark, where cruisers can race down two slides amid wading pools and water cannons adorned with statues of polar aquatic animals like orcas and walrus. The slides -- one is a raft slide and the other one ends in a bowl -- are short but fast.

Other water park offerings on MSC ships include an AquaPlay and AquaSpray park for young cruisers.

3. Disney Cruise Line Pours Entertainment into Each Cruise Ship Water Park

Disney Treasure features an interactive AquaMouse waterslide. (Photo: Disney Cruise Line)

It’s no surprise that Disney Cruise Line would infuse its onboard water parks with a bit of Disney entertainment.

All of Disney's cruise ships have an aquatic park of some sort. Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream have the water park fan-favorite AquaDuck -- an elevated two-person-raft "water coaster," made up of a 765-foot-long tube that veers out over the side of the ship. Both ships also have the smaller Mickey’s Slide and Mr. Ray’s Slide in the Nemo’s Reef area for the 8 and under cruisers.

Disney Magic steps it up with AquaDunk, a more edgy slide version of its predecessor. The ride on this three-story body slide begins when a trap door opens beneath your feet. The drop sends you through a clear tube that extends 20 feet over the side of the ship, so it's not for Mouseketeers with vertigo.

Sister ship Disney Wonder has a Twist ‘n’ Spout, a looping, 250-foot slide for the whole family, with a minimum ridership height of only 38 inches.

On Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney Destiny, AquaMouse starts with a story on screens at the beginning of the 760-foot two-seater tube ride. Music, lighting, and special effects round out the experience. All three ships also have smaller slides for younger kids, including the Slide-a-saurus Rex and Toy Story slides for younger kids.

4. Norwegian Cruise Line Has Added More Cruise Ship Water Parks Across Its Fleet

Waterslide on Norwegian Bliss (Photo: Harriet Baskas)

It’s possible to cruise on different ships across the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet and experience different waterslides on each ship, while some of the line's oldest vessels don't offer water parks onboard at all. If this is an important feature to you, be sure to consult your ship's deck plans first, or read our detailed reviews.

With Norwegian Aqua, the cruise line reinvented some of the Prima-class features, including the waterslides. On Aqua, the Aqua Slidecoaster is billed as the first hybrid waterslide and rollercoaster at sea. Located on the top deck, its slides twist and turn over three decks while riders zoom by on rafts.

It’s a short, albeit exhilarating ride that starts with a fast stretch followed by a slower meander through the waterslide.

Norwegian Prima debuted a new class of ships for the line, along with a new waterslide, a single-rider tube ride called The Wave. The slide – also available on Norwegian Viva – is short but fast, with rafts provided on Deck 18. A kid’s splash and play zone is nearby.

Meanwhile, Norwegian Escape's, Norwegian Escape’s water park includes a Free Fall waterslide, plus a feature called the Aqua Racer slide, a tandem set of waterslides in which competitors can race side by side in tubes.

This cruise ship’s water park also features a family-friendly enclosed tube slide near the dedicated kids play area, a two-story climbing structure, and water cannons and buckets that deliver "surprise drenchings." A multistory tower, a rope bridge, and a lookout platform are among the areas that kids can explore. They'll find spray jets to interact with along the way.

Dedicated to maximizing time spent outside among sun and sea, Breakaway-class ships Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway each have up to five multistory waterslides.

A playful splash area for the babes keeps company with gentle water features, while nearby, full-grown adults build up the courage to take on Free Fall with an unsettling countdown until the floor drops beneath your feet (a 250-foot fall straight down -- whoosh!).

Two side-by-side racing slides, known as The Whip, twist sharply into pools below, and, of course, there's a family-friendly slide for the littlest splashers.

Norwegian Bliss features a free-fall waterslide called Ocean Loops that drops two loops -- both extending over the side of the ship with sections of see-through tubing. Norwegian Epic has a 200-foot Epic Plunge, beginning four stories above its pool deck and ending in a giant orange bowl.

5. Royal Caribbean Makes a Splash on the High Seas, From Racing Waterslides to Surf Simulators

FlowRider on Independence of the Seas (Photo: Marilyn Borth)

Flow Rider surfing simulators have become synonymous with water fun onboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships. All but the line’s smallest classes of ships now include one or two Flow Riders. Add in the lines’ signature waterslides, and there’s plenty of fun for everyone.

The mainstay across much of the fleet is called Perfect Storm, consisting of a pair of racing slides called Cyclone and Typhoon, with a third slide – a bowl-shaped slide called Super Cell added on some ships, including Wonder of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas.

Star of the Seas and Icon of the Seas are home to what Royal Caribbean claims are the largest cruise ship water parks, with a total of six slides on each ship, including the open free-fall Pressure Drop, the dual mat-racing Storm Chasers, the huge Frightening Bolt, and two family-friendly raft slides, Hurricane Hunter and Storm Surge.

Navigator of the Seas has two unique slides – Blaster and Riptide. On Blaster, riders are propelled by powerful waterjets through one of the longest (and, to many, best) waterslides at sea; Riptide is a fast mat slide that juts out over the edge of the ship, sending passengers on a wild ride, headfirst.

The line’s water parks also include well-designed splash areas for young cruisers. Anthem of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, and Quantum of the Seas feature the H2O Zone, which is perfect for babies and toddlers.

Adventure of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Odyssey of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Spectrum of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas cater to kiddos with a few smaller waterslides and more substantial water features at Splashaway Bay.