Best Cruise Lines In 2024: Norwegian vs Royal Caribbean vs Carnival vs Princess vs Celebrity
| Best Overall | For Kids | Most Flexible | Budget Friendly |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Read Review | Read Review | Read Review | Read Review |
| View on Priceline | View on Priceline | View on Priceline | View on Priceline |
Want a hassle-free getaway with little to no worries about planning an itinerary, finding good restaurants or arranging transportation from one place to the next? Why not consider taking a cruise? Cruises are popular with families and adults alike for a simple reason — they take the “work” out of your vacation (and its planning) so you can sit back, relax and enjoy.
With today’s cruise options, you have your pick of amazing destinations, high-quality onboard entertainment and activities, fine dining, and much more. While the COVID-19 pandemic saw a dip in cruises (and 31 ships retired worldwide), the industry has overhauled its offerings and revamped onboard experiences to lure people back to the seas. Several new ships have set sail, and some cruise lines have deep discounts and sales in addition to improvements to help attract new and returning cruisers.
6 Benefits Of Cruises
Why consider a cruise over a single-destination vacation, especially if you’ve never taken one? Although you don’t get to soak up a single destination for long, many benefits exist.
- Value: A cruise typically costs less per person for lodging, meals, and activities than a vacation to one destination. However, almost all cruises charge extra for alcoholic beverages and shore excursions.
- Less Planning: Once you choose your desired cruise, there’s not much planning left to do once you’re on board.
- Multiple Destinations: Depending on your cruise length, you may travel to multiple ports of call and even find your next vacation location.
- Easier to Track Costs: Since most meals and activities are included while on board, you don’t have to worry as much about accruing additional travel costs.
- No Hassle Transportation: There are no subway systems to navigate, taxis to find, car rentals, etc. It’s a much easier way to relax and enjoy everything within walking distance.
- No baggage fees: Unlike flying, where you have to pay extra for bags or worry about jamming everything into one carry-on, this allows you the flexibility to bring what you need.
Why Consider A Cruise?
Some people love cruises; some don’t savor the idea, even though they’ve never tried one. Although seemingly popular, according to CruiseMarketWatch.com, only 24% of the U.S. population has ever taken a cruise vacation.
What does this mean for U.S. travelers? The cruise market is trying to entice more U.S. customers, so you likely can find some pretty good deals, especially during non-peak times.
Cruises can be an excellent getaway for singles, couples, and families. Consider a cruise if you’ve done the same old one-destination vacation and want to explore something new.
Nowadays, you can find many enriching experiences for your whole family and explore parts of the world you might not have the opportunity to see otherwise.
7 Factors You Should Consider In A Cruise
- Cost per traveler, what’s included in the per person rate, and any additional fees
- Dates and length of cruise
- Departure locations
- Your desired destinations/ports of call
- Ship amenities & quality of food
- Onboard activities & entertainment
- Customer service reputation
Best Cruise Lines (By Type)
We’ll give you our choices for the best cruise lines, considering all the factors and details we covered above. Our top picks are in the “best of” categories to help you find the best cruises for your individual needs.
Best Overall: Celebrity Cruises Review
Celebrity Cruises wins our top spot for the best overall cruise line and best cruise line for couples. What sets them apart? There are many reasons why they’ve been voted Best Premium Cruise Line by Travel Weekly’s Reader’s Choice Awards for eight years in a row.
Celebrity’s ships are among the most stylish compared to all other major cruise lines. Consumers rave about their specialty restaurants and level of service — Celebrity has more crew members per passenger than other major lines. And they offer a wider variety of onboard activities (not just pools and live shows — although they have those, too). You may pay more for your initial cruise package, but Celebrity doesn’t charge an arm and a leg for “extras” on board.
Onboard activity highlights include adult-only pools, indoor pools, spas, basketball, mini golf, arcades, trivia contests, casinos, upscale live musicals, comedy shows, glass-blowing classes, dance contests, interactive Top Chef Quickfire Challenges (they partner with the Emmy Award-winning Bravo show), presentations by naturalists and experts about the history and culture of your ports of call, and much more.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Fleet is smaller, so there are not quite as many options for dates, departure locations, destinations, etc. | Onshore excursions not included in cruise rates |
| Smaller ship options (starting at 800 capacity) | More onboard activities are included in cruise rates than some competitors |
| Cabin sizes and options are above average | Automatic tipping charge per day |
| More onboard activities included in cruise rates than some competitors | |
| Food quality is excellent, among the best out there. “Dine Aware” program caters to passengers with food allergies and special dietary needs | |
| In addition to traditional pools & sports, many onboard activities include fun, educational programs for kids & teens | |
| Plenty of adult activities — good for couples | |
| Entertainment and live shows are high quality | |
| Excellent customer service and crew |
Kid-Friendly: Disney Cruise Lines Review
Disney Cruise Lines, quite obviously, is the best cruise line for younger kids and their families, and we’ve also chosen them as our best for kids. Their ships are surprisingly elegant with more spacious cabins compared to other major cruise lines.
The Disney element is carefully scattered throughout the ship so as not to overdo it, but when it comes to a lot of the activities, it’s definitely Disney. Most of their cruises are heavily kid-centered, although they do offer a few adult-only decks, pools and restaurants (even an adult only beach on their private island, Castaway Cay). If your kids love Disney, they deliver ten-fold, and the babysitters are awesome.
There are some secluded spaces and activities for teens, but not as many as some other cruise lines offer. If you’re looking for an excellent vacation with kids under 12 and don’t mind the Disney-themed vacation, take a serious look at Disney.
Onboard activity highlights: kid & adult-only pools, mini golf, basketball & volleyball courts, Disney musicals & live shows, Star Wars Day at Sea (on Disney’s Fantasy ship), movies, fireworks, fitness center, spa, nightclub (no casino)
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Pricing is affordable for the quality | Food and dining choices are largely kid-oriented (although each ship has at least one adult-only fine dining choice) |
| Stops at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, are included in cruise rates (but their other onshore excursions cost extra) | Smaller variety of departure locations, dates, cruise lengths and destinations |
| Cabins are more spacious than other major cruise lines | Not the best choice for couples wanting time away from kids |
| Ship sizes aren’t as mammoth as Royal Caribbean or Norwegian | |
| Excellent activities for kids, teens and whole family — majority included in cruise rates | |
| High quality live shows and entertainment | |
| No automatic gratuity policy | |
| Great customer service and crew |
Most Flexible: Norwegian Cruise Line Review
Are you looking for a more laid back cruise experience? Norwegian Cruise Line could be just what you need. With no dress code or fixed dining times, Norwegian bucks the trend of most other major cruise lines.
Although they tend to be on the pricier side, they provide reduced rates for kids under 2, and they offer a wide variety of specialty restaurants on each ship and a more diverse list of activities than many other lines. Their typical passengers include couples, honeymooners and families.
Norwegian provides plenty of kid, teen and adult-oriented activities, but their standard cabins are smaller than most other lines. However, look for ship improvements. Norwegian is investing $400 million in fleet-wide upgrades and experience enhancements.
If you’re single or a couple looking for a longer-range cruise, we recommend you look into Norwegian.
Onboard activity highlights: Nickelodeon characters, water slides, bowling alley, gourmet beer bar, trivia contests, wine tasting events, Broadway shows, improvisational comedy shows, dancing and cooking lessons, casino, separate teen center.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Wide variety of specialty restaurants on every ship | Pricier than some of its competitors |
| Longer voyages offered as well as good options for destinations, departure locations and dates | Standard cabins are smaller than most other cruise lines |
| Above average live shows and entertainment | You end up paying more for some onboard activities that other cruise lines include in their rates |
| Great variety of activities | Some consumers report their level of customer service has dropped |
| No automatic gratuity policy | |
| Good for couples (especially when kids are in school) | |
| Large ships but consumers say they don’t feel as crowded as other mega ships |
Budget Friendly: Carnival Cruise Lines Review
A Carnival cruise is best summed up as a floating Los Vegas, with a fairly flamboyant and high-energy atmosphere. Carnival is all about boisterous fun, but they have toned it down from years past.
Carnival is extremely budget friendly, but what you save in money you lose in luxury. Their ships just aren’t as upscale as many other major cruise lines. Still, Carnival offers a huge variety of entertainment and dining options — and they include a majority of onboard activities in their cruise rates. If you’re looking for a bargain, Carnival frequently offers sale prices and incentives.
Onboard activity highlights: water slides, sports courts, water parks, mini-golf, jogging track, ropes course, kids camps, spa, fitness center, adult-only pools, Vegas-style live shows, comedy acts, live popular comedian and band performances, IMAX movies, casino, nightclubs, piano bars and more.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Most affordable of all major cruise lines we reviewed | Onboard activities lack learning opportunities |
| Larger variety of cabin types and sizes | Automatic tipping charge per day |
| Majority of onboard activities included in cruise rates | Ships are large, loud and can get fairly crowded |
| Wide variety of dining options with more flexible dining times than some competitors | Consumers report that customer service and crew are decent, but not as high quality as some other lines |
| Large fleet with a lot of dates, departure locations and destinations | |
| Good for younger couples looking for a rowdy vacation | |
| Alcoholic beverages less expensive than most competitors |
Our Other Best Cruise Lines Choices
Although they didn’t make it into our top winners, Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean are still major players in the industry. Each has its unique experiences, and they’re definitely worth consideration. Click below on a cruise line you’re interested in to jump to the review.
Princess Cruises Review
Princess Cruises is another solid option for budget-minded travelers.
They have a large fleet, so there are plenty of cruise options, but if you’re looking for a kid-oriented mega ship, you might want to look elsewhere. Passengers run on the older side (40’s, 50’s, 60’s), but younger couples and families are starting to choose Princess more often now than in the past, and they have plenty of kid and teen activities to satisfy all age groups.
Featured as the “Love Boat” in the hit TV series, Princess is still a good option for couples looking for a romantic getaway. Princess has been hard at work enhancing its passenger experience with the fleet-wide addition of new club class mini-suites and club class dining options.
They’ve also forged new partnerships with celebrity chef Curtis Stone, master chocolatier Norman Love, the Discovery Network, and Stephen Schwartz (award-winning composer of Wicked) for a variety of new onboard enrichment experiences.
Onboard activity highlights: pools, sports tournaments, spa, fitness center & classes, putting greens, upscale bars, casino, learning program with classes in digital photography, Italian cooking, etc., book club, live shows, kid camps, teen lounges, dance parties and more.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Pricing slightly higher than Carnival but still overall a good budget alternative | Their larger ships can seem crowded at peak vacation times |
| Smaller ship options (starting at 680 capacity) | While they offer a variety of cabin types, they tend to be smaller than some competitors |
| Large fleet so plenty of different cruise options and destinations (cruises up to 100 days long) | Not ideal for families with kids and teens — typically an older crowd |
| Good variety of dining options and flexible dining times (they’ve upgraded their food quality in recent years) | Automatic tipping charge per day |
| Most onboard activities | |
| Great for couples of all age groups with romantic touches in their amenities | |
| Consumers report overall great customer service and crew |
Royal Caribbean Review
Royal Caribbean is one of the most popular cruise lines (especially for multi-generational families), but don’t let their name confuse you. Royal Caribbean’s fleet of 23 ships sails to 235 destinations in 69 countries across the globe.
Their pricing is competitive, and the number and variety of onboard activities are impressive. Royal Caribbean offers something for any age group, making it our Best Cruise Line for Families. In addition to onboard sports and water activities, they offer a host of fun, educational programs for kids as young as three up to adult-age language courses. Their Port excursions also include a wide variety of activities for all age groups.
Onboard activity highlights: zipline, rock wall, ice rink, zero-gravity machine, water park, pools, casino, spa, nightclubs, Broadway-style shows, Dreamworks Experience for kids.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Affordable initial pricing for the whole family | Most ships are extremely large (if you’re not into huge crowds) – However, this could be a pro if you’re prone to motion sickness as it’s less likely to affect you on larger ships. |
| Great choices of activities for all family members — kids, teens, adults | You end up paying for more onboard activities compared to other lines |
| Extensive variety of dates, departure locations, cruise lengths and destinations all over the world | Cabins are small on their older ships |
| Royal Suite Class luxury suites include inclusive amenities, personal concierge and more | Not ideal for couples looking for a romantic getaway |
| Wide variety of specialty restaurants | Automatic tipping charge of $13.50+ per day |
| Addition of VOOM fleet-wide for faster onboard WiFi | Some customer complaints about sub-par customer service and crew |
| New rewards program: earn points for discounts on next cruise | A lot of customers aren’t crazy about the food quality |
How Much Fun Is A Cruise?
Check out the video below to see how much fun a Carnival cruise (and other cruise lines) can be.
Adventure Travel Companies – Sit Back And Relax
Perhaps boat travel isn’t active enough for you, though. If that is the case, take a look at these adventure travel websites. Ready to pack your bags?
Have you been on a cruise? Who did you go with and what was your experience? Let us know in the comments!
When was this written? NCL, RCL, and Celeb all have auto gratuities.
I am going stir crazy and usually go somewhere warm in January or February to escape the winter cold. I haven’t been on a cruise before though as I’ve heard mixed things about them. While they are affordable and easy I don’t quite know if I’m the right fit for a cruise, but this has sort of made me rock the boat!
Hi Susan M,
I am a 42 year old female, married for 19 years (in April this year!) and you MUST CRUISE…AT LEAST ONCE!
We went on our 1st cruise in April 2013 for our 15th anniversary. My husband was not interested at all in cruising for a long time. However, unbeknownst to me, he began seeking feedback from his coworkers who have cruised to get an idea of whether he should give it a try or not. Thankfully, he agreed to a cruise for our 15th…and I then began my journey of planning. Ultimately, my travel agent (via RCI) recommended Norwegian EPIC. It was a new ship at the time (1st sail in 2010….recently refurbished in 2016?). We were in our late 30s/early 40s at the time. We are not the partying kind. But, wanted something that offered good food, entertainment, music and activities that were very well balanced and also allowed for relaxation time. Plus, we wanted a cruise that was pleasantly mixed with various ages…not all elderly folk…..nor all kids. My husband and I LOVED the Norwegian EPIC ship, it was awesome! Funny thing is….my husband loves to cruise now. We’ve only gone on two cruises thus far…both on the EPIC. We are seriously considering going on the Norwegian Escape, one of Norwegian’s newest ships next year for our 20th anniversary. I can’t speak about the other cruise lines. But, I highly recommend that you give it a try! We also love the “freestyle” way of this cruise. Go!…when and where you want! No set times for dinner, you can dress up if you want to…or not. That is another reason why I chose Norwegian….for their “freestyle cruising”. Before our 1st cruise, my husband had an issue with the concept of having to pick a particular time to eat or having to have to “dress up” for certain events. With Norwegian…not an issue. Their entertainment and shows are very good…and caters to a mixed crowd. Although it was said in the article above that their staterooms are smaller than many….again I haven’t sailed with any other cruise line….but we did not have any issue with the room size. We stayed in an Inside Cabin the first time…a Balcony the 2nd time around. They are both nicely appointed. They also cater to the Solo traveler as well with Studio rooms, which look pretty nice! It beats having to pay the price for two! I hope this helps Susan! Give cruising a try….you’ll have a lot of fun!!
Awesome thanks for sharing your cruising experience, sounds like it’s the key to a happy marriage!