Frommer's Announces Best Cruise Ships of 2011

  • January 13, 2011
Frommer's Announces Best Cruise Ships of 2011
Released today on frommers.com, the annual Best Cruise Ships list has been compiled by Frommer's resident cruise experts, Matt Hannafin and Heidi Sarna, and reflects the best-reviewed vessels in their new, 7th edition of Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call.

In total, 20 ships representing nine design classes made it to the 2011 list, with a further 19 ships in eight classes recognized as "notable."

The newest and most groundbreaking ship on the list is Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, which debuted just two months ago. Judges praised the 225,282-ton, 5,400-passenger vessel and her older twin sister, Oasis of the Seas, for "letting light and air into the center of the ships" via a radical new superstructure design. The judges also singled out Allure for being "undoubtedly the best entertainment ship at sea, with truly exceptional programming for both adults and kids."

Also making the list of 2011's best ships were:

• Celebrity's Solstice Class: Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, and Celebrity Eclipse
• Seabourn's Odyssey Class: Seabourn Odyssey and Seabourn Sojourn
• Silversea's Silver Spirit, Silver Shadow, and Silver Whisper
• Norwegian Cruise Line's Jewel Class: Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Pearl, and Norwegian Gem
• Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria
• Celebrity's Millennium-class: Celebrity Millennium, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Infinity, and Celebrity Summit

A further eight ships were recognized as "notable" including:

• SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream I and SeaDream II
• Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Epic
• Princess's Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess, Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, and Ruby Princess
• Windstar's Wind Surf
• Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, and Jewel of the Seas
• Star Clippers' Royal Clipper
• Crystal Cruises Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony
• Regent Seven Seas' Seven Seas Mariner and Seven Seas Voyager

"For us, picking the winners is both fun and horrible," said Matt Hannafin, co-author of Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call. "On the one hand, some ships just clearly stand out from the pack and do super-well in our point-based star ratings. On the other hand, some ships that we really love or respect won't make the cut because, though they're great and fun and offer a wonderful experience, they might not stand up to the competition in some areas. We feel this list balances things a bit, giving both the 5-star winners and some notable runners-up across the luxury, premium, mainstream, and small-ship segments of the cruise biz."

For more information about the winning ships, please visit: Frommer's Best Cruise Ships of 2011