Can We Rank the 8 Cruise Lines We’ve Sailed When 3 of Them Gave Us Both a Best & Worst Cruise?

What is the best cruise line? After sailing on eight different cruise lines and taking dozens of cruises, we finally sat down to create the cruise line ranking video we’ve been promising for years. Instead, we discovered something surprising. On three different cruise lines, we’ve had both one of our best cruise experiences and one of our worst cruise experiences on the exact same cruise line. The more we compared ships, itineraries, seasons, cruise lengths, and travel styles, the more we realized that ranking cruise lines from best to worst often misses what really matters. The ship matters. The itinerary matters. The time of year matters. And most importantly, what YOU want from your cruise matters. In this video, we explain why traditional cruise rankings and cruise ship rankings can be misleading and share the framework we now use when choosing cruises. This is Part 1 of a three-part series about choosing the right cruise experience. In future videos, we’ll discuss why you should focus on cruise experiences instead of cruise lines, and how experienced travelers evaluate cruise value differently. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the rest of the series. In this video we’ll discuss: 🚢 Why cruise line rankings often fail 🚢 How the same cruise line can deliver completely different experiences 🚢 Why ships matter more than cruise brands 🚢 How itineraries and timing change a cruise 🚢 A better way to choose your next cruise Whether you’re comparing Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Margaritaville at Sea, or another cruise brand, this video will help you think differently about cruise planning and cruise ship rankings. This video is Part 1 of a 3-part series on choosing the right cruise. In the next video, we’ll explain why most travelers should stop choosing cruise lines and start choosing cruise experiences instead. Then in Part 3, we’ll show how experienced travelers often evaluate cruise value completely differently, including when a cruise becomes transportation--a strategic travel tool, or the key to traveling bigger for less--and how to compare cheaper vs best value. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the rest of the series. We split our content between Cruise Through Retirement (ships, itineraries, and cruise experience) and Taste Life With Us (destinations, food, and daily life), so watching both gives you the full picture of what our full-time life looks like on land and at sea. 📺 Subscribe to Cruise Through Retirement: https://www.youtube.com/@CruiseThroughRetirement 📺 Subscribe to Taste Life With Us: https://www.youtube.com/@TasteLifeWithUs Social Links (Both Channels) Instagram – Cruise Through Retirement: https://www.instagram.com/Cruise_Through_Retirement Instagram – Taste Life With Us: https://www.instagram.com/Taste_Life_With_Us Facebook – Cruise Through Retirement: https://www.facebook.com/CruiseThroughRetirement Facebook – Taste Life With Us: https://www.facebook.com/TasteLifeWU 🌎 Learn more about our Travel Bigger approach: https://travelbigger.world #BestCruiseLine #CruiseRankings #CruiseShipRankings #CruiseLineComparison #CruiseLineRankings #CruiseTips #CruisePlanning #RoyalCaribbean #CelebrityCruises #PrincessCruises #HollandAmerica #NorwegianCruiseLine #CarnivalCruiseLine #MSCcruises #MargaritavilleAtSea #CruiseThroughRetirement