Best cruise line
winners - 12 categories

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Luxury

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.

Runner-up: Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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Upmarket-Luxury

Azamara Club Cruises Its category lies between mid-priced and luxury, providing luxury with affordable prices. The two 694-passenger Azamara ships - Quest and Journey - sail worldwide and enjoy a high repeat percentage among its passengers. Azamara Cub Cruises is the high-end member of the Royal Caribbean group of cruise lines.

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Upmarket

Celebrity Cruises New World and European itineraries (one ship docks in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival). The average ship of the Celebrity Cruises fleet accommodates about 2,000 passengers each. Families with children are welcomed. Overall quality is well above average.

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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.

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Boutique-size cruise ship

SeaDream Yacht Club It has twin all-suite cruise ships. They cater to sophisticated seasoned cruisers. Each accommodates just 112 passengers in 55 cabins. The twin SeaDreams give you a yacht-cruise experience. 

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Adventure cruise

Lindblad / National Geographic jointly operates small, personable-sized ships. Itineraries include Antarctica and Galapagos. The line attracts affluent, seasoned travelers. Lindblad/National Geographic sailings are geared for the independent or small-group minded traveler. Rates are high end.

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Dining

 

Crystal Cruises 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.

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Family - with children 11 and younger

 

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.

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Family - with children 12 and older

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.

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Family - Multigenerational

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 four-year old to grandparent.

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Honeymoon

Paul Gauguin 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 is casual, relaxed - just right for honeymooning. The 300 passengers enjoy French and Polynesian dining, spa treatments, watersports, and shore excursions.

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Tall-masted sailing ships

Sea Cloud delivers a grand, elegant experience on its two sailing ships, the Sea Cloud and Sea Cloud II. The first has a refined yesteryear ambiance and an interesting story on how the vessel came to be. Furnishings are classic and shipboard quality is high. The Windstar cruise line is the runner-up in the sailing ship category.

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River Cruise

Many small cruise lines sail on rivers, canals, and backwaters around the world.

Click River cruises to see my tips & insights on these destinations: Nile, Yangtze, Kerala, Rhine, Mekong, Amazon, Danube, Rhine-Danube, Volga, and Canal du Midi. I rank the Top 10 river cruise destinations and give each one its own web page and locator map.

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Best cruise lines by category
22 cruise lines - descriptions
Top 10 destinations
Cabin selection
Cruise costs
Booking advice
Shore excursions
Cruise pros & cons
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