Best Rated Cruise Lines Revealed
When you are picking a cruise ship holiday, there will be numerous competing factors in your mind that place pressure on your decision. Where to go is really only the start of it. If, for example, you are set on going to the Caribbean, you might think that your decision is all but made. The fact is that, if you're going to do things properly, deciding where to go is the easy part. After that comes the part that could make or break your holiday - who do you go with? And before you say "my family/wife/husband/friends", that's not what we mean.
The issue of who to go with is more about what cruies line you choose to take for this trip - which could be your first ever cruise, and if it isn't a good one could well be your last. In these circumstances it is important to look to the experts and find out which cruise line has the best reputation. Pretty much all of the cruise lines serving the USA go to the Caribbean, so there are a lot for you to choose from.
The best way of finding out what the experts are saying is to look to the Internet and search for a term such as "best rated cruise lines". The search results will point you to sites that have expert accounts and often numerical ratings of each major cruise line. A particularly good site is that run by the Cond Nast Traveler. A reputed travel magazine, the CNT is popular among travelers for its honest, unbiased accounts of the best locations, best deals and - most importantly for us - the best cruise lines. The Cond Nast Traveler has an annual awards issue where it rates cruise lines on a vast range of criteria. These criteria cover just about every issue that you could wish to know about. Comfort of the ship? Yes. Activities available? Of course. Child-friendly facilities? Indeed.
The CNT then matriculates the results of their research into an overall rating for each cruise line, and lists them in a chart. They publish the chart along with data on which lines performed best in individual sections. At the present time, for example., while Royal Caribbean scores highest for nightlife and entertainment with 89.57% and P&O leads on the child-friendliness front with 87.14%, the overall winner in 2008 was Celebrity Cruises, with an overall average of 87.58%, including scores in the nineties for ambience and service. This marks a step up from 2007's second lace for Celebrity Cruises and makes this relatively new company a winner in the CNT's rankings.
The Cond Nast Traveler is not the only outlet telling people how best to spend their hard-earned cruise fare, but is just an example. Many other sites out there will give you a nod towards the best cruise line for you, but the thoroughness and the respected outlet from which the listed figures come does make these findings a real edge of credibility.
The issue of who to go with is more about what cruies line you choose to take for this trip - which could be your first ever cruise, and if it isn't a good one could well be your last. In these circumstances it is important to look to the experts and find out which cruise line has the best reputation. Pretty much all of the cruise lines serving the USA go to the Caribbean, so there are a lot for you to choose from.
The best way of finding out what the experts are saying is to look to the Internet and search for a term such as "best rated cruise lines". The search results will point you to sites that have expert accounts and often numerical ratings of each major cruise line. A particularly good site is that run by the Cond Nast Traveler. A reputed travel magazine, the CNT is popular among travelers for its honest, unbiased accounts of the best locations, best deals and - most importantly for us - the best cruise lines. The Cond Nast Traveler has an annual awards issue where it rates cruise lines on a vast range of criteria. These criteria cover just about every issue that you could wish to know about. Comfort of the ship? Yes. Activities available? Of course. Child-friendly facilities? Indeed.
The CNT then matriculates the results of their research into an overall rating for each cruise line, and lists them in a chart. They publish the chart along with data on which lines performed best in individual sections. At the present time, for example., while Royal Caribbean scores highest for nightlife and entertainment with 89.57% and P&O leads on the child-friendliness front with 87.14%, the overall winner in 2008 was Celebrity Cruises, with an overall average of 87.58%, including scores in the nineties for ambience and service. This marks a step up from 2007's second lace for Celebrity Cruises and makes this relatively new company a winner in the CNT's rankings.
The Cond Nast Traveler is not the only outlet telling people how best to spend their hard-earned cruise fare, but is just an example. Many other sites out there will give you a nod towards the best cruise line for you, but the thoroughness and the respected outlet from which the listed figures come does make these findings a real edge of credibility.