The best premium cruise lines, according to our readers

Australians love premium cruise ships, and when we asked for the best as part of Cruise Passenger’s readers choice survey, we received a lot of responses.

What counts as a premium line? While different people will offer different definitions, think of a line that offers something more sophisticated and less family-focused than a Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line or Norwegian Cruise Line, but also isn’t a luxury line in the upper price tiers, such as Seabourn, Silversea or Regent Seven Seas. 

These cruisers are for people who want to sail on a ship with fewer kids onboard, place more value on things like dining and venues and who enjoy a higher level of sophistication on their cruise holidays. This doesn’t necessarily mean that family lines don’t have these offerings as well, but rather that the general ambience of the ship is very different on a line like Princess or Celebrity when compared to Royal Caribbean or Carnival.

In this list of premium lines, as voted on by Cruise Passenger readers in our latest survey of almost 5,000, we present a mix of different kinds of premium cruising.

Lines like Princess and Celebrity, where prices are very comparable to those of a line like Royal Caribbean, they offer a different experience. Then you have lines like Azamara, which is somewhere closer to upper premium, with smaller ships and more inclusions in your cruise fare. 

Here are the lines which Aussie cruisers rated as their favourite premium cruise lines

1. Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises has been sailing in Australia for decades and has an extremely dedicated fanbase here. The Princess experiences offer large ships at reasonable prices, but rather than kids and families running around, the ships strike a balance between having plenty of tranquility onboard, but also plenty of activities and things to do. 

Princess understands its Australian fans and offers different itineraries across Australia, giving Aussies a chance to really explore their own backyard with sailings through New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, circumnavigations of Australia and more.

Princess is particularly popular because the ships are really what you make of it, meaning you can find multigenerational families, couples on getaways, groups of friends and more onboard. 

Princess Cruises in Australia often book out faster than anywhere else in the world, proving the immense popularity that Princess holds on our shores. Princess comfortably won out this category in readers choice and continues to be one of the most popular cruise lines in Australia.

2. Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises is probably the line that offers an experience most comparable to that of Princess. They have big ships, with a focus on dining and modern venues, however, they offer more of a contemporary cruise experience compared to the more traditional cruising experience of Princess Cruises. 

The arrival of Celebrity Edge as a mainstay on our shores has quickly moved Celebrity into being one of Australia’s favourite cruise lines. We generally also see a couple of sailings each summer from Celebrity Solstice as well, which has recently been remodelled and is looking as good as new. 

Celebrity is known for its innovative venues, for example, the Magic Carpet, where you can dine 13 stories above sea level. 

On a Celebrity cruise you’ll generally find a younger demographic onboard Princess, but similar to Princess you can expect to find all kinds of people onboard. 

Celebrity is a great option for wine cruises that visit different ports around Australia renowned for wine production, sailings out to New Zealand, and South Pacific sailings out to places like Vanuatu and Fiji.

Celebrity Solstice which also regularly visits Australia, recently had a refurbishment, ready to be back for the 2026/27 season.

3. Cunard Cruise Line

Cunard remains one of the favourite premium cruise lines among Cruise Passenger readers. 

Cunard offers an experience that’s quite distinct from other cruise lines, steeping itself in tradition and grandeur and offering an extremely elegant and traditional experience, with the cruise line’s history interwoven with British royalty. 

Cunard has a modest fleet of only four ships, which is why the line has to make tough decisions on where to sail, but it remains a popular option for Aussies to cruise with in Europe or North America, with agents reporting that overseas bookings have increased since Cunard stopped local sailings. 

A line like Cunard is for cruisers with a certain taste. If your idea of a good and exciting time involves getting dressed up for the main dining room, enjoying elegant afternoon teas, slow dancing in a ballroom and feeling like you’ve gone back in time, then Cunard is a great option for you.

4. Holland America Line

While many cruise lines have left Aussie shores in recent years, Holland America has remained surprisingly steady, offering sailings over the Australian summer. Known for its circumnavigation voyages around Australia, these have proved popular with an international market. 

The experience is comparable to that of Celebrity and Princess, however, generally with a slightly older demographic and an even more relaxed atmosphere on board. The streamlined and no fuss experience is comparable to that of Viking Cruises. There is a big focus on music onboard its ships like the Noordam.

A specialty for Holland America in Australia are definitely its sailings out to New Zealand, offering both roundtrips from Australia and one way cruises between Sydney and Auckland. They generally visit more ports than other New Zealand cruises do, making it a great option for an extra bit of immersion.

5. Azamara Cruises