Disney Cruise Line continues to earn high marks from travelers, taking home the top spot in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2026 for the Best Large-Ship Ocean Cruise Line category. It marks the second consecutive year the cruise line has claimed the honor, based on votes from readers around the world.
The annual survey drew responses from more than 207,000 readers, who cast approximately 661,000 votes across more than 10,000 travel-related properties and experiences, including hotels, airlines, cruise lines, destinations, and more.
According to Travel + Leisure, Disney Cruise Line stood out thanks to its expanding fleet, entertainment offerings, dining, and overall experience for families and multigenerational travelers. The recognition comes as Disney continues to grow its fleet with new ships and itineraries around the globe.
Disney Cruise Line finished with a score of 86.79, topping the large-ship rankings ahead of several well-known competitors.
Travel + Leisure‘s Top 5 Large-Ship Ocean Cruise Lines for 2026
- Disney Cruise Line – 86.79
- Holland America Line – 84.79
- Celebrity Cruises – 83.58
- Cunard – 83.41
- MSC Cruises – 80.42
Disney competes in the large-ship category, which includes cruise lines with ships featuring 800 to 1,399 cabins. Cruise lines with ships containing 1,400 cabins or more are instead evaluated in the mega-ship category.
This year’s top five mega-ship cruise lines were:
- Virgin Voyages – 94.01
- Celebrity Cruises – 84.26
- Princess Cruises – 81.93
- Royal Caribbean – 80.13
- Costa Cruises – 78.60
Travel + Leisure determines its rankings by first asking readers to rate individual ships before combining those results into overall cruise line scores. Travelers evaluate several aspects of their cruise experience, including cabin quality and onboard facilities, food, service, itineraries and destinations, shore excursions and activities, and overall value.
The publication separates cruise lines into six categories based on ship size: mega-ship, large-ship, midsize-ship, small-ship, intimate-ship, and river cruise lines. Because some fleets include vessels of different sizes, a single cruise line may appear in more than one category.
The latest recognition adds to Disney Cruise Line’s growing list of accolades as it continues expanding with newer ships like the Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny, Disney Adventure, and the upcoming Disney Believe. For families considering a future vacation at sea, the back-to-back recognition from Travel + Leisure readers suggests Disney remains one of the industry’s most highly regarded cruise experiences.
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