Best cruises to take, according to Conde Nast Traveler’s Gold List

• Condé Nast Traveler just released its annual Gold List, which is a collection of editors’ favorite travel experiences.
• The list included hotels, resorts, and cruises. Below are the top-rated cruise vacations to take next year.
• Athens, Greece is the most popular port on the list.
• The majority of featured ships were smaller and had more of a focus on luxury than a typical, traditional cruise ship.
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“Are you a cruise person?” is a question that encompasses several others: How comfortable are you with overcrowding? How much personal space do you need? How much money do you want to spend on a vacation?

Cruising doesn’t always have the best reputation for a whole host of reasons – but it is also a preferred method of travel for many, especially as the industry takes a turn toward the luxurious. 

Condé Nast Traveler just released its annual Gold List, a collection of hotels, resorts, and yes, cruises, that the editors recommend. 

For the most part, the cruises selected by Condé Nast Traveler are high-end, luxury-oriented vacations with smaller or more boutique cruise lines. Only two featured ships had a carrying capacity over 1,000 passengers, and many had undergone recent renovations.

The routes selected also play into that luxurious narrative – only one route included Caribbean cruise hot spots, while other itineraries included less-traveled routes through French Polynesia or down the Nile River. Athens, Greece was crowned as a go-to spot: It was port city for three of the seven cruises included on the list.

Keep reading for a look at the cruise vacations that made the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List, organized in ascending order of base price.