Best Luxury Cruise Lines: Seven Lines Ranked on Space and Crew, With What the Fare Includes

The best luxury cruise lines are the ones that give each guest the most room and the most crew, and then tell you what the fare includes. Four Seasons Yachts leads on space, at roughly 153 gross tons per guest, and among the established lines Silversea and Regent are nearly tied on published crew: 544 crew for 728 guests on Silver Nova, 548 for 746 on Seven Seas Splendor.

Value is a different question. Regent’s own 2027 World Cruise opens at $91,499 per guest for 140 nights, per the NCLH announcement, which is about $654 per guest per night with flights, excursions and drinks folded in. The rest of this guide shows the ratios, the inclusions and the fine print.

How We Ranked the Best Luxury Cruise Lines

Wijet is independent and these ships were not sailed for this guide. Everything below comes from a line’s own page, a line announcement or named trade press, and each figure carries its source and year. Lines that sell to the same buyer are compared on the same three measures.

Space and Crew Ratios Explained

Space ratio is gross tonnage divided by the number of guests. It is a rough measure of how much ship there is around each person, and it is only as good as the two numbers behind it. Crew ratio is guests per crew member, or crew per guest. Both are our calculation from each line’s published figures, and we say which figures we used.

A higher space ratio does not always mean a better ship. Gross tonnage counts enclosed volume, including engine rooms and hotel services, so compare ships of the same type: small yacht-style ships with each other, and mid-size ships with each other.

What “All Inclusive” Covers Per Line

The phrase is not standard. Regent’s World Cruise announcement lists unlimited shore excursions, first-class airfare for the voyage, five complimentary specialty restaurants, premium beverages, unlimited Wi-Fi and unlimited laundry (NCLH, April 2024). Silversea’s Silver Nova page lists an All-Inclusive fare and an optional upgrade, and describes some onboard extras as complimentary, but its page does not spell out the full list. Always ask for the inclusion list for your sailing in writing.

The Best Luxury Cruise Lines Compared

Line and ship	Year	Gross tons	Guests	Crew	Space per guest	Guests per crew	Source
Four Seasons Yachts, Four Seasons I	2026	34,000	222 maximum	1:1 planned, count not published	About 153	About 1.0	Four Seasons press site, 2026
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Luminara	2025	46,750	448 maximum	374	About 104	About 1.20	Baird Maritime, June 2025
Regent Seven Seas, Seven Seas Prestige	2026	77,000	822	Not published	About 94	Not computed	Regent release, June 2025
Silversea, Silver Nova	2023	54,700	728	544	About 75	About 1.34	Silversea, 2026
Regent Seven Seas, Seven Seas Splendor	2020	55,498	746	548	About 74	About 1.36	NCLH, April 2024
Explora Journeys, Explora I	2023	About 64,000	922	642	About 69	About 1.44	Fincantieri, 2021; TTG Luxury, 2023
Seabourn, Seabourn Encore	2016	40,350	600	Not published	About 67	Not computed	Luxury Travel Magazine, Nov 2016

Verdict: the two newest yacht-style lines have the most space per guest, and Regent and Silversea sit close together on the numbers, so the choice between them comes down to what the fare includes and where you want to sail.

Suite sizes are not on one basis across these pages. Regent lists its Veranda Suite at 307 square feet (NCLH, 2024). Silversea lists the Superior Veranda Suite on Silver Nova at 301 square feet (Silversea, 2026). Four Seasons’ entry suites start at 581 square feet of combined indoor and outdoor space (Cruise Passenger, December 2025), which includes the terrace, so it is not directly comparable.

Wijet may earn a commission from partner links. It never changes what we recommend. See the affiliate disclosure.

The Best Luxury Cruise Lines, One by One

Our order follows the table and the inclusions, not a score.

Regent Seven Seas

Regent has the strongest published inclusions of the established lines. The 2027 World Cruise lists first-class airfare, unlimited excursions, five specialty restaurants, premium beverages, Wi-Fi and laundry in the fare, per NCLH. Seven Seas Splendor carries up to 746 guests with 548 crew, and its Veranda Suite is 307 square feet. Its flagship Seven Seas Prestige, with 77,000 gross tons and 822 guests, sails its first voyage on December 13, 2026, with a Skyview Regent Suite from $25,000 a night, per Regent’s June 2025 release. Best for travelers who want a single price with little left to buy.

Silversea

Silversea’s Silver Nova and Silver Ray each list 728 guests, 544 crew and 54,700 gross tons, per Silversea in 2026. Silver Nova was built in 2023 and Silver Ray in 2024. The line sells an All-Inclusive fare, with optional additions, so check what your sailing’s fare covers. Best for guests who want a mid-size ship with a ratio close to Regent’s. For a head-to-head with Seabourn, see Silversea vs Seabourn.

Seabourn

Seabourn Encore has 40,350 gross tons, 600 guests at double occupancy and 300 suites, each with a private veranda, per Luxury Travel Magazine in November 2016. That is about 67 gross tons per guest by our calculation. Seabourn’s site advertised up to $2,000 in shipboard credit per suite on Mediterranean sailings in November 2026. For a head-to-head with Silversea, see Silversea vs Seabourn. Best for guests who want a smaller, yacht-like ship.

Explora Journeys

Explora I is all suites, 461 of them, each with a terrace, and carries 922 guests with 642 crew, per TTG Luxury in 2023, about 1.44 guests per crew member by our calculation. Fincantieri put the class at roughly 64,000 gross tons in 2021, which gives a space ratio near 69. The entry Ocean Terrace Suite is 35 square meters (about 377 square feet) including a 7 square meter terrace. Best for guests who want a large, modern ship with a high suite count.

Four Seasons Yachts

Four Seasons I has 95 suites and up to 222 guests on 34,000 gross tons, per Four Seasons. The company says it plans a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio, though it has not published a crew number. The first sailing was set for March 20, 2026. Cruise Passenger reported in December 2025 that a seven-day sailing started at $25,000 per cabin, about $3,571 per cabin per night by our calculation. Best for guests who want hotel-style space and are comfortable with a new ship.

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

Luminara was delivered in 2025 with 46,750 gross tons and 374 crew, per Baird Maritime. Baird lists 224 suites and up to 448 guests, while Porthole lists 226 suites and up to 452, so we use the lower figure in the table. The ship launched on July 3, 2025, in Monte Carlo, per Porthole. Best for guests who want a brand name from hotels and a mid-size ship.

Best Luxury Cruise Lines for Couples

The lines above are adult-oriented in practice, and none describes a children’s club as a headline feature. For couples, the practical differences are suite size, the number of guests and the dining count. Four Seasons I, with 222 guests at most, and Luminara, with 448, are the smallest and the quietest by the numbers. Regent and Silversea offer more venues and a longer range of itineraries.

Our picks, based on the table: Four Seasons I for a small ship with space, Regent for a fare with the most included, and Silversea for a mid-size ship with a similar ratio. For a bigger outlay, compare the suites in luxury cruise suites before you choose a line.

Best All-Inclusive Luxury Cruise Lines

Regent’s inclusions are the most fully documented, as shown above. Silversea sells an All-Inclusive fare but its ship pages do not list every item.

If you plan to fly privately to the port, see private jet charter. For ships built for the poles, see our best Antarctica cruise guide. For ship-by-ship rankings, see most luxurious cruise ships, and for a different way to sail, see yacht charter cost. The wider section is cruises and yachts.

• q: Who are the top 5 luxury cruise lines? | a: On space and crew per guest, Four Seasons Yachts, the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas and Explora Journeys lead the lines in this guide. Regent documents the most inclusions in its fares. | source: editorial
• q: What is the most luxurious cruise company? | a: There is no single answer without a measure. On space per guest, Four Seasons Yachts leads in our table, at about 153 gross tons per guest. On published inclusions, Regent leads. Pick the measure that matters to you. | source: editorial
• q: Which is better, Silversea or Regent? | a: They are close on the numbers. Silver Nova has about 75 gross tons per guest and 1.34 guests per crew, and Seven Seas Splendor about 74 and 1.36. Regent’s fares document more inclusions. See our Silversea vs Seabourn guide for another comparison. | source: editorial
• q: Which luxury cruise line is best for couples? | a: Four Seasons I carries up to 222 guests and Luminara up to 448, the smallest ships in our table, so they feel quieter. Regent suits couples who want one price with excursions and drinks included. | source: editorial:::

Sources

• NCLH, “Regent Seven Seas Cruises Reveals 2027 World Cruise to Be Hosted on Board Seven Seas Splendor,” April 2024, nclhltd.com
• Silversea, Silver Nova and Silver Ray ship pages, silversea.com, November 2026
• Four Seasons, Four Seasons Yachts hotel facts, press.fourseasons.com/yachts/hotel-facts, 2026
• Cruise Passenger, “Four Seasons $5000 per night luxury yacht heads to sea trials,” December 2025
• Baird Maritime, “Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection welcomes third newbuild ship to fleet,” June 2025
• Porthole, “Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection launches Luminara,” 2025
• TTG Luxury, “First look at Explora I,” 2023
• Fincantieri, press release on the start of construction of Explora I, June 2021
• Luxury Travel Magazine, “Seabourn Takes Delivery of Seabourn Encore,” November 30, 2016
• Seabourn, offers page, seabourn.com, November 2026
• Regent Seven Seas, Skyview Regent Suite and Seven Seas Prestige press release of June 18, 2025, as published by Journal des Palaces