Nearly 800,000 travelers just voted to name the absolute best cruise lines of 2026

Travelers have named their favorite cruise lines for sailing aboard some of the biggest ships at sea.

Nearly 800,000 votes were cast in Condé Nast Traveler's 2026 Readers' Choice Awards, which ranked cruise lines across several ship sizes.

The largest category covered "megaships" carrying more than 4,000 passengers, with Princess Cruises taking the No. 1 spot with a score of 92.35.

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Princess entered the megaship category with Sun Princess and Star Princess, which launched in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Each can carry up to 4,300 passengers, making them the largest ships in the Princess fleet, according to the publication.

Royal Caribbean International came in second with a score of 86.45.

The cruise line operates the nine largest cruise ships in the world, according to Condé Nast Traveler.

Its biggest vessels can carry up to 7,600 passengers at full capacity and stretch nearly 1,200 feet, with onboard attractions ranging from water parks to live productions, the publication said. 

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MSC Cruises ranked third among megaships, followed by Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line.

MSC's megaships can carry between 5,300 and 6,700 passengers, according to Condé Nast Traveler. Carnival's larger ships include attractions such as a roller coaster at sea, while Norwegian offers amenities including water parks, go-kart racing and virtual-reality gaming.

Different cruise lines topped the rankings for slightly smaller vessels.

The awards' "large ships" category covered vessels carrying between 2,500 and 3,999 passengers.

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Virgin Voyages took the No. 1 spot in that category with a score of 91.

Disney Cruise Line followed closely behind in second place, while Holland America Line ranked third.

Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises rounded out the top five, putting Princess among the highest-rated lines in both the megaship and large-ship categories.

Condé Nast Traveler also ranked medium and small ships, along with river cruise lines, as part of its annual Readers' Choice Awards.

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The top five megaship cruise lines, based on the Readers' Choice Awards rankings were:

The top five large-ship cruise lines were: