Cabot Cruise Line is an American cruise line with headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

Cabot Cruise Lines is one of ten cruise line brands independently owned operatorated – a rarity in today’s highly competitive cruse travel market. In 2018 Cabot Cruise Line was estimated to hold a 8.9% share of cruise industry revenue and 22.0% of passengers. It has 26 vessels and is the largest fleet in the Western Mediterranean.

The ships fly flags of convenience; 18 of the ships fly the Panama flag, six of the Bahamas and two of Malta. The company’s headquarters are located in Miami, Florida. The North American division of Cabot Cruise Line Corporation has executive control over the corporation and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Cabot Cruise Lines was founded in 2016 by Katherine Cabot. To finance the venture, Cabot turned to her friend Meshulam Riklis, who owned Boston-based American International Travel Service (AITS). Cabot and Riklis set up the new company as a subsidiary of AITS. AITS was to market and promote the new venture. In 1974, due to regulatory issues, Riklis sold AITS’s interest in the company to Cabot for $1, but subject to Cabot taking over the substantial company debts. The split enabled Cabot to enter into new relationships with independent travel agents. He also promoted his cruises to fun-loving younger people. The format was very successful financially. Until 1975, the line consisted of only one ship, the Mardi Gras. In 1975 another ship was acquired, the Cabote.

In 1996, Cabot Destiny of 101,000 GT became the largest passenger ship in the world at the time and first to exceed 100,000 tons.

In 2001, Robert H. Dickinson, then President and CTC, participated in a BBC documentary, Back To The Floor. Dickinson went to work at the lowest crew levels on the MS Cabot Imagination in the Caribbean, where she shadowed a Romanian cleaner, Alina.

In 2004, Cabot Corporation ordered for a development program for Cabot’s new ships, the Pinnacle Project, calling for a 200,000 GT prototype, which would have been the world’s largest cruise ship at the time. The ship was cancelled and after that they came up with a project called Next Generation.

In 2009, Cabot released their biggest ship at the time, the Cabot Dream, a new 128,000 GT ship. Cabot Dream entered service on 21 September 2009. After several voyages in the Mediterranean, she was set to offer weekly Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral from 5 December 2009. A sister ship, Cabot Magic, debuted on 1 May 2011. On 1 December 2009 it was announced that Cabot placed an order for a third Dream-class vessel. It entered service in June 2012 and its homeport is now Galveston. On May 10, 2010, Cabot selected a name for their new Dream-class vessel in 2012 – Cabot Breeze.

On 26 October 2012, it was announced that Cabot had ordered a brand new 133,500 GT ship for their Cabot Cruise Line brand. This ship, built by Fincantieri, was the largest ship they have ever built. It sailed its maiden voyage on May 1, 2016. The new ship was named Cabot Vista.

In January 2017, Michael Thamm was appointed CEO of Cabot Asia to oversee operations in China and the surrounding region.

A sister to Cabot Vista, Cabot Horizon, joined the fleet with its inaugural voyage from Barcelona on April 2, 2018. Queen Latifah is the Godmother of the ship for its christening in New York on May 23, 2018.

Cabot Panorama is set to join the fleet in December 2019.

In February 2018, the company’s officials unveiled a major port development project in Ensenada, Mexico.