Objectives  To explore the implementation approach of Chinese cultural connotations in style design of cruise ships.

  Methods  This paper presents the design concept of a "fusion of Chinese culture and contemporary spirit", and summarizes the design principles and processes of a cruise ship from the perspective of design art. The main principles are: appearance and internality coordination, entirety and elements coordination, characteristics and framework coordination, rationality and perception coordination.

  Results  Based on the methods and principles of cruise ship modeling design with Chinese cultural connotations, and aiming at the design modeling and characteristics of modern cruise ships, this paper systematically divides cruise ships into four main design styles, namely, classical style, new Chinese style, modern style, and elegant style.

  Conclusions  Combining with a large number of design examples, four design styles are summarized and analyzed, which provides a direction for the style design of domestic cruise ships.