1. Best: Princess Cruises
Each year, over 1,000,000 travelers choose to tour the world with Princess Cruises. This line is mid-priced and features a relaxed vibe, highly-rated programs for children, and pool-side films with free popcorn. It's particularly popular for families and couples.
2. Worst: Dream (Carnival)
Dream of Carnival made headlines when it prevented passengers from leaving after it docked at St. Maarten in 2013. Even more unpleasantly, the ship, at that time, had no power and all the toilets were broken, thus causing human waste to overflow into the cruise liner.
3. Best: AmaWaterways
AmaWaterways offers multi-day trips across Asia, Europe, and Africa, and EscapeHere named it the world's best cruise line. It enjoys a 4.5/5 rating thanks to its small and intimate capacity, spotless and comfortable rooms, and excellent service and meals.
4. Worst: Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line takes you to such beautiful places as the Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska, Europe, and the Bahamas. But it has gained a whole realm of customer complaints for its poor service, pokey cabins, overpriced food, and rigid cancellation policy.
5. Best: Disney Cruise Line
This family-friendly line is devoted to bringing Disney's magic and joy to the water. Its 4 vessels take you to many beautiful destinations, including the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Hawaii, etc. The line earns a 4.3-star rating for its great Disney-themed activities and baby-friendly facilities.
6. Worst: Costa Cruises
Like Dream, Costa also made headlines for the wrong reasons: one ship capsized in 2012, and then another lost power for 12 hours before eventually catching fire. Even worse, customers often criticize the line for countless annoying exclusions, poor customer service, and low-quality food.
7. Best: Oceania Cruises
The 5-vessel fleet with 3 ex-Renaissance ships is the world's largest upper-premium cruise. It boasts restaurants specializing in wine pairings, a cooking school onboard, and suites designed by Ralph Lauren. The line is a perfect option for those who value good wine, service, and art.
8. Worst: Royal Caribbean's Ovation Of The Seas
The 27-strong fleet Royal Caribbean is generally highly-rated, but there is a dud: Ovation of the Seas. The ship, launched in 2016, has earned a lengthy list of customer complaints for its small dining areas and average pool.
9. Best: Carnival Cruise Lines
Though Carnival's Dream has a bad reputation, the line is great in general. It prides itself for offering off-the-wall entertainment with activities like parties, comedy shows, karaoke, and zany contests. Just remember to stay away from Dream and the ship on the next page.
10. Worst: Triumph (Carnival)
Very much like its teammate Dream, Carnival's Triumph is known as the Poop Cruise. That's because the ship subjected staff and more than 4,000 passengers to a cruise without working toilets, air conditioning, and lights, leading to an overflow of human waste.
11. Best: Holland America
Holland America takes travelers to over 500 destinations across the 7 continents. Its comfy and roomy 15-strong fleet focuses on professionalism and relaxing activities over noisy ones. So it's ideally suited for seniors and multi-generational families.
12. Worst: MSC Cruises
A seemingly endless list of complaints makes MSC Cruises one of the world's worst cruise lines. The Switzerland-based company has an awful reputation for its poor food, shabby cabins, poor customer service, and inadequate efforts in reducing the air pollution it emits.
13. Best: Celebrity
Celebrity Cruises has been voted the Best Premium Cruise Line for a remarkable 7 consecutive years by the Travel Weekly Reader Awards. It offers comfort and chic styling at comparatively low prices, plus an impressive onboard art collection and real grass growing on its ships.
14. Worst: Star Clippers
With a 3-star rating, the line's fleet of 3 tall ships is not for the faint-hearted. Lots of customers criticize the vessels for not being child-friendly, not having elevators, and having too many stairs. Plus, the rocking of the ship has made plenty of passengers seasick.
15. Worst: Viking River Cruises
Viking River Cruises is on the list due to repeated changes to its itineraries, costliness, and cramped rooms. It has a 3.4-star rating on Cruiseline.com and is named one of the world's worst cruise options by EscapeHere.
