So you want to go cruising but you’re confused by itineraries, stateroom categories, the differences in ships and in cruise lines? I know it can be daunting. When I first started in this industry more than two decades ago, I scratched my head for a few years before I began to understand what distinguishes one cruise line from the other and one destination from the other.
Together, our aim is to fast-track you to a point of understanding the vessel, the itinerary and even the stateroom that best fits your needs. With more than 500 ships sailing the oceans and rivers, that’s a tall order but one that we’re up for.
To help you sort through the options, this page features links to cruise reviews for all cruise ships as well as Live Voyage Reports from many of the ships that we’ve sailed on. The Live Voyage Reports give you a sense of what it’s like to be traveling along with us.
We also review river cruisers on our sister site, River Cruise Advisor.
We also have a slew of port profiles. So while our cruise reviews are designed to help you make informed vacation decisions so that you end up on the right vessel and in the right stateroom, our Port Profiles help you find the right itinerary.
But you have some work to do before you begin reading those reviews and port profiles.
Ready? Let’s go.
1. Decide On A Cruise Category
Not all cruise ships are created equal – they come in all shapes and sizes. Photo courtesy Royal Caribbean
In the cruise industry, we’ve come up with a way to categorize ships. There is certainly a blurring between the categories, but it may help you to think of cruises in the following categories:
- Mainstream | Big Ship Cruises (Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, etc.)
- Family Cruises (Disney Cruise Line)
- Luxury Cruises (Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea, etc.)
- Niche Cruises (Hurtigruten, Un-Cruise Adventures, etc.)
- Premium Cruise Lines (Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, etc.)
- River Cruises
- Sailing Ships (Windstar Cruises, Star Clippers)
- Upper Premium Cruise Lines (Azamara Club Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Viking, etc.)
Got money to burn? Go Luxury All The Way
One of the luxurious Category AB balcony staterooms aboard Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Serenity. Photo courtesy of Crystal Cruises
If you feel comfortable budgeting $300 to $1,000 per day per person, look to the luxury cruise players such as Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line (grill class), Hapag Lloyd, Paul Gauguin, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club and Seabourn.
Actually, though these cruise lines command higher fares than the rest of the cruise lines on this page, luxury cruises can be a great value.
See Assessing The Cost Of Luxury Cruises: Ten Value-Added Extras; What’s The Real Cost?
Also, because most luxury cruise ships are small ships, you may also want to read Five Reasons Why I Prefer Cruising On Smaller Ships
Looking To Save A Bit But Still Go In Style? Go Premium
The Hydrotherapy Pool aboard Holland America Line’s Eurodamis a great example of an upper-premium cruise offering. Photo courtesy of Holland America Line
For a bit less investment than luxury cruises, you can cruise on the upper-premium ships operated by Azamara Club Cruises and Oceania Cruises, as well as the mid-sized premium-class vessels that make up the fleets of Celebrity Cruises and Holland America Line (often erroneously called, Holland American).
Big Ships Can Offer Big Value
Big ships offer plenty of advantages, particularly for multi-generational cruisers. Photo © 2014 Aaron Saunders
You’ll also find cruise reviews of such popular large-ship cruise lines as Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. These cruise lines typically offer the best lead-in rates.
Families traveling together may want to look at Disney Cruise Line, although any of the big ship cruise lines mentioned in the preceding paragraph also do a great job with families.
Windstar Cruises’ Wind Star off Portovenere, Italy. Photo © 2013 Aaron Saunders
If you love the sensation of sailing, take a look at Star Clippers and Windstar Cruises. These companies offer intimate experiences that connect you with the wind and waves while providing a closer view of marine life and ship operations. It can be an exhilarating experience, feeling the power of the wind as it fuels your voyage.
Ice Cruise: Hurtigruten’s Trollfjord in Kirkenes, Norway. Niche expedition cruising never looked so good! © 2013 Ralph Grizzle
Niche Cruises offer some incredible vacation experiences, that are not only enriching but also potentially life-changing. Hurtigruten plies the Norwegian coast, and sails to Spitzbergen, Greenland and Antarctica. Lindblad Expeditions operates National Geographic expedition vessels in destinations that span the globe. Un-Cruise Adventures offers expeditions to Alaska, Baja California and Hawaii.
2. Decide Where You Want To Go
Decide where you want to go; even Antarctica isn’t out of the question! © 2014 Yuriy Rzhemovskiy for Avid Travel Media Inc.
After you’ve figured out your ship style, you’ll want to start scanning a world map to decide where you want to cruise. Cruising can take you just about anywhere from the vast oceans of the world, pole-to-pole, to rivers that cut through the heart of continents. Port Profilesis designed to help you explore the various regions where cruise ships operate.
3. Find A Good Travel Agent
You won’t pay more using a travel agent than you would going to the cruise line direct, so take advantage of this great, and free, resource.
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