Best Cruise Lines of the Year Named by Cruise Critic

The year is almost over and Cruise Critic has named the best and most highly rated cruise lines of 2017.

The best cruise lines of the year have been named by the popular cruise community site reader awards. Not just the cruise lines but also the cruise ships across dozens of cruise related categories. A wide range of categories was covered including best new cruise ship, best value, best cabins and more. Ocean, river and Luxury cruising was all covered by the annual awards.

Colleen McDaniel, Senior Executive Editor of Cruise Critic, explains:

“More now than ever, there really is a cruise for every interest. You can sail to remote areas of the world aboard a small expedition vessel, or in the comfort of a luxury ship complete with spa treatments and gourmet food. You can travel to the Caribbean on a brand-new ship with bells and whistles like water parks and bumper cars, or on a five-masted sailing ship. The options are endless, and this list highlights the lines that have stood out as the best of the best over the past year.”

Take a look at the result from this year’s Cruise Critic 9th annual Editors’ Picks Awards:

Ocean Category

Best New Ship: MSC Seaside
Best Ship Refurbishment: Holland America Line Westerdam
Best for Adventure: Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic
Best Cabins: Celebrity Cruises
Best Dining: Holland America Line
Best Entertainment: Disney Cruise Line
Best for Families: Disney Cruise Line
Best Itineraries: Princess Cruises
Best Nightlife: Norwegian Cruise Line
Best for Romance: Celebrity Cruises
Best Service: Carnival Cruise Line
Best Shore Excursions: Celebrity Cruises
Best for Solo Travelers: Norwegian Cruise Line
Best Suites: Royal Caribbean International
Best Value for Money: Carnival Cruise Line
Best North American Homeport: Quebec City

River Category

Best River Cruise Line: AmaWaterways
Best New River Cruise Ship: Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection’s Joie de Vivre
Best Ship Refurbishment: Scenic Diamond/Scenic Sapphire
Best for Active Cruisers: AmaWaterways
Best for Adventure: Pandaw River Cruises
Best Cabins: Avalon Waterways
Best Dining: Crystal River Cruises
Best Enrichment: Viking River Cruises
Best for Families: Adventures by Disney
Best for First-Timers: Viking River Cruises
Best Itineraries: CroisiEurope
Best for Luxury: Tauck River Cruising
Best Shore Excursions: Viking River Cruises
Best Value for Money: Emerald Waterways

Luxury Category

Best Luxury Cruise Line: Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Best New Luxury Ship: Silversea’s Silver Muse
Best Refurbishment: Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Symphony
Best for Adventure: Silversea Cruises
Best Cabins: Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Best Dining: Oceania Cruises
Best Enrichment: Seabourn Cruise Line
Best Itineraries: Azamara Club Cruises
Best for Romance: Windstar Cruises
Best Service: Crystal Cruises
Best Shore Excursions: Azamara Club Cruises
Best for Solo Travelers: Crystal Cruises
Best Spa: Viking Ocean Cruises
Best Value for Money: Viking Ocean Cruises

For the Ocean category, all the major cruise lines were pretty equal with Carnival Cruise Line picking up best service and best value for money, Celebrity Cruises picked up three awards, Disney Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line picked up two awards and Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean only got awarded with one award each. Two cruise ships were also chosen with MSC Seaside awarded best new cruise ship and Holland Americas Westerdam awarded best cruise ship refurbishment.

December means awards season for the cruise industry with many major cruise and travel related sites announcing their annual cruise awards. Cruise Hive is also in on the action and we love cruise ships so much we have a very focused “Cruise Ship Awards 2017” which will soon be closed for voting and results to be announced.