Frommer's Best Cruise Ships of 2011 (PHOTOS)

As 2011 cranks up, it's time for a new edition of Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call, the definitive guidebook to cruises sailing from U.S., Canadian, and regional ports to the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, Bermuda, New England/Canada, and along North America's rivers and coasts.

Here are our top picks and notable mentions for 2011.

Read the expanded feature here.

Text by Matt Hannafin. Photos courtesy of Frommers.com (unless otherwise noted), where you can plan trips and connect with other travelers.

 

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Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class

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Best Ships

The biggest cruise ships ever, by far, Royal Caribbean's 282-ton, 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas transcend their enormity through a layout that bunches experiences in "neighborhoods" around the vessel, allowing many of the ships' restaurants and entertainment spaces to be surprisingly intimate.

Read the expanded feature.

Photo Caption: "Allure of the Seas." Courtesy Royal Caribbean International.

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Best Ships

The biggest cruise ships ever, by far, Royal Caribbean's 282-ton, 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas transcend their enormity through a layout that bunches experiences in "neighborhoods" around the vessel, allowing many of the ships' restaurants and entertainment spaces to be surprisingly intimate.

Read the expanded feature.

Photo Caption: "Allure of the Seas." Courtesy Royal Caribbean International.

comments(9)

Total comments: 9 | Post a Comment

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Ship

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Fine. Fab!

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Comments

[Matt Mihaly]

09:05 PM on 01/18/2011

Check out the Four Seasons Explorer, out of the Maldives. Also, the Tui Tai out of Fiji. Both boats hold only about 22 guests, and look fantastic. Hope to take a trip on them sometime.

[ZenCrusader]

12:14 PM on 01/15/2011

Nice pic of the Royal Clipper near the Pitons at Soufriere, St. Lucia = the most stunning scenery in all the Caribbean !

[jsrs]

02:03 PM on 01/14/2011

I have sailed the Caribbean on the Royal Clipper twice. In March I'll board her sister ship, The Star Flyer, for the second time. Do yourself a favor and book a trip on one of these ships once. You won't be disappointed.

[aristippe]

01:31 AM on 01/19/2011

is the rigging automatic?

[Tracey Ginn Guidi]

05:11 PM on 01/13/2011

Star Clippers' Royal Clipper, WOW, gorgeous!!! Not a cruising fan, but would love that one :)

[DanSc]

04:14 PM on 01/13/2011

Definitely want to go on the square-rigged ships that use wind power.

[onionboy]

03:44 PM on 01/13/2011

Hitting the Epic this Saturday. I'll post again when I get back.

[OutAtFirst]

11:58 AM on 01/13/2011

I like the really, really huge ships because there are fewer ports that can accomodate them.

[NoElephants]

02:01 PM on 01/13/2011

Yeah, plus they aggregate vast amounts of classless people into one space, removing them from society for a week, it's nice!