Conde Nast Traveler's annual readers' poll -- RESULTS ARE IN

[TWELVEOHONE]

Conde Nast Traveler's annual readers' poll -- RESULTS ARE IN

Conde Nast Traveler 's February edition is just reaching subscribers' homes, revealing the results of their annual readers' poll ranking the "world's best" ships. This year, titled "The Top 90 Cruise Ships in the World," the ships are again ranked in three size categories: small, medium and large. A total of 11,242 readers rated more than 400 ships, resulting in a list of the top 50 in the small-ship category, top 15 in the medium-ship category, and 25 "best" large ships. [Celebrity Solstice, of course, entered service beyond the time the survey was conducted -- so we'll anticipate massive votes for her next year....]

 

To end the suspense: Every Millennium-class ship once again made the top 10!

 

Each ship was judged on seven criteria: itineraries/schedule; shore excursion; crew/service; cabins; food/dining; activities/facilities; design/layout. Here are the top 10 large ships, in rank-order, paired with the total score for each:

 

1 - Disney Wonder (88.4)

2 - Celebrity Constellation (86.8)

3 - Celebrity Summit (86.3)

4 - Disney Magic (85.9)

5 - Coral Princess (82.2)

6 - Celebrity Millennium (81.8)

7 - Mariner of the Seas (81.3)

8 - Serenade of the Seas (81.3)

9 - Celebrity Infinity (81.1)

10 - Emerald Princess (80.5)

 

Celebrity Galaxy came in at #20, overall, and it's unknown where Celebrity Century ranked, as the magazine publishes only the top 25.

 

A few other highlights:

* Celebrity swept the "Best Food/Dining" category, with Constellation, Summit, Galaxy and Millennium ranking 1, 2, 4, and 5, respectively (QE2 took the #3 spot). * Celebrity also dominated the "Best Itineraries" category, with Constellation, Summit and Galaxy ranked 1, 2 and 5, respectively (Emerald Princess and Coral Princess ranked 3 and 4).

 

The section also includes a sidebar titled "The Class of 2009," with supporting text reading, "These new ships offer passengers everything they never knew they needed -- or wanted." There, Celebrity Equinox (with supporting text promoting the Hot Glass Show and Lawn Club) is among only five ships highlighted.

[Sky Sweet]

I am very surprised that there are no Cunard or Crystal ships on this list, since they are luxury cruise lines with some of the best large ships at sea.

[jdymiller]

They are considered smaller ships and Crystal tops that list.

[Liberated Mind]

Condé Nast Traveler:

Top Cruise Ships 2009

 

 

 

TOP CRUISE SHIPS 2009

 

 

The Best Large Ships

 

 

Accommodating over 1,500 guests, these behemoths are wallet-friendly and diversion-packed

 

 

Pictured: Disney Wonder, courtesy of Walt Disney Company

 

 

 

1. Disney Wonder

Disney, 88.4

 

2. Celebrity Constellation

Celebrity, 86.8

 

3. Celebrity Summit

Celebrity, 86.3

 

4. Disney Magic

Disney, 85.9

 

5. Coral Princess

Princess, 82.2

 

6. Celebrity Millennium

Celebrity, 81.8

 

7. Mariner of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 81.3

 

7. Serenade of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 81.3

 

9. Celebrity Infinity

Celebrity, 81.1

 

10. Noordam

Holland America, 80.5

 

10. Emerald Princess

Princess, 80.5

 

12. Sapphire Princess

Princess, 80.3

 

13. Westerdam

Holland America, 80.1

 

14. Adventure of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 79.9

 

15. Zuiderdam

Holland America, 79.2

 

15. Island Princess

Princess, 79.2

 

17. Brilliance of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 79.1

 

18. Crown Princess

Princess, 78.9

 

19. Navigator of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 78.8

 

20. Celebrity Galaxy

Celebrity, 78.7

 

20. Jewel of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 78.7

 

22. Queen Elizabeth 2

Cunard, 78.6

 

23. Oosterdam

Holland America, 78.5

 

24. Queen Mary 2

Cunard, 77.7

 

25. Star Princess

Princess, 77.6

[Sky Sweet]

They are considered smaller ships and Crystal tops that list.

 

Thank you, jdymiller, for responding to my message :)

 

It appears that some reviewers have different criteria for what constitutes a large ship than others do.

[Sky Sweet]

Condé Nast Traveler:

Top Cruise Ships 2009

 

 

 

TOP CRUISE SHIPS 2009

 

 

The Best Large Ships

 

 

Accommodating over 1,500 guests, these behemoths are wallet-friendly and diversion-packed

 

 

Pictured: Disney Wonder, courtesy of Walt Disney Company

 

 

 

1. Disney Wonder

Disney, 88.4

 

2. Celebrity Constellation

Celebrity, 86.8

 

3. Celebrity Summit

Celebrity, 86.3

 

4. Disney Magic

Disney, 85.9

 

5. Coral Princess

Princess, 82.2

 

6. Celebrity Millennium

Celebrity, 81.8

 

7. Mariner of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 81.3

 

7. Serenade of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 81.3

 

9. Celebrity Infinity

Celebrity, 81.1

 

10. Noordam

Holland America, 80.5

 

10. Emerald Princess

Princess, 80.5

 

12. Sapphire Princess

Princess, 80.3

 

13. Westerdam

Holland America, 80.1

 

14. Adventure of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 79.9

 

15. Zuiderdam

Holland America, 79.2

 

15. Island Princess

Princess, 79.2

 

17. Brilliance of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 79.1

 

18. Crown Princess

Princess, 78.9

 

19. Navigator of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 78.8

 

20. Celebrity Galaxy

Celebrity, 78.7

 

20. Jewel of the Seas

Royal Caribbean, 78.7

 

22. Queen Elizabeth 2

Cunard, 78.6

 

23. Oosterdam

Holland America, 78.5

 

24. Queen Mary 2

Cunard, 77.7

 

25. Star Princess

Princess, 77.6

 

Thank you, liberated mind :)

[TWELVEOHONE]

They are considered smaller ships and Crystal tops that list.

 

Crystal is under medium size ships while Cunard in same category as Celebrity

 

The QE2 came in number 22

[TWELVEOHONE]

How about this for a surprize

 

The following is a list of the best Crusie SPA's

Celebrity not even on teh list

 

 

Liberty of the Sea..........Royal Caribbean, 95.2

Crystal Serenity............Crystal Cruises, 93.2

Seven Seas Voyager.....Regent Seven Seas Cruises, 92.2

Crystal Symphony........Crystal, 92.1

Disney Wonder.............Disney, 91.9

SeaDream II................SeaDream Yacht Club, 91.7

Queen Mary 2...............Cunard, 89.8

SeaDream I.................SeaDream Yacht Club, 89.4

Regatta........................Oceania Cruises, 88.9

Carnival Freedom.........Carnival, 88.4

[timespliters]

I must be sliping only been on 4 of them, but have found something good from the others I have been on,

[FinelyCruising]

How about this for a surprize

 

The following is a list of the best Crusie SPA's

Celebrity not even on teh list

 

 

Liberty of the Sea..........Royal Caribbean, 95.2

Crystal Serenity............Crystal Cruises, 93.2

Seven Seas Voyager.....Regent Seven Seas Cruises, 92.2

Crystal Symphony........Crystal, 92.1

Disney Wonder.............Disney, 91.9

SeaDream II................SeaDream Yacht Club, 91.7

Queen Mary 2...............Cunard, 89.8

SeaDream I.................SeaDream Yacht Club, 89.4

Regatta........................Oceania Cruises, 88.9

Carnival Freedom.........Carnival, 88.4

 

Wow, that must burn a bit....maybe the others don't tick people off so much with the upsell.;) I wonder what drives those rankings, they seem very favorable to the higher end lines.

[greeneg]

Interesting that there was no menition of either of the Azamara ships.......I would have some serious questions about their reviews criteria, objectivity, or possibly both.....

 

Just my $0.02.

[ECCruise]

These "rankings" always raise a huge red flag in my eyes. No way that Celebrity has 3 of the top 5 rankings for "itinerary." Food, maybe. Itinerary, no way.

[Karynanne]

Interesting that there was no menition of either of the Azamara ships.......I would have some serious questions about their reviews criteria, objectivity, or possibly both.....

 

Just my $0.02.

 

I don't think Azamara would be classified as a "Large Ship".

[BurgerBits]

Just my $.02...

 

This is based on READER rankings.

 

I humbly posit that as a lower percentage of the population cruises Crystal, Seabourn, Regent, Cunard, Azamara, et al that a lower vote percentage for those ships is expected / reflected in the rankings.

[mafig]

Does Conde Nast do a poll every four hours?:confused::D Wasn't there results/rankings published here a little while ago?

[Sky Sweet]

Just my $.02...

 

This is based on READER rankings.

 

I humbly posit that as a lower percentage of the population cruises Crystal, Seabourn, Regent, Cunard, Azamara, et al that a lower vote percentage for those ships is expected / reflected in the rankings.

 

Hi Burger Bits :)

 

Good point - I agree with you.

 

Another consideration is that it appears to be confined to ratings from people who both read Conde Nast and chose to participate in their survey.

 

The only type of cruise rating survey that would be really valid is one that was administered to a scientifically selected random sample from everyone who took a cruise during a specified time frame.

[BurgerBits]

The only type of cruise rating survey that would be really valid is one that was administered to a scientifically selected random sample from everyone who took a cruise during a specified time frame.

 

Hi, Sweet :) -

 

Bingo.

 

Dawn

[C 2 C]

Unless the same person were to cruise on the ships evaluating the same criteria I view the results with skepticism. If Celebrity wins with the "best food/dining" category, I shudder to think what food is like on ships that don't make the top 25. If food is the criteria and the menu on Celebrity is standard throughout the fleet why does Galaxy rank 10 % lower than higher ranked Celebrity ships?

I would like to know from people who cruise on both Disney and Celebrity why one product is superior to the other. They seem to be aimed at different segments of the market and pax would use different criteria for preferences.

Point to ponder for Celebrity fans: If Summit and Constellation provide a superior cruising experience than all the other (non-Disney) ships, would all the other ships listed provide a better cruising experience than Galaxy, Mercury or Century? Or do we automatically pick other Celebrity ships because we think we know the quality of the product based on prior experience?

For anyone with direct experience on several of these ships from different companies, I would like to see your ranking comparison.

We've sailed on all Celebrity ships as well as Westerdam and Island Princess and I think all gave us a very good but different cruising experience. I would rank those 1, 2 & 3 in that order. My preference for any of them would not be based on food or spa treatments.

And anyone who picks Celebrity for best itineraries has not shopped the market. I think Celebrity has the most limited port options. HAL, Princess and RCI all have the world as their destination. That criteria is not as important to us because we detest flying to the exotic places anyways. Give me a well designed ship with a great crew and some live dance music and we're happy.

If you group them by rounding off the numbers:

1. Disney Wonder 88

2. Celebrity Constellation 87

3. Celebrity Summit 86

4. Disney Magic 86

5. Coral Princess 82

6. Celebrity Millennium 82

7. Mariner of the Seas 81

7. Serenade of the Seas 81

9. Celebrity Infinity 81

10. Noordam 81

10. Emerald Princess 81

12. Sapphire Princess 80

13. Westerdam 80

14. Adventure of the Seas 80

15. Zuiderdam 79

15. Island Princess 79

17. Brilliance of the Seas 79

18. Crown Princess 79

19. Navigator of the Seas 79

20. Celebrity Galaxy 79

20. Jewel of the Seas 79

22. Queen Elizabeth 2 79

23. Oosterdam 79

24. Queen Mary 2 78

25. Star Princess 78

 

Except for the top 4 all the others listed are within 4% of one another.. (What's the line about leeway for statistical sampling error). Whether you prefer the quality of coffee vs tea with your meal might be all that separates them.

[CathyCruises]

How about this for a surprize

 

The following is a list of the best Crusie SPA's

Celebrity not even on teh list

 

 

What is the "best Crusie SPA's"? Not familiar with "SPA".

 

Cathy

[Cruise-A-Hoy]

How about this for a surprize

The following is a list of the best Crusie SPA's

Celebrity not even on teh list

 

What is the "best Crusie SPA's"? Not familiar with "SPA". Cathy

 

Cathy

 

The Spa is the area where you get massages among other theraputic treatments.

[woodofpine]

Reader rankings are so skewed as to be... BS...

 

First, it says probably more about what lines passengers read Conde Naste and participate in their survey... or instance, notice the heavy skew toward European river boats...

 

Then, 11,000 respondents sounds impressive but, a) that isn't so big a survey sample (there are propably more passengers than that on 3 RCI Voyager Class ships right now) as to have a lot of generalist relevance, and b) but its big enough to be rather media-ad and populist (in the same way that Vail and Whistler-Blackomb always dominate ski resort surveys)...

 

I know I'm just groaning...

 

X did well - so all the critics should Shut Up and read more X advertising that cites Conde Naste (and book Disney) beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick...

[FinelyCruising]

You don't say. ;)

[Schplinky]

I am not a fan of CN's polls. As others have stated well, it is a poll of the people who read Conde Naste, not a critical poll of cruises. Conde Naste is a fun magazine but it skews to a particular demographic, to be sure. You only have to look at the ads in the magazine (all from lines who do well in the poll) to see that the lines who are at the top of these ratings are also the lines to whom the magazine is targeted. It's all a little self-congratulatory. It's like saying "the line I sail is the line that people like me like!!! Woo-hoo!!!!"

[mafig]

What's the criteria for this poll? Does anyone know?

 

I'm thinking if it's just readers of the magazine, they might not be frequent cruisers. Or they may take a cruise every couple of years or so.

 

So they could be voting for the cruise they took two years ago....or the only cruise they ever took five years ago.

 

Also, if they're not frequent cruisers, the Celebrity itineraries just might be "best" for them.

[shipshape sam]

Conde Nast Traveler's annual readers' poll -- RESULTS ARE IN

Conde Nast Traveler 's February edition is just reaching subscribers' homes, revealing the results of their annual readers' poll ranking the "world's best" ships. This year, titled "The Top 90 Cruise Ships in the World," the ships are again ranked in three size categories: small, medium and large. A total of 11,242 readers rated more than 400 ships, resulting in a list of the top 50 in the small-ship category, top 15 in the medium-ship category, and 25 "best" large ships. [Celebrity Solstice, of course, entered service beyond the time the survey was conducted -- so we'll anticipate massive votes for her next year....]

 

To end the suspense: Every Millennium-class ship once again made the top 10!

 

Each ship was judged on seven criteria: itineraries/schedule; shore excursion; crew/service; cabins; food/dining; activities/facilities; design/layout. Here are the top 10 large ships, in rank-order, paired with the total score for each:

 

1 - Disney Wonder (88.4)

2 - Celebrity Constellation (86.8)

3 - Celebrity Summit (86.3)

4 - Disney Magic (85.9)

5 - Coral Princess (82.2)

6 - Celebrity Millennium (81.8)

7 - Mariner of the Seas (81.3)

8 - Serenade of the Seas (81.3)

9 - Celebrity Infinity (81.1)

10 - Emerald Princess (80.5)

 

Celebrity Galaxy came in at #20, overall, and it's unknown where Celebrity Century ranked, as the magazine publishes only the top 25.

 

A few other highlights:

* Celebrity swept the "Best Food/Dining" category, with Constellation, Summit, Galaxy and Millennium ranking 1, 2, 4, and 5, respectively (QE2 took the #3 spot). * Celebrity also dominated the "Best Itineraries" category, with Constellation, Summit and Galaxy ranked 1, 2 and 5, respectively (Emerald Princess and Coral Princess ranked 3 and 4).

 

The section also includes a sidebar titled "The Class of 2009," with supporting text reading, "These new ships offer passengers everything they never knew they needed -- or wanted." There, Celebrity Equinox (with supporting text promoting the Hot Glass Show and Lawn Club) is among only five ships highlighted.

 

Notice that Infiinity is slipping. Two years ago, Infinity was in top 5. Bummer! Hope they turn it around soon. Even read where Infinity just recently failed a CDC health inspection. I really like M class ships and the Infinity itineraries, so come on Infinity! You can do it! :)