Cruise Critic Names the Best Cruise Ships in the World, According to Passenger Feedback

Disney Cruise Line leads the large ship category with nine first place awards; Viking Star named Best for First-Timers, in its first year at sea

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Cruise Critic

Feb 10, 2016, 03:00 ET

Best Overall Cruise Ship, Large Ship Category: Disney Dream (Photo Credit: Disney Cruise Line)

EWING, N.J., Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cruise Critic^®, the world's leading cruise reviews site and online cruise community, has announced the winners of its 6^th Annual Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards. The awards name the best cruise ships in the world, based solely on ratings submitted with reviews published on the Cruise Critic website.

Disney Cruise Line was this year's big winner, with a total of 11 first place awards, nine in the large ship category. Disney Dream was named "Best Overall" in the Large Ship category for a second year in a row, and was also awarded "Best for Families," "Best Cabins," and "Best Public Rooms." Disney Cruise Line received top honors in two size categories for "Best Entertainment" and "Best Service," for both Disney Dream and Disney Wonder, with the ships winning in the Large Ship and Mid-Size Ship categories, respectively.

Viking Star was the only new ship named to the list of winners, after being launched by brand-new cruise line, Viking Ocean Cruises, in 2015. The ship was named "Best for First-Timers," and also received "Best Cabins" and "Best Public Rooms" in the Small Ship category. Viking Star's sister-ship, Viking Sea, will launch later in 2016.

This is the fifth year that an Oceania ship won "Best Dining" in the Mid-Size category, with Marina receiving the nod this year. In addition to dining venues onboard, Oceania unveiled new culinary classes and culinary immersion programs in 2015. Oceania received five awards in total, including "Best Cabins" and "Best Fitness & Recreation" for Oceania Riviera.

Carnival Cruise Line received "Best Value-for-Money" for the third year in a row, with Carnival Freedom winning the award this year. Holland America Maasdam won "Best Value-for-Money" in the Mid-Size category – along with "Best Overall" and "Best for Embarkation" – and Island Windjammers' Sagitta, a ship carrying just 24 passengers, won "Best Value-for-Money" in the Small Ship category.

"The Cruisers' Choice Awards serve as a true stamp of approval from cruisers," explained Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic. "With hundreds of ships reviewed each year by thousands of cruisers, the winners of these awards stand as the absolute best of the best."

The Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards are awarded in three ship classes, based on passenger capacity (Large: 2,000+ passengers; Mid-Size: 1,200 to 1,999 passengers; Small: 1,199 or fewer passengers) and are calculated using the ratings submitted with each Cruise Critic member review.

First-place winners include:

Best Cruises Overall
Disney Dream (Large)
Holland America Maasdam (Mid-Size)
Celebrity Xpedition (Small)

Best Cruise Ship Cabins
Disney Dream (Large)
Oceania Riviera (Mid-Size)
Viking Star (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Dining
Disney Fantasy (Large)
Oceania Marina (Mid-Size)
Island Windjammers Sagitta (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Embarkation
Disney Fantasy (Large)
Holland America Maasdam (Mid-Size)
Windstar Wind Surf (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Entertainment
Disney Dream (Large)
Disney Wonder (Mid-Size)
Pacific Princess (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Fitness & Recreation
Disney Fantasy (Large)
Oceania Riviera (Mid-Size)
Oceania Nautica (Small)

Best Cruise Ship Public Rooms
Disney Dream (Large)
Oceania Riviera (Mid-Size)
Viking Star (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Service
Disney Dream (Large)
Disney Wonder (Mid-Size)
Windstar Star Breeze (Small)

Best Cruise Ship Shore Excursions
Norwegian Jewel (Large)
Coral Princess (Mid-Size)
Celebrity Xpedition (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Value
Carnival Freedom (Large)
Holland America Maasdam (Mid-Size)
Island Windjammers Sagitta (Small)

Best Cruise Ship for Families: Disney Dream

Best Cruise Ship for First-Timers: Viking Star

For the full list of winners, visit the 2016 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards.

For photos of the winning ships, click here.

Cruise Critic boasts the world's largest online cruise community, with more than 150,000 cruise reviews, covering approximately 500 cruise ships. Awards are based on reviews submitted for cruises taken in 2015.

About Cruise Critic
Cruise Critic® is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travelers, from first-time cruisers to avid cruise enthusiasts. The site features more than 150,000 cruise reviews and hosts the world's largest online cruise community where travelers share experiences and opinions with fellow cruisers. Cruise Critic was the first consumer cruise site on the Internet, launched in October 1995 by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc.

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