
According to LOGO.com data, the five most popular colors in cruise logos created on LOGO.com over the past 12 months were white at 24%, black at 18%, blue at 17%, green at 9%, and grey at 8%. More than four in ten color choices went to white or black, a crisp pairing that echoes fresh paint on a ship's hull and the clean lines of a modern liner, while blue brings the ocean and green hints at tropical ports and calm seas. If you want a cruise logo that feels at home on boarding passes, deck banners, and social profiles, start from a white or black base and let blue carry the maritime energy with a touch of green for the open water.
When it comes to the icon, the ship is the obvious starting point, and it earns its popularity: a simple hull with a stack and a few portholes reads even when cropped or flattened, which makes it perfect raw material for negative space tricks like turning the smokestack into a letter or resting the hull on a wavy baseline. The wave is the most underused symbol in the trade, since its gentle curves can sit behind a wordmark, frame a monogram, or stack into a rolling sea for a modern minimal feel. Action silhouettes bring motion that a parked liner cannot, so sketch a bow cutting through spray, a wake trailing behind the stern, or a gull riding the breeze above the deck, each one reading clearly at a distance. For premium brands, pair the ship with an emblem shape like a crest or a crown, and for tropical routes lean on palm silhouettes, sunbursts, and seashells. Before you settle, brainstorm around your own story: a harbor line can anchor the ship, an island itinerary can perch it on a turquoise sea, and a river cruise can thread it between bridges and skyline.
The same instinct for clean contrast carries into the lettering. According to LOGO.com data, sans serif typefaces made up 60% of the font choices in those same cruise logos over the past 12 months, with display styles at 17%, serif at 15%, and handwriting at 9%. The favorites read like a captain's log: Geologica at 15%, Afacad at 8%, Aboreto at 7%, and Alata and Open Sans at 6% each. Set in bold, simple letterforms against that white or black base with a blue accent for the sea, a cruise logo stays welcoming and legible whether it appears on a hull, a deck towel, a boarding pass, or a tiny social avatar.