It offers a top-deck, adults-only Serenity sun deck area; an extensive menu of spa treatments, salon services and fitness classes at the onboard Cloud 9 Spa; and a handful of upmarket cabin offerings. These engineering wonders take home awards every year for their cutting-edge design, first-of-their-kind attractions, world class dining and accommodations, and unforgettable experiences. From the tallest slide at sea, to culinary concepts that take guests from Japan to Italy to Wonderland, the world’s largest cruise ships are full of adventures guaranteed to wow every kind of explorer. “For the most part, luxury cruises appeal to a segment of travelers looking for similar experiences on land – more luxurious offerings, fewer crowds, and phenomenal activities. Luxury cruises tend to be longer than other cruises, so they appeal to guests who have ample time for vacation,” she adds.
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Carnival Horizon: Best ship for luxury lovers
The cruise line's relatively new Go Local shore excursions for small groups bring travelers to under-the-radar destinations, T+L contributing editor and long-time cruiser Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon reported recently. Her 2022 cruise on Riviera included 70 excursions "from canoeing Croatia’s Cetina River to cooking classes in Athens." While its biggest focus of late has been on the family market, it has ships that will appeal to luxury travelers, budget travelers, solo travelers and retirees as well. Most of Disney's sailings are short, whisking passengers away for three to five days.
It List 2024
As a longtime cruise writer, I’ve sailed on more than 170 ships over the course of nearly four decades. They are more technologically advanced and more environmentally friendly. Ships now can produce their water using onboard desalinization plants, and they are cutting their energy use and laying the groundwork for a move away from fossil fuels. They’re exploring new places beyond the Caribbean and Europe and Alaska, from the far reaches of the South Pacific to the west coast of Africa, the southern tip of South America, and the North Pole. If you're looking for something different than Disney's standard West Coast offerings, you can also snag one-way repositioning voyages when the ship changes locations seasonally. Examples include sailings from San Diego to Vancouver or from Vancouver to Honolulu.
Carnival Cruise Line
Get to know the best cruise ships in a variety of categories, based on member review ratings for cruises taken in the last year. A great cruise ship specialty restaurant should feel like date night at an exciting venue – and that’s exactly what Norwegian Cruise Line delivers on its ships. Passengers are spoiled for choice, from upscale Italian in Onda by Scarpetta and delicious Teppanyaki and sushi, to fine French food or Mediterranean fare.
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If you're craving something a bit longer or want to visit a far-flung destination, Disney Dream is the ship you'll want to book. When they aren't busy lounging, teens might also enjoy Uncharted Adventure, a digital scavenger hunt that will take them around the ship to find interactive clues using their mobile phones. A bit of magic is involved, but it's the kind even a skeptical teenager might find interesting. In addition, Norwegian Encore has a large laser tag area on its top deck (one that I can tell you from personal experience is a blast) and a massive indoor gaming and virtual reality zone called the Galaxy Pavilion. This will likely result in you being allocated a cabin at the front or back of the ship, but it will save you money.
Paul Gauguin Cruises
Having sailed in one of Norwegian Epic's cabins for one, I can confidently declare them among the coolest solo digs at sea. I particularly love the "Jetsons" futuristic-style design and the multicolored mood lighting. In short, there are so many family-friendly things to do on Norwegian Encore that you and your kids likely won't be able to do it all in a single, weeklong cruise. For starters, Norwegian Encore is home to some of the most thrilling waterslides at sea, as well as a kiddie splash zone that will have your little ones squealing with delight. But those are just the appetizers when it comes to family fun on the top deck of the ship. If you have more flexibility in your budget, consider what’s important to you in accommodation.
It has a nap room with cribs, a changing area and an activity room with floormats, age-appropriate toys and a TV. For more sporty fun, teens can check out the ship's waterslides or the indoor sports court, where they can play basketball or foosball. For anyone younger than the legal drinking age, the venue's menu offers some nonalcoholic options, including the Cloud City (oat milk with blue raspberry and ice cream) and the Temple Twist (apple, mint, pineapple, ginger beer and kiwi). For teens and tweens, Disney Wish's dedicated lounges are the feature that's likely to be most enticing, offering a more relaxed "come and go" atmosphere that's supervised but less structured. Both clubs have areas for foosball and mocktails, and they offer a general meeting place for kids in the following age groups to find their friends and hang out.
How travelers can use the list
Passengers can choose additional excursions for an extra fee, such as exploring the culinary highlights of Gdánsk, Poland, or biking the streets of Oslo. Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Readers rated individual cruise ships on their cabins and facilities, food, service, itineraries and destinations, excursions and activities, and value.
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If it's swanky digs you're after (and you have the money to spend), you'll find plenty of options on these ships. Here we list our top picks for the best Norwegian cruise ships for five different types of travelers. Pioneered by Norwegian Cruise Line, solo traveler cabins are becoming more common across the industry.
Silversea Cruises topped the list as Best Luxury Cruise Line for the second year in a row. Cruise Critic just announced its annual list of the Best Cruise Lines of The Year. This is the 15th iteration of the list compiled by the online cruise community’s international team of cruise experts.
Other Norwegian cruise ships, such as Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Sun, have specific features that might make them better options for solo travelers or retirees. Certain Norwegian ships are best for budget travelers, while others are best for luxury travelers. If exclusive stateroom enclaves are what you seek, you'll want to book one of the ship's Havana Cabana cabins. All Havana Cabana cruisers get access to an exclusive lanai and pool deck. With a suite booking, you'll also receive priority embarkation and disembarkation. Whether it's a river or an ocean you want to cruise, Scenic can take you there in style.
And for older kids into "Star Wars," the Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge is an immersive way to enjoy some themed fun in a more adult setting. The bar — open to all ages until 9 p.m., when it becomes an adults-only venue — takes visitors on a trip through the galaxy. A screen behind the bar changes every few minutes, with the room making noises and jumping to "hyperspace" to reach the next destination. The bigger Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Bliss all have an 82-cabin solo complex, while two older ships — Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway — have solo areas with 59 cabins.
Luckily, Disney Cruise Line's five ships offer a variety of experiences for all sorts of travelers. All Disney ships have adults-only sun decks and pool areas that are closed to kids, as well as bars and clubs that are off-limits to anyone younger than 18. Notably, the public areas that include these restaurants feel more spacious than many of the other ships in the Norwegian fleet. Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva were built with a higher ratio of space to passengers than earlier Norwegian vessels, which itself is an upscale touch. The ships also have a higher crew-to-passenger ratio than many Norwegian ships, leading to better service.
However, this being Royal Caribbean, you'll also have access to a seemingly endless array of amusements from waterslides to aerial water shows just steps away. But it's not just its larger size that makes Icon of the Seas the best Royal Caribbean ship for families. As TPG saw during an early sneak peek at Icon of the Seas in January, Royal Caribbean has designed the vessel — the first of a new class of ships — specifically to cater to families in a bigger way. In short, the best Royal Caribbean cruise ship for you, if you're traveling with children, might not be the same as the best Royal Caribbean cruise ship for a solo traveler or the best Royal Caribbean cruise ship for a retiree. French line Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot is the world’s most luxurious icebreaker—and one of the best cruise ships in the world.
Dating to 2001, Norwegian Sun is one of Norwegian's oldest and smallest vessels, and it lacks many of the family-focused onboard attractions that are typical for the line's newer and bigger vessels. You won't find big waterparks, go-kart racing tracks or laser tag zones on this ship. Only solos staying in the solo cabins (via keycards) can access the Studio Lounge, meaning that you and your new solo friends will have the place to yourselves. The entryway to each of these ships, for instance, deposits you at the three-story-high Penrose Atrium, which may be the most beautiful atrium of any big ship at sea. It has a curvy, sculptural feel as if the entire space were an art piece.
Named the best small-ship ocean cruise line in T+L's 2022 World's Best Awards, Golden said the line is known for Tahitian-inspired massage techniques in the onboard spa and noted that cruisers particularly love the wonderful staff. In addition to a comedy club and an onboard spa, the ship also offers an adults-only sun deck, several bars and lounges, and plenty of dining options and daily activities to stave off boredom on longer voyages. Choosing a Carnival cruise ship is no simple task, especially if you're new to cruising. As one of the largest cruise brands in the world, Carnival Cruise Line has more than two dozen vessels in its fleet, offering everything from megaship adventures to smaller-ship experiences. Many variables — price, embarkation dates, travel companions, ship size and amenities, and destination — can shape the way you make your choice.
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