Small is beautiful, says hard-hitting new cruise guide
The top 11 cruise ships, rated by a new Berlitz guide, are all ‘small’ and ‘boutique’.
After reviewing 285 cruise ships, the 2011 Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships has awarded only one ship a five-star plus rating.
The author, Douglas Ward, rated Europa, a ‘Small Ship’ of Hapag Lloyd Cruises, as the best cruise ship, scoring 1,853 points out of a possible 2,000.
Although it’s now 11 years old, he said the ship looks almost new.
“Although a ship may be the latest, most stunning vessel in the world in terms of design and décor, if the food, service, staff and hospitality are not so good, the scores and ratings will reflect these,” says the guide.
At the bottom of the list are the 1-star Plus National Geographic vessels Sea Lion and Sea Bird, each with 743 points.
The top rated cruise ships are:
Europa (1,853 points)
SeaDream II (1,788 points)
Seabourn Odyssey (1,787)
Seabourn Sojourn (1,787)
SeaDream I (1,786)
Seabourn Legend (1,774)
Silver Spirit (1,772)
Seabourn Spirit (1,770)
Seabourn Pride (1,769)
Silver Whisper (1,753)
Silver Shadow (1,750)
The guide is being published on October 4.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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