Cruise Experts: Who Reviews the Ships
The professional reviewers, what each brings, and how to judge a review.
Ask a Cruise ExpertWhen people search for cruise experts’ reviews, they find a crowded field. Some reviewers have rated ships for decades with fixed criteria; others are enthusiastic passengers with a camera. Both can be useful, but they are not the same thing. Here is who the professional reviewers are and what each brings.
Guidebook authors
Douglas Ward has produced the Berlitz cruise guide, now published as Insight Guides Cruising & Cruise Ships, since the 1980s. Its strength is one consistent scoring method applied to hundreds of ships.
News publication rankings
U.S. News & World Report publishes annual Best Cruise Lines lists that combine its editors’ evaluations with traveler ratings and health results.
Cruise website editors
Cruise Critic’s editorial staff sail and write ship reviews, published alongside member reviews. Editors also pick annual editors’ awards.
Travel magazines and guidebooks
Travel magazines and guidebook publishers send writers on cruises and publish features and reviews; their reader polls are a different thing from their writers’ reviews.
Public inspectors
The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program inspects ships calling at U.S. ports and publishes scores, a narrow but objective rating.
Travel advisors
Cruise specialists tour ships at ship visits and hear from clients after every sailing. Their insight is personal and often unpublished, so ask.
Telling an Expert Review From a Sponsored One
Media trips are normal in travel writing: a line invites writers aboard so they can report on a ship. That is fine when it is disclosed. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission’s endorsement rules expect reviewers, including bloggers and video creators, to disclose material connections such as a free cruise or payment. A clear disclosure is a good sign; no disclosure on a glowing review of a free trip is a warning.
- Does the reviewer explain how they rate, and use the same criteria for every ship?
- Do they mention weaknesses as well as strengths?
- Is the review dated, and does it name the ship and sailing?
- Do they compare the ship with its real rivals?
For a deeper look at fake and incentivized consumer reviews, see Cruising Reviews. If you would like to become the expert yourself and sell cruises, Be a Travel Agent explains how.
The Advisor’s View
Travel advisors who specialize in cruises are an under-used source of expert reviews. They tour ships during port visits and industry events, sail on familiarization cruises, and, most valuably, hear from dozens of clients after each sailing. Their opinions are rarely published, so you have to ask. Useful questions: Which ship in this line would you book for yourself? Which cabins on this ship do clients complain about? What changed after the last refurbishment? Which ship in this price range do clients rebook most often?
The best answers are specific. “Clients love it” tells you little; “families like the kids’ club, but the aft cabins on deck six hear the nightclub” tells you a lot.
Want a Second Opinion?
Our cruise advisors at Mister Cruise will tell you what clients say about the ships you are considering.
Ask a Cruise Expert