Condè Nast Traveler, a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine, conducted a two-month survey where readers voted on their favorite cruise lines in service, food, accommodations, sustainability and more.
While Norwegian Cruise Line is the third largest cruise line in the world, readers of Condè Nast Traveler ranked it as the best cruise line for mega ships. Mega ships are those carrying more than 4,000 passengers. Currently, Norwegian Cruise Line has a 19 ship fleet and operates two private islands—Harvest Caye in Belize and Great Stirrup Cay in The Bahamas. The cruise lines were scored on a 100-point scale and Norwegian Cruise Line scored 86.72.
Royal Caribbean International came in just behind Norwegian Cruise Line with a score of 86.68. Rounding at the top four were Carnival Cruise Line with 85.35 and MSC Cruises with 83.42.
The magazine also surveyed readers for the best cruise line for large ships. Large ships are those who carry 2,500 to 4,000 passengers.
Founded just eight years ago, Virgin Voyages took the top honor in the large ship category with a score of 94.07. Virgin Voyages is an adults-only cruise line that currently operates three ships.
Coming in second with a 92.21 is Disney Cruise Line. Cunard was third with a score of 89,55 while Princess Cruises was a close fourth at 89.42. Rounding out the list in order were Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, MSC Cruises, P&O Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line.
The survey also revealed that only 27% of the magazine’s readers took a cruise in 2022, but more than half of those that responded were curious about cruising and willing to book a cruise under the right circumstances, such as the right itinerary and pricing.
Which ships have you sailed on? Do you agree with these results?