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Have you ever wondered which cruise ships are rated the best in the world?

Conde Nast Traveler recently tried to answer that question by unveiling its annual list of the top cruise ships on the planet. And while the magazine’s list is just one of many produced by travel and media organizations, it happens to be one of the best because the results are based exclusively on the opinions of its thousands of readers from around the world.

In this survey, the readers of Conde Nast rated 471 cruise ships on a 100-point scale based on seven criteria – activities/facilities; cabins; crew/service; design/layout; food/dining; itineraries/schedule; and, shore excursions. The magazine then broke the scores down into three classes of ship size – small ships carrying fewer than 500 people; large ships that hold between 500 to 2,500 passengers; and mega-ships that carry more than 2,500 people.

So who were the winners?

In the small-ship class, the top two spots went to a pair of sailing yachts called Sea Cloud II (98 total points) and Sea Cloud (93.6). The latter began life as the largest private yacht in the world built for millionaires E.F. Hutton and Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1931. The ship was restored to its original glory in 1979 and has since been offering luxurious cruises in the Caribbean as part of Sea Cloud Cruises.

Amazingly, the 64-passenger Sea Cloud II earned perfect scores of 100 in five of the seven categories including itineraries, shore excursions, service, food, and ship design. Out of 50 ships rated in the small ship class, only four earned a mark of 100 in at least one category. In contrast, no ship in the large and mega-ship classes earned a mark of more than 96.4 in any category.

Rounding out the top five spots in the small-ship class were the River Duchess and the Seabourn Spirit tied for third with 91.5 points, and the Seabourn Legend at 90.8 points.

In the large-ship class, the Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony finished first and second with total scores of 93 and 92.4 respectively. The Serenity earned top marks for service (96.4), food (95) and ship design (95.8). In addition, the food scores for both the Serenity and Symphony (94.6) were the highest among all vessels in the large and mega-ship classes.

The Seven Seas Voyager from Regent placed third in the large-ship class with a total score of 90.9, followed by the Queen Victoria from Cunard (90.1) and the Seven Seas Mariner from Regent (90). Interestingly, the Queen Victoria grabbed top marks in two categories – shore excursions (88.6) and activities (95.5). The latter was the highest mark achieved in this category among all classes of ship, which is not surprising given that the Queen Victoria offers a wide range of activities including fencing and ballroom dancing.

In the mega-ship class, the Celebrity Solstice earned top honours with a total score of 88.9 points, followed by the Disney Wonder (88.2). The Solstice, which has been garnering great reviews since it was launched in late 2008, features a number of industry firsts like a top deck with real grass, a glass-blowing show, a private restaurant for spa-class passengers, and a martini bar topped with ice. It earned top marks among all classes of ship for cabin design (96.3) and best among mega-ships for food (85).

Rounding out the mega-class ship ratings, the Independence of the Seas from Royal Caribbean finished in third place with 87.9 total points, followed by the Disney Magic (87.7) and the Ruby Princess (83.6). Impressively, the Independence of the Seas earned top honours in three categories – itineraries (93.2), shore excursions (83.3) and ship design (95.5).

If we combine the scores from each class into a single list, you might expect the top five ships to come from the small-ship class. After all, these ships tend to be more expensive and exclusive. 

However, while the Sea Cloud II (98 total points) and the Sea Cloud (93.6) ranked first and second, the next two spots went to the Crystal Serenity (93) and Crystal Symphony (92.4) from the large-ship class. The only other large ship to crack the top 10 list was the Seven Seas Voyager, which finished 7th (90.9).

For handy reference, here is a list of the top 10 cruise ships as rated by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine:

1. Sea Cloud II – 98 points

2. Sea Cloud – 93.6 points

3. Crystal Serenity – 93 points

4. Crystal Symphony – 92.4 points

5. River Duchess – 91.5 points*

5. Seabourn Spirit – 91.5 points*

7. Seven Seas Voyager – 90.9 points

8. Seabourn Legend – 90.8 points

9. River Concerto – 90.6 points

10. Bizet – 90.4 points

(* Tied)

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