Stone’s Cruise Rankings
Updated: Oct 10
Every cruise I've taken, scored and ranked based on my actual experience.
Here you'll find a running list of every cruise I've personally taken and scored. Cruises are ranked by their overall score, with the individual category scores included so you can see exactly where each sailing stood out and where it didn't.
For cruises sailed in October 2026 or later, you can click the ship name to read my full review and see the reasoning behind each score in more detail.
These rankings reflect my experience on a specific sailing, in a specific stateroom, at a specific point in time. Your experience may be different, and that's part of cruising!
Scoring
Each category is scored from 0–10, with 10 representing the best possible experience. The overall score is a weighted combination of all eight categories, resulting in a final score out of 10.
Not every category carries the same weight. Dining and service, for example, have a much greater impact on my cruise experience than the itinerary or cruise line app, so they're given more weight in the final score.
Here's how the score is calculated:
Ship & Cleanliness - 15%
This score covers the ship itself, including cleanliness, upkeep and condition, layout, venues and their capacity, amenities, public spaces, and the overall onboard environment.
Stateroom Experience - 15%
This score is based specifically on the stateroom category I booked and experienced, including its layout, size, comfort, styling, condition, storage, and any special amenities or perks that came with it.
Dining & Food Quality - 20%
This score covers all of the food I experienced onboard, including the buffet, main dining rooms, specialty restaurants, room service, and any exclusive restaurants I had access to through my stateroom category. Food is a major part of the cruise experience for me, so Dining is tied with Service & Staff as the most heavily weighted category.
Service & Staff - 20%
This score reflects the quality and consistency of service I received throughout the cruise, including interactions with dining staff, stateroom attendants, bartenders and baristas, Guest Services, and other crew members.
Entertainment & Activities - 10%
This score considers the quality, variety, and availability of onboard entertainment and activities, including production shows, live music, nightlife, games, and other programming.
Ports, Excursions, & Itinerary - 5%
This score reflects the itinerary, ports of call, and my experiences ashore. Because these rankings are primarily intended to compare ships and cruise lines, itinerary is weighted relatively lightly. It's still included because itinerary can absolutely affect the overall cruise experience. I may have a very different opinion of the same ship sailing in a different part of the world.
Technology, App, and Check-In - 5%
This score covers the cruise line's website and app, the online check-in process, embarkation experience, and useful technology available onboard the ship.
Overall Value for Price - 10%
Every other category is scored based primarily on the experience itself. Value is where price enters the equation. This score asks a different question: Was the experience worth what I paid? A less expensive cruise with mostly middle-of-the-road scores can make up some ground here if it delivered a great experience for the price. Likewise, an otherwise incredible cruise can lose ground if I don't think the experience justified its substantially higher cost.
A note about repeat sailings: You may see the same ship appear more than once in the rankings. If I return to a ship with a materially different experience—such as a different stateroom category or itinerary—I’ll score that sailing separately. If I repeat essentially the same cruise experience, I may replace the older rating with the more recent score.
The Current Rankings
By Cruise Line
Scoring by cruise line is an average of the overall score of each sailing that I have been on for each cruise lines. The sailings number is how many sailings I've scored that make up the average score for the cruise line.
Cruise Line | Overall Score | Sailings |
| 8.13 | 3 |
| 6.5 | 2 |
By Ship
Scoring by ship is an average of the overall score of each sailing that I have been on for each ship. The sailings number is how many sailings I've scored that make up the average score for the ship.
Ship | Overall Score | Sailings |
| 8.65 | 1 |
| 8.10 | 1 |
| 7.65 | 1 |
| 7 | 1 |
| 6 | 1 |
By Sailing (Full Scoring Details)
1st - Celebrity Cruises: Celebrity Beyond - 8.65/10
Ship/Cleanliness: 10
Stateroom: 9
Dining: 9
Service: 9
Entertainment: 7
Ports: 7
Tech/Check-In: 7
Value: 7
Sailed October 2024
Aqua Class Stateroom
8-Night Southern Caribbean Itinerary - ABC Islands
2nd - Celebrity Cruises: Celebrity Silhouette - 8.10/10
Ship/Cleanliness: 8
Stateroom: 8
Dining: 8
Service: 7
Entertainment: 7
Ports: 7
Tech/Check-In: 7
Value: 8
Sailed May 2025
Concierge Class Stateroom
4-Night Cozumel Itinerary
3rd - Celebrity Cruises: Celebrity Reflection - 7.65/10
Ship/Cleanliness: 7
Stateroom: 7
Dining: 8
Service: 8
Entertainment: 6
Ports: 9
Tech/Check-In: 8
Value: 9
Sailed May 2026
Concierge Class Stateroom
4-Night Key West & Coco Cay Itinerary
4th - NCL: Norwegian Viva - 7.00/10
Ship/Cleanliness: 7
Stateroom: 7
Dining: 6
Service: 7
Entertainment: 6
Ports: 9
Tech/Check-In: 7
Value: 9
Sailed February 2026
Oceanview Stateroom
7-Night Western Caribbean Itinerary
5th - NCL: Norwegian Pearl - 6.00/10*
Ship/Cleanliness: 5
Stateroom: 7
Dining: 6
Service: 6
Entertainment: -
Ports: -
Tech/Check-In: 6
Value: -
Sailed March 2025
Oceanview Stateroom
4-Night Bahamas Itinerary
*Modified scoring: This was a privately chartered sailing, which meant Entertainment, Ports, and Value couldn't be fairly evaluated using the same criteria as a normal cruise. Those categories were excluded, and the remaining category weights were proportionally adjusted to calculate the final score.
Coming Soon
More cruises are already on the calendar! These upcoming sailings will be added to the rankings after I return, along with a full review breaking down the experience and explaining each score.
Celebrity Silhouette
January 2027
Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady
March 2027
Celebrity Summit
March 2028
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