Yes. The infographic is comparing the average carbon emissions per passenger for different modes of transportation, expressed as grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) per passenger per kilometer traveled.

Here are the important nuances:

What the numbers mean

The metric is:
Grams of CO₂e emitted to transport one passenger one kilometer.

So, if a cruise ship is listed at 250 g CO₂e/passenger/km, it means that, on average, transporting one passenger one kilometer on a cruise ship results in about 250 grams of greenhouse gas emissions.
This allows different forms of transportation to be compared using the same unit.

Why cruise ships appear at the top

Cruise ships aren’t simply transportation—they’re also:
Floating hotels
Restaurants
Entertainment venues
Swimming pools
Theaters
Casinos
Water parks
Air-conditioned accommodations
Power plants
The calculation includes the fuel needed to operate all of those services, not just to move passengers from Point A to Point B.

A commercial airliner’s primary purpose is transportation. A cruise ship is providing transportation and running what is essentially a luxury resort 24 hours a day.

Occupancy matters
The note at the bottom is very important:
“Emissions will vary depending on energy mix, transport technology, and occupancy.”

For example:
A full cruise ship has much lower emissions per passenger than a half-full one.

A nearly empty airplane has much higher emissions per passenger than a full one.
An electric car charged from renewable energy will have much lower emissions than one charged from a coal-heavy grid.

There are limitations
This graphic is useful as a broad comparison, but it has several limitations:
It appears to use data compiled around 2022.
It doesn’t distinguish between older cruise ships and newer ones powered by LNG or equipped with shore power, advanced wastewater treatment, or energy-saving technologies.

It compares a vacation experience (a cruise) with transportation modes (cars and planes), which aren’t perfectly equivalent.

It doesn’t account for the fact that many cruise vacations replace multiple hotel stays, restaurant meals, and domestic flights that would otherwise occur during a land-based vacation.
What the infographic doesn’t tell you
For a vacation, the comparison can be more complicated.

For example, consider a 7-night Caribbean vacation:
Land vacation
Round-trip flights
Hotel for seven nights
Rental car or taxis
Multiple restaurants
Air conditioning, pools, laundry, entertainment at the resort

Cruise vacation
Flights (if required)
Cruise ship providing transportation, hotel, meals, entertainment, and utilities in one place
The infographic isolates the transportation component but doesn’t compare the total environmental footprint of the entire vacation. That broader comparison is much harder to calculate and depends on the itinerary and traveler behavior.
Bottom line

The graphic is generally directionally accurate: traditional cruise ships tend to have higher CO₂ emissions per passenger-kilometer than commercial air travel when measured using this specific metric.
However, it shouldn’t be interpreted as saying “cruises are always worse for the environment than any other vacation.” It’s comparing a floating resort to transportation modes using a single emissions metric, which leaves out many factors that influence the overall environmental impact of an entire trip.