Best cruise lines

Best cruise line
winners - 11 categories

Luxury - Small ship


Silversea Cruises attracts the older, more affluent, and better traveled passenger. Activities, shore excursions and entertainment are sophisticated. Most evenings are formal, but in a relaxed elegant manner. Silversea food and service are admirable.

Luxury - Mid-sized ship



Regent Seven Seas Cruises attracts a audience similar to the Silvesea Cruises (see above), but the tone aboard the Regent fleet is a bit more relaxed. Regent's star ship is the 700-passenger Seven Seas Voyager, which I feature in my special 10-page What It's Like on a Luxury Cruise Ship section (click here to view it). RSSC also operates the Mariner, Navigator and Gauguin.

Mid-price range


Royal Caribbean is a good choice for the average first-time cruiser because its ships have a middle-of-the-road mix of passengers in terms of age, education, culture interests, and bank accounts. Food is not gourmet, but neither is it lackluster. Passengers party, but not to an excessive degree. There are children, but not in an overwhelming number. Activities are many and varied.

Adventure cruise


Abercrombie & Kent operates small, personable ships. Itineraries span the globe. Appeals to affluent, seasoned travelers.  Abercrombie & Kent sailings are geared for the independent (not group) minded traveler. Service and rates are high end.

Children cruise


Disney Cruise Line has age-specific children activities, programs, and facilities, ranging from nursery to teenage. As in Disney World, the staff is immensely friendly. Parents and grandparents will not feel left out. Many facilities appeal to both child and adult - and some are for adults only. Rates are average.

Dining


Crystal Cruise has outstanding onboard restaurants. The dishes are prepared by skilled, dedicated chefs. Food presentation has an alluring style. Crystal Cruise table service is polished yet personable. And dining room ambiance has a relaxed elegant feeling.

Family Cruise


Carnival Cruise Line is family friendly and vigorously courts the family market. Its ships are modern and large (some accommodate several thousand passengers). This allows the Carnival Cruise Line to offer a wide variety of activities and facilities to please all ages, from grandparent to four-year old.

Honeymoon



Regent Seven Seas Cruises has a small cruise ship named the Paul Gauguin that sails to the romantic Polynesian Islands, including Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. The onboard ambiance on this Regent Seven Seas ship is casual, relaxed - just right for honeymooning. The 300 passengers enjoy French and Polynesian dining, spa treatments, watersports, and shore excursions.

River Cruise



Victoria Cruises has a large fleet of fine-conditioned ships that sail exclusively on the Yangtze River in central China. All cabins on the major vessels of the Victoria Cruises fleet have large windows for viewing the passing riverside activities and scenery. Shore excursions are stimulating. The staff is accommodating and skilled.

Teen Cruise


Royal Caribbean International has special facilities and activities geared for teens, including teen-only dance clubs, rock-wall climbing, in-line skating, ice skating, volleyball, basketball, and team sports. Teens are grouped by age, 12- to 14- and 15- to 17- years old.

20-something party cruise


Carnival Cruise Line attracts more partying under-30 cruisers than its competition. One reason is that it was the first to aggressively market the fun-in-the-sun concept to the 20-something single and young-married audiences. It is now entrenched in that generation's word of mouth as being "the" party cruise line. Rates are moderate.

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