Cruise NewsU.S. News Names Best Cruise Lines for 2025

U.S. News Names Best Cruise Lines for 2025

For the 11th straight year, U.S. News & World Report has released their rankings for the Best Cruise Lines.

Our free cruise newsletter offers the latest news and deals: Sign Up

Viking Ocean cruise ship as an all-inclusive cruise line

Viking and Disney Cruise Line were the big winners among the 18 most popular cruise lines in U.S. News’ 2025 rankings for Best Cruise Lines.

There were six categories that ranged from Best Cruise Lines for the Money to the Best Cruises Lines in the Caribbean. Here is a look at the top three rankings in all categories.

2025 Best Cruise Line Rankings

Best Cruise Lines for the Money

  1. Celebrity Cruises
  2. Virgin Voyages
  3. MSC Cruises
Celebrity Cruise Ship
Celebrity Cruises was named the Best Cruise Line for the Money in 2025. Photo: Cruise Fever

Best Cruise Lines for Families

  1. Disney Cruise Line
  2. Royal Caribbean
  3. Norwegian Cruise Line

Best Cruise Lines in the Caribbean

  1. Disney Cruise Line
  2. Celebrity Cruises
  3. Virgin Voyages
Disney Dream cruise ship sailing out of Port Canaveral
Disney Cruise Line was named the Best Cruise Line for Families and the Best Cruise Line for the Caribbean in 2025. Photo: Cruise Fever

Best Cruise Lines for Couples

  1. Viking
  2. Seabourn
  3. Celebrity Cruises

Best Cruise Lines in the Mediterranean

  1. Viking
  2. Seabourn
  3. Celebrity Cruises

Best Luxury Cruise Lines

  • Viking
  • Seabourn
  • Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Viking won three awards being named Best Cruise Line for Couples, Best Cruise Line in the Mediterranean, and Best Luxury Cruise Line in 2025. Photo: Cruise Fever

How did U.S. News & World Report rank each cruise line? They used a rating system that comprised of three elements.

50% of the weight of each score was from verified cruise reviews from Cruiseline.com. Cruisers assigned a rating between one and five based on their level of satisfaction from their cruise. Cruiseline.com uses their huge network of travel agents from World Travel Holdings so they know their reviews are by people who actually took that cruise.

30% of the score was U.S. News’ expert ratings where they compared a cruise line’s atmosphere, activities, cabins, food and service.

The last 20% of the score was based on the health rating from surprise inspections held by the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program. Every cruise ship that sails to and from a U.S. port has two unannounced health inspections and a ship must score at least an 86 to pass. U.S. News used the following formula to award points:

  • 5 – Score of 97.5 or higher
  • 4.5 – Score of 95 to 97.5
  • 4 – Score of 92.5 to 95
  • 3.5 – Score of 90 to 92.5
  • 3 – Score of 87.5 to 90
  • 2.5 – Score of 85.1 to 87.5
  • 1 – Scores below 85.1

If a ship had no health inspections over the past 22 months because it had not visited a U.S. port, the average health rating of all CDC-rated ships within the cruise line was used as proxy in the calculation of the ship’s overall rating.

Nicola Wood, senior travel editor at U.S. News, gave the following statement:

“With so many cruise lines to choose from, it may be hard to know where to start when it comes to finding the perfect cruise vacation. The 2025 Best Cruise Lines rankings not only recognize the top cruise lines, but also provide a way for travelers to compare features, amenities and offerings to find the right cruise for an exciting experience at sea.”

To read more about U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Cruise Lines, you can visit their website here.

Learn the cruise secrets most people don't know and cruise like a boss. Check out Intelligent Cruiser here for a better cruise vacation. (Sponsored)

Looking for the Best Cruise Deals?
Search Multiple Sites at Once
Instant Real Time Pricing
Search Now

Ben Souza
Ben Souza
Ben is a world traveler who has visited 40+ countries, taken over 80 cruises. He is one of USA TODAY's experts for their 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. His writings have appeared and been cited in various media outlets such as Yahoo News, MSN, NPR, CNN, Fox, and ABC News. Ben currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. Follow Ben on Instagram. Visit Ben Souza on Linkedin. You may email Ben at [email protected].
Cruise NewsU.S. News Names Best Cruise Lines for 2025
.

Recent Popular Posts