Our editors across the globe share the best cruise ships to sail.
BY CNT EDITORS
| Aqua Mare In the morning, we plunge into the 60-degree sea to snorkel with penguins. In the afternoon we scramble up cliffs and watch albatross chicks stretch their wings into the wind. In the evening, we take a culinary tour through Ecuador and Peru during our family-style dinner on the aft deck. Such is a day on Aqua Mare in the Galapágos. With seven suites for just 16 guests, Aqua Mare isn’t your typical Galápagos cruise ship but a true superyacht—one that you can book by the cabin rather than charter. As much as I enjoyed the sun deck with its whirlpool and the beach club with its swim platform, the experience is all about the Galápagos. With two local guides for 16 guests, it feels as if you’re seeing the archipelago on a private tour. And that’s what Aqua Mare is all about. Seven-day sailings from $10,920 per person. —Stefanie Waldek |
| Celebrity Edge Standing on the literal edge, I take in the ever-changing colors of the Caribbean from the Magic Carpet, a cantilevered platform dangling like a necklace pendant off the ship’s side. It moves like an elevator, maximizing the views as you clink glasses of sun-soaked Veuve Clicquot. Although, these days, the Celebrity Edge has swapped Mediterranean and Caribbean island-hopping scenery for summertime glacier spotting in Alaska and Aussie coastal landmarks in (northern) winter. The vessel’s first-of-its-kind Infinite Verandas, found in the Edge Staterooms, are tailor-made for Alaskan voyages, during which brisk temperatures might send you scurrying inside. One touch of a button, and my electronic glass panel slides closed, transforming balcony back into stateroom while satisfying comfort and Instagram simultaneously. Come sunset, Eden restaurant calls like a siren with its curvaceous sculptures guiding you into a sexy Patricia Urquiola–designed greenhouse lounge. Live music and hypnotic cocktail menus send fellow sailors to the dance floor by round two. Eleven-night sailings from $1,589 per person. —Ramsey Qubein |
| Silver Dawn I confess, after sailing all 12 Silversea ships, Silver Dawn stole my heart. Its Otium spa is the brand’s largest and most opulent: A Golden Radiance facial stars real gold leaf, and a massage is a daze-inducing 100 minutes. Post-treatment, awaiting en suite is a bath, drawn by white-gloved butler, and perhaps truffled popcorn (find the Otium suite service menu atop the bar). Props to the wonderfully whimsical and spacious Arts Café (it’s tiny on newer ships), which has scrumptious drinks and bites morning to late night. Its oceanfront terrace is the ultimate hideaway. If Silver Note supper club is booked, relish the jazz duo at the bar. La Dame’s cuisine and service vibe is like a one-Michelin-star Parisian restaurant, and worth the bucks. Request Bulgari toiletries and Calvisius caviar, as both are quietly complimentary in all 298 suites. Find camaraderie at the Pool Bar, the Dolce Vita lounge, or the SALT Bar and Lab, where cocktails and culinary workshops deliciously reflect the cruise itinerary, be it Asia, South America, or Europe. Seven-day sailings from $4,600 per person. —Janice Wald Henderson |
| To read about all of the other ships go here. You may also enjoy the article Wave Season is the Best Time to Score Cruise Deals If your cruise takes you to the Greek island of Corfu you might enjoy this article about a special dinner at Etrusco |
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