The 2013 BERLITZ COMPLETE GUIDE TO CRUISING & CRUISE SHIPS arrives on 15 September 2012, the Start of National Cruise Week

Our Sneak Preview in the Boutique Ships category (50 – 250 passengers)

1st Place SeaDream II 1,788 points
2nd Place SeaDream I 1,786 points
3rd Place Seabourn Legend 1,774 points

The 284 hard-hitting reviews in this eagerly awaited Guide expose the best and worst scoring cruise ships using an internationally accepted rating system devised by the author, the most respected (and feared) critic in the business. The only source of independent star-ratings for virtually all ocean-going cruise ships worldwide, the Guide takes into account a remarkable 400 separate items based on personal cruises, visits and revisits to ships, as well as observations and comments from Ward’s team. The new Berlitz Guide identifies the top-rating ships for 2013, none of which are classified as Large or Mid-Size.

Sitting firmly at the top of the 10 most highly rated vessels, all of which are either ‘Small’ or ‘Boutique’, is Europa, a ‘Small Ship’ owned by Hapag Lloyd Cruises. This vessel, which Ward describes as offering “the best cruise experience available today unless you own a private motor yacht” comes out on top for the 13th year and is once again the only vessel to be placed in the exclusive 5-star Plus ‘club’. SeaDream gets the top 2 slots in the Boutique Ships category and Celebrity Cruises is credited with 7 of the Top Ten Large Resort Ships.