Cruise Critic Names the World's Top Cruise Destinations, Based on Consumer Reviews

St. Petersburg ranks as the highest-rated port of the year, Europe's rivers receive the highest ratings and Disney Cruise Line's Castaway Cay is the top port in the Caribbean

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Cruise Critic

Sep 14, 2016, 03:00 ET

EWING, N.J., Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cruise Critic^®, the world's leading cruise reviews site and online cruise community, has announced the winners of its first-ever Cruisers' Choice Destination Awards, naming the top cruise destinations in the world, based on consumer ratings submitted with reviews on the Cruise Critic website. The awards name award-winning destinations across 15 regions, worldwide.

According to a recent survey by Cruise Critic, selecting a cruise destination is the most important part of the planning process for both first-time cruisers (28%) and experienced cruisers (29%).

"Cruising offers the unique opportunity to sample a number of destinations at once," explains Colleen McDaniel, Senior Executive Editor of Cruise Critic. "Because of that, it's important to carefully select your itinerary so that you're able to make the most of your time in port. With so many available options, this list of destinations personally recommended by cruisers themselves provides invaluable insight into the cruise destinations across the world to help cruisers choose the best options."

St. Petersburg, Russia was named the top cruise destination in the world, with cruisers particularly enamored with the city's art, history and architecture.

River cruise port cities were the top-rated category as a whole, with all of the top five destinations receiving the highest marks across the board. Paris was rated the best river cruise destination, with reviewers naming the city's beauty, museums and gardens as particularly impressive.

Castaway Cay – owned by Disney Cruise Line – ranked highest among cruise line private islands, and topped all Caribbean categories combined. Cruisers praised the island's clean, beautiful beaches and multitude of options for both kids and adults.

Bonaire was the highest-rated Southern Caribbean island, St. Maarten the top-rated Eastern Caribbean island, and Cozumel the top destination in the Western Caribbean & Riviera Maya.

As for the best cruise destination in North America, San Francisco was named to the top of the list in the U.S. & Canada category.

First-place winners include:

Top-Rated Alaska Port: Glacier Bay
Top-Rated Asia & South Pacific Port: Mystery Island
Top-Rated Australia & New Zealand Port: Sydney
Top-Rated Baltic & Scandinavia Port: St. Petersburg
Top-Rated Eastern Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda Port: St. Maarten
Top-Rated Southern Caribbean Port: Bonaire
Top-Rated Western Caribbean & Riviera Maya Port: Cozumel
Top-Rated British Isles & Western Europe Port: Amsterdam
Top-Rated Eastern Mediterranean Port: Venice
Top-Rated European River Port: Paris
Top-Rated Western Mediterranean Port: Barcelona
Top-Rated Hawaii Port: Kauai
Top-Rated Mexican Riviera & South America Port: Puerto Vallarta
Top-Rated U.S. & Canada Port: San Francisco
Top-Rated Cruise Line Private Island: Castaway Cay

For the full list of winners, visit the 2016 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Destination Awards.

For photos of the winning destinations, click here.

Cruise Critic boasts the world's largest online cruise community, with more than 160,000 cruise reviews, covering approximately 500 cruise ships and over 300 worldwide ports. Awards are based on reviews submitted for cruises taken over the past year.

About Cruise Critic

Cruise Critic® is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travelers, from first-time cruisers to avid cruise enthusiasts. The site features more than 160,000 cruise reviews and hosts the world's largest online cruise community where travelers share experiences and opinions with fellow cruisers. Cruise Critic was the first consumer cruise site on the Internet, launched in October 1995 by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP), through its subsidiaries, manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.citymaps.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl, www.besttables.com and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, and www.virtualtourist.com. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 350 million average monthly unique visitors*, and reached 385 million reviews and opinions covering 6.6 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions.