Princess Cruises tops 2026 megaship reader rankings
Nearly 800,000 travelers participated in the Readers’ Choice Awards survey, which evaluated cruise lines across several ship-size categories.
Princess Cruises ranked first in the 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards megaship category with a score of 92.35, according to the published results. Royal Caribbean International placed second with 86.45, followed by MSC Cruises at 85.23, Carnival Cruise Line at 81.05 and Norwegian Cruise Line at 80.3.
Princess competed in the category with Sun Princess and Star Princess, launched in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Award organizers said each ship can carry as many as 4,300 passengers, making them the largest vessels in the Princess fleet.
The annual survey drew participation from nearly 800,000 travelers and ranked cruise lines in categories covering megaships, large ships, medium and small vessels, and river cruises.
Virgin Voyages led the large-ship category with 91 points, narrowly ahead of Disney Cruise Line at 90.75. Holland America Line placed third with 90.57, while Celebrity Cruises ranked fourth at 85.74. Princess Cruises finished fifth with 84.27, giving the line a top-five result in both the megaship and large-ship categories.
