The fleets of the 20 cruise lines listed below include all of the 70 ships chosen as the best in the world in a poll of Condé Nast Traveler’s readers, the results of which are charted starting on page 171 (for Methodology, see page 198). The information about destinations and prices given on the chart is subject to change, of course, and the best way to keep up with changes these days is online, either at the Web sites named below or at an umbrella site. Two sites are particularly notable for objectivity and thoroughness. Cybercruises.com not only lists more than 150 cruise lines (including riverboats, ferries, freighters, and scheduled sailing ships—most with links), it also has an efficient search engine, news items, a free e-zine, and links to special offers, deals, and travel agents. Cruiseserver.net gets right to the booking point, and a few seconds after you enter your preferences (date, destination, budget, etc.), you get an array of ships. Price ranges are displayed immediately, and you’re two clicks away from the cruise line’s own Web site.

Celebrity Cruises: 800-437-3111; celebrity-cruises.com.

Clipper Cruise: 800-325-0010; clippercruise.com.

Crystal Cruises: 800-820-6663; www.crystalcruises.com.

Cunard Cruise Line: 800-728-6273; cunard.com.

Delta Queen Company: 800-215-0805; www.deltaqueen.com.

Disney: 800-939-2784; disneycruise.com.

Holland America: 800-426-0327; hollandamerica.com.

Lindblad Expeditions: 800-397-3348; expeditions.com.

Norwegian Cruise Line: 800-327-7030; ncl.com.

Oberoi Nile Cruises: 20-2-383 3444; oberoihotels.com/shehm.htm.

Orient Cruise Line: 800-333-7300; www.orientlines.com.

Peter Deilmann Cruises: 800-348-8287; deilmanncruises.com.

Princess Cruises: 800-774-6237; www.princess.com.

Radisson Seven Seas: 800-285-1835; www.rssc.com.

Renaissance Cruises: 877-549-1124; renaissancecruises.com.

Royal Caribbean Cruises: 800-398-9819; rccl.com.

Seabourn: 800-929-9391; seabourn.com.

Silversea: 800-722-9955; silversea.com.

Windjammer: 800-327-2601; windjammer.com.

Windstar Cruises: 800-258-7245; www.windstarcruises.com.

Cruise Methodology

Each ship was judged on six criteria: Itineraries, Service, Design, Food, Events, and Activities. Only ships which received the required minimum number of responses for their categories were deemed eligible to be included in these ratings.