Best luxury cruise lines

Luxury cruising is less about chandeliers than about arithmetic: how much space each guest gets, how many crew look after them, and how much of the bill is already paid when you board. This ranking scores the ten lines people search for most on exactly those terms, then shows where a suite on a big ship can get you most of the way for less.

How we rank luxury cruise lines

We score each line on five criteria:

• Inclusions. Drinks, gratuities, Wi-Fi, specialty dining, shore excursions and flights. The more that is in the fare, the less a low headline price matters.
• Space ratio. Gross tonnage divided by passengers (GT per passenger). Mass-market ships often sit in the 30s; luxury ships usually go well above 50. Where a line is in our database we compute this ourselves from ship data.
• Crew-to-guest ratio. Luxury ships typically run at roughly one crew member for every one to two guests, which is what makes names remembered and drinks refilled.
• Ship size. Under about 750 guests, embarkation is quick, there are no queues at the tender and ships fit ports that big ships cannot reach.
• Itinerary depth. Overnights, late departures, smaller ports and longer voyages.

A note on prices. Fares on this site come from our nightly captures across booking markets, where we track a line. Most of the true luxury lines below are not in our price feed yet, which is why the comparison table only shows Cunard, Celebrity, MSC and NCL, the lines we track that sell a luxury-grade suite class. Luxury fares are mostly quoted per person, all-inclusive, so compare them against a big-ship suite plus drinks package, gratuities and Wi-Fi, not against the bare cruise fare. Every price we quote is the cheapest fare in that cabin type, per person, captured on the date shown in the table.

1. Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Regent is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and runs an all-suite fleet of six ships, the newest being the Explorer-class trio Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Splendor and Seven Seas Grandeur. No other line in this ranking puts as much into the base fare.

Included: unlimited shore excursions in most ports, drinks including premium spirits, all specialty restaurants, Wi-Fi, gratuities and, on many fares sold to North American guests, return flights. Higher suite categories add a pre-cruise hotel night. That makes Regent's headline fare look high and its final bill look low.

The ships are mid-sized for luxury, roughly 500 to 750 guests, which buys more facilities than a yacht without the crowds of a big ship. Itineraries lean toward the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Alaska and long world voyages.

Suits: travelers who want to stop thinking about money once they board and who would use the included excursions in every port.

2. Silversea Cruises

Silversea belongs to Royal Caribbean Group and is the luxury line with the broadest reach, from classic ocean voyages to genuine expedition cruising in Antarctica, the Arctic and the Galápagos. The newest classic ships are Silver Nova and Silver Ray.

Every suite comes with a butler, which is Silversea's signature. Fares include drinks, gratuities, Wi-Fi and most dining; depending on the market and fare type, some packages add an excursion per port, flights or transfers. The expedition ships carry Zodiacs and expedition teams, so the line covers places Regent and Seabourn mostly do not.

Ships stay small: the classic fleet is all-suite and mostly well under 750 guests, the expedition ships far smaller.

Suits: couples who want butler-level service, and anyone who wants one luxury brand for both a Mediterranean cruise and a polar expedition.

3. Seabourn

Seabourn is part of Carnival Corporation and has long been the benchmark for warm, unstuffy luxury service. The fleet mixes classic ocean ships, including Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Ovation, with two purpose-built expedition ships, Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit.

Fares include drinks, gratuities and most dining, with Wi-Fi bundled on many fares. Excursions are extra, apart from complimentary marina activities on suitable days. Encore and Ovation also have The Retreat, a sun deck of private cabanas (not to be confused with Celebrity's suite class of the same name). The Caribbean beach day with caviar served in the surf is the line's best-known ritual.

All suites, small ships, a stern marina for water sports on the classic fleet.

Suits: couples and solo travelers who want luxury that feels relaxed rather than formal, especially on Caribbean, Mediterranean and expedition voyages.

4. Explora Journeys

Explora Journeys is the luxury brand of MSC Group, and it is the youngest line in this ranking. Its first ships, Explora I and Explora II, have more of a design-hotel feel than a traditional cruise ship.

Every suite is ocean-front with a private terrace. Drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities and most dining are included, and the onboard style leans European: long lunches, a wellness focus and itineraries that favor overnights and later departures in places like the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Ships carry under 1,000 guests, so Explora is larger than the yacht lines but still far from big-ship scale.

The connection to MSC means a strong European booking base, which matters if you prefer an international mix on board rather than a mostly North American crowd.

Suits: younger luxury travelers who find classic luxury ships too formal, and anyone who values suite space over a long list of included excursions.

5. Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is a Marriott brand that took the hotel name to sea with three yachts: Evrima, Ilma and Luminara. All are small, with a few hundred guests at most, and all suites have private terraces.

Fares include drinks, gratuities, Wi-Fi and most dining. Excursions cost extra. The stern marina lets you swim, paddleboard or kayak straight off the yacht when it is at anchor, which, along with the yacht-style itineraries, is the main reason to choose it over a classic ship. Expect smaller harbors in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean that larger ships skip.

Because the brand runs on Ritz-Carlton service standards, it also appeals to guests who have never cruised and never planned to.

Suits: hotel loyalists, first-time cruisers and couples who want a yacht feel without chartering one.

6. Crystal

Crystal is owned by A&K Travel Group, the parent of Abercrombie & Kent, which bought the brand and relaunched it with two refitted ships, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.

Fares include drinks, gratuities, Wi-Fi and specialty dining, including the Nobu-designed Umi Uma. The style is classic: long voyages, a world cruise, enrichment lectures, dressier evenings and a loyal repeat crowd. The ships are larger than the yacht lines but have far fewer guests than their tonnage suggests, which is the whole point of a high space ratio.

The A&K connection shows up in land programs and pre- and post-cruise tours, which are stronger than most cruise lines can offer.

Suits: experienced cruisers who want traditional ocean-liner style, long itineraries and plenty of space, and who like dressing for dinner.

7. Oceania Cruises

Oceania, also owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, is premium-plus rather than true luxury, and we rank it here because it is often the right compromise. The fleet runs from the R-class ships, under 700 guests each, to the larger O-class and the newest ships, Vista and Allura.

The food is at luxury level, and all specialty restaurants are included with no surcharge. Many fares bundle drinks, Wi-Fi and a shore-excursion credit, but the ships also sell inside and ocean-view cabins, gratuities depend on fare and market, and the larger ships carry more guests than any line above them. That is what keeps Oceania out of the top tier and keeps its fares lower.

Itineraries are port-intensive and destination-led, with long voyages and plenty of smaller harbors.

Suits: food-focused travelers stepping up from premium lines who want luxury-grade dining without paying for everything else to be included.

8. Ponant

Ponant is the French luxury line owned by Artémis, the Pinault family holding. It runs a fleet of small expedition yachts, most carrying under 200 guests, plus Le Commandant Charcot, a hybrid-powered icebreaker that can reach the geographic North Pole. Ponant also owns Paul Gauguin Cruises in French Polynesia.

Fares include an open bar and most dining; excursions on classic voyages cost extra, while expedition landings are part of the program. On board, French and English are the working languages and the cuisine is unmistakably French.

Ponant's strength is reach: Antarctica, the Arctic, the Kimberley, small Mediterranean and Adriatic ports, and river mouths that bigger ships cannot enter.

Suits: travelers who value destinations over onboard facilities, expedition fans, and anyone happy with a French-English bilingual atmosphere.

9. SeaDream Yacht Club

SeaDream is an independent, privately owned line with two yachts, SeaDream I and SeaDream II, each carrying about 112 guests. It is the smallest operation in this ranking and the most informal.

Fares include drinks, gratuities and the water-sports marina, from jet skis to kayaks and snorkel gear. You can sleep on deck on the padded Balinese beds, and the Caribbean champagne-and-caviar beach party is a fixture. There is no dress code worth worrying about and no formal nights.

With fewer than 120 guests the yachts reach the smallest harbors in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. The flip side: no big theater, a small spa, and limited cabin variety.

Suits: active couples and groups of friends who want a sociable, barefoot yacht experience, and anyone thinking about a private charter for a group.

10. Cunard: Queens Grill

Cunard, part of Carnival Corporation, is a premium line overall, but its Grills suites are a genuine luxury product inside a liner. Queens Grill and Princess Grill guests get their own restaurants, a private lounge and terrace, priority boarding and a concierge, on Queen Mary 2, Queen Anne, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria.

The numbers from our database are telling. Queen Mary 2 has 149,215 GT for 2,695 passengers, or 55.4 GT per passenger, closer to luxury ships than to Queen Anne at 38.1. The cheapest Queen Mary 2 suite we captured was from €763 per person, and the median suite fare across the Cunard fleet is €486 per person per night.

Queen Mary 2 is also the only ship offering a scheduled transatlantic crossing; we currently track 16 Transatlantic sailings of 7 to 28 nights.

Suits: travelers who want a crossing or a classic liner voyage with a private-club layer on top. See Cunard and Cunard deals.

Luxury vs premium vs ultra-luxury

Premium lines (Celebrity, Princess, Holland America, Cunard's main cabins) offer better food and service than mass-market ships but still sell drinks, Wi-Fi and tips as extras. Luxury usually means all-suite ships, drinks and gratuities included, and guest counts under about 1,000: Explora, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Ponant, SeaDream, Oceania at the edge. Ultra-luxury adds space and staff: butler service, crew close to one per guest, ships rarely above 750 guests and inclusions such as excursions or flights. Regent, Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal sit here.

Size alone does not decide the tier. Celebrity Flora, a 100-guest Galápagos ship from a premium line, has 59.2 GT per passenger in our data, above Queen Mary 2. Its median fare is €1,393 per person per night, comparable to what you would expect from luxury lines.

Cheapest way to cruise luxury

Luxury fares move more than most travelers expect, and the price you see at launch is rarely the lowest one.

• Shoulder season. April, May, October and November voyages in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe typically cost less than July and August, with milder weather ashore.
• Repositioning voyages. When ships move between seasons, such as across the Atlantic or from Europe to the Caribbean, fares per night are often among the lowest of the year, with more sea days.
• Last-minute drops. Unsold suites get repriced close to departure. You only catch these if something is watching the fare for you.

That last point is what we built for. Use find a cruise to filter sailings by line, region and month, then set a price alert on the ones you like. Alerts and longer price history come with our plans, from $0.99 a month.

Luxury alternatives on big ships

If you want suite-level privacy but also a water park, Broadway shows or a big choice of restaurants, a ship-within-a-ship is the cheaper route. All four below are on lines in our price feed, so the table on this page shows their current fares. Note that our suite figures show the cheapest suite category captured, which is not always the premium enclave.

• MSC Yacht Club. A private, keycard-access area with its own restaurant, lounge, pool deck and butler service on most MSC ships. See MSC Cruises.
• The Haven by Norwegian. A gated suite complex with courtyard, pool, restaurant and butler, on many NCL ships. See Norwegian Cruise Line.
• The Retreat by Celebrity. Suite guests get a private restaurant (Luminae), a lounge and a sundeck, with drinks and Wi-Fi included. The median Celebrity suite fare we captured on its big ships is €579 per person per night. See Celebrity Cruises.
• Queens Grill by Cunard. Covered above: the classic liner version, with its own dining room and lounge. See Cunard.

The trade-off is clear: you get luxury in the enclave and a big ship everywhere else, including queues at the tender and crowds ashore. For guests who also want no children on board, see adults-only cruises.