The Best Cruise Lines For 2018

We spend most of the year telling you everything we know about cruising, which is why we always look forward to having our members teach us a thing or two. For the fourth year in a row, we took the average scores from thousands and thousands of verified cruise reviews from the past year to see which lines are at the top of their game. 

Best Overall Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruises (4.17 / 5)

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Despite Disney winning more categories, Celebrity just barely edged out Disney with a higher average review score to claim the title of Best Cruise Line for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean, winners of the category back in 2015, reclaimed the #3 spot from Holland America.

Runners-Up
2. Disney Cruise Line - 4.16 / 5
3. Royal Caribbean - 4.13 / 5
4. Princess Cruises - 4.09 / 5
5. Holland America Line - 4.08 / 5

Best Cruise Line For First-Timers: Disney Cruise Line (4.47 / 5)

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Disney and Celebrity exchanged first and second places in the valued first-timer category, giving Disney its first of many awards. Both Disney's and Celebrity's beautiful ships and stellar service would make for a first cruise so perfect that it might end up having the negative effect of spoiling all future cruises with unrealistic expectations.

Another stand out in the top 5 lines for first-timers was Carnival Cruise Line, who managed to plant itself among Princess and Holland America, lines which come at a much higher price point. And gone from the list are last year's winners, Royal Caribbean, who just missed the cutoff by coming in 6th place.

Runners-Up
2. Celebrity Cruises - 4.43 / 5
3. Princess Cruises - 4.29 / 5
4. Carnival Cruise Line - 4.27 / 5
5. Holland America Line - 4.25 / 5

Best Line For Singles & Friends: Celebrity Cruises (4.26 / 5)

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Celebrity won its second award in the Singles & Friends category with their classy yet affordable approach to cruising. Another honorable mention here is MSC in 3rd place, a line that has been steadily making inroads into the American market since MSC Divina began sailing the Caribbean year-round back in 2013.

Runners-Up
2. Holland America Line - 4.16 / 5
3. MSC Cruises - 4.15 / 5
4. Princess Cruises - 4.07 / 5
5. Royal Caribbean - 4.06 / 5

Best Line For Couples: Disney Cruise Line (4.33 / 5)

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This isn't the first time it's happened, but it's always a bit of a surprise to see Disney, a line famous for catering to families, also come out on top as the best line for couples. Of course, their extensive adults-only programming is equally enjoyable whether or not you have kids, so it makes sense that they rocketed past Celebrity Cruises (last year's winner) for the first-place finish.

Runners-Up
2. Celebrity Cruises - 4.31 / 5
3. Holland America Line - 4.17 / 5
4. Princess Cruises - 4.16 / 5
5. Royal Caribbean - 4.13 / 5

Best Line For Families With Young Children: Disney Cruise Line (4.31 / 5)

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No surprises here. It's not easy to please young children and adults, but Disney manages to pull off this delicate balancing act while making it look easy. Disney cruises may come with a higher price point, but their huge win over the competition (beating out the #2 spot by the biggest margin so far) sure makes the extra cost seem worth it.

Runners-Up
2. Celebrity Cruises - 4.12 / 5
3. Princess Cruises - 4.08 / 5
4. Royal Caribbean - 4.01 / 5
5. Carnival Cruise Line - 3.98 / 5

Best Line For Families With Teens: Disney Cruise Line (4.34 / 5)

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Disney is on a roll, sweeping the family categories for the first time ever. We have to admit that we are surprised to see Celebrity, Holland, and Princess ranked above Royal Caribbean, the usual winners of this category, but that's just us.

Runners-Up
2. Celebrity Cruises - 4.27 / 5
3. Holland America Line - 4.18 / 5
4. Princess Cruises - 4.17 / 5
5. Royal Caribbean - 4.15 / 5

Best Line For Large Groups: Celebrity Cruises (4.31 / 5)

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It takes careful planning to satisfy a large range of ages sailing in a single group, but lines like Celebrity and MSC have managed to do just that, positioning themselves as the best lines for family reunion cruises in 2018.

Runners-Up
2. MSC Cruises - 4.31 / 5
3. Holland America - 4.18 / 5
4. Royal Caribbean - 4.11 / 5
5. Princess Cruises - 4.09 / 5