Which Cruise Line to Book In 2025 - RANKING WORST TO BEST!

Choosing the right cruise line for you is vital. We rank each cruise line and let you know who it's for and who it isn't for. A LOT has changed in 2024 with cutbacks, so your favourite cruise line might have changed a lot!

I’m going to be going through all of the biggest cruise lines, giving you an overview, letting you know what they offer onboard and taking a look at things such as cabins, where they sail and much more - but most importantly letting you know who it’s for and who it isn’t! I’ll be giving each cruise line a score out of ten then show you where they compare to other cruise lines! Let’s start with the worst scores and make our way up to the best!

00:00 Intro
00:55 MSC Cruises
06:58 P&O Cruises
09:38 Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
11:40 Cunard
19:20 Carnival Cruise Line
23:11 Princess Cruises
28:20 Royal Caribbean
33:49 Virgin Voyages
38:31 Disney Cruise Line
44:31 Celebrity Cruises
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[CyeOutsider]

Princess is my favourite. I like classic ships, a laid back atmosphere, good food and drink, quiet places to relax and read, good pools, and a focus on travel.

[lizkotchek]

I take care of my 93 year young mom 4 days a week and she likes to cruise on Celebrity once or twice a year and brings me with her. Last year we had a 14 passenger family reunion on Celebrity with cousins my age (58) and my 95 year young aunt and 82 year old uncle. We had such a great time and I can't think of anything we could complain about. I'm so happy you gave it a 10 since it's the only cruise line I have been on with the exception of my honeymoon on Carnival Destiny in 1998. We saw many young couples and singles on our last sailing. I was told Celebrity was only for elderly passengers and that was not true at all. Met many people in their 20's and 30's.

[joannedawe]

Please. Please sail on Holland American. Go on the Koningsdam, the Statedam or the Rotterdam. They have great staff, great entertainment and wonderful food!

[Mumball]

Such a wonderful overview and you are looking fab Ben!

[sh]

You are spot on! My husband and I are in our 50s and we love the low-key vibe and beauty of Celebrity Cruises. We have done Carnival cruises and while fun, as you mentioned it is definitely more of a party ship, swinger pineapple signs on doors and all!

[cybrgeekhikes]

My wife and I booked a celebrity cruise for our 16th wedding anniversary! We are staying in a signature suite in the retreat. Our honeymoon was on a disney cruise also.

[JoannaMitchell-cp]

You have been my cruise gurus since your early days, but I can’t believe the way you are going after NCL. I agree that the Epic is in a dreadful state, and the food options aren’t as good as they used to be. But there are newer ships with great dining options and cabins. If someone interrupts me on any of our 6 speciality meals next week, I will ask them politely to let us dine in peace and tell their manager that such behaviour from crew is reprehensible and unwelcome. We will then put in a complaint. We are soon doing our third cruise on Viking. Their food has gone downhill too. The pandemic continues to have an unwelcome effect on the cruise experience. I would rather never go on holiday again than go on Disney or Virgin (though their food looks great). Having the same servers following me round is my idea of hell! I do love your reviews apart from the recent emphasis on NCL. I would never have tried cruising if it hadn’t been for their freestyle concept. And at least you know you are at sea on their ships (apart from Epic). Royal ships look like shopping malls to me and feature way too much junk food. But we all have our own preferences.

[Beefreeever]

Thank you for the reviews. I’m 57 age wise, but attitude wise, I’m somewhere in my early 40s most of the time. My knees and back are somewhere between the age of 50-75.
I have found that cruising is very subjective. I have sailed on Carnival, Princess, RC, HAL, and Celebrity, and enjoyed each cruise. I think that my overall mood once boarding the ship, usually sets the tone for the cruise. My very 1st cruise was on Carnival, and I had a blast. My most relaxing cruise was on HAL, it was to celebrate my retirement. The most adventurous was on Princess. The most scenic was Celebrity. I have yet to have a bad cruise.

[CAVU]

I think one of the best things about cruising is that there is a ship/line/experience for just about anyone. I personally prefer smaller, quieter ships; and interesting itineraries are more important to me than go-carts. But it is so great that there are different ships that cater to young partiers and families and multigenerational groups as well as old fuddy-duddies like me.
By the way, Ben, you are looking positively svelte!

[davidhurwitz]

Celebrity is our favorite of the mainstream cruise lines - 27 cruises. We have also sailed on Carnival, NCL, Cunard, Princess, Royal Caribbean. We especially love the Celebrity Edge class ships. Don’t want to sail on a floating amusement park. We also love Viking for sailing in Europe.

[RichardChonak]

Thanks, David. I hope you'll take a look at Holland America before long. I've been interested in taking a sea trip for the first time, and I'm wondering if HA has the sort of atmosphere I'm looking for (relaxed, quiet, with enrichment).

[LawlessZ]

Interesting about MSC, I actually really loved them and found the customer service amazing, they cared for me when I got Norovirus (**Not from the ship**) they were great! And the food was great too.

[beccacarrillo]

Have reached Platinum status on Princess (you need 5 cruises or 50 days; we have 6 cruises and 64 days now). Glad I stuck with them as they suit me just fine. Love the service and the cabins and the food and the classic feel of the ships. Seventh cruise booked for next year. A back to back so it'll be 14 days up to New England and Canada from New York.

[sewistnotsewer]

I only sail HAL. They're the perfect line for me. Can't wait to go on Koningsdam to Alaska next summer.

[jcspotter]

Personally, i find MSC to offer a better product (in relation to the price) than the other lines. You get the best private island on the market, super cheap drink packages, they may upgrade you for free if you get a guaranteed rate room, food options aren't terrible, and you can easily get a 7 day cruise for less than $500-600 easily

[tammynoel]

100% agree people have very different opinions. Loved this video. When you do cruise Holland America, I would suggest Alaska and make sure it goes to Glacier Bay National Park! Also, one of their newer ships. Thank you for your review.

[SevdaAvci-tk]

As always great video. I don’t agree with the MSC review though. The food could indeed be better, but their customer service and onboard staff are amazing. I have only sailed with MSC (3 cruises: 1 x Euribia / 2 x World Europa) so can’t compare to other cruiselines, but when comparing them to any hotel, restaurant, amusementpark, etc. the friendliness of the MSC staff is second to none. The onboard staff are amazing. I do hope you guys will revisit them in the future. In april ‘25 i’m sailing on the celebrity Apex (Barcelona to Southampton), so really excited to compare. Off course when considering the price difference expectations are high.

[markolwick]

Holland America is, by far, my favorite. Mainly because it focuses on the destination.

[larryeinzig]

Having sailed on RC, Princess, HAL, Oceania and Celebrity, and being a huge fan of Celebrity (especially their Edge Class ships), I was delighted to see you not only rated them the highest, but with a perfect score to boot. Their food, service and ships are definitely a cut above most of their competition!!!

[carolcrawford]

You will need to sail with Holland America and add them into the ranking. We are Celebrity Elite but actually felt Holland America does a great job for Alaska especially in combination with land tours to Denali. Access to Glacier Bay and having a naturalist on board was great on our HAL Noordam cruise last year. Better than our Celebrity inside passage cruise.