Updated October 18, 2026 · NomadCue Editorial Team
Top cruises and ferries compared
We earn a commission when you sign up through links on this site. Partner status can affect where a brand appears in our rankings. Partners with a live offer in your country come first, then every other brand by score. How we rank
| Order | Travel provider | Score | Features | Key facts | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | HurtigrutenPartner | 9.4/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 62 | TravelocityPartner | 9.4/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 63 | redtag.caPartner | 9.4/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 64 | Tours4funPartner | 9.4/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 65 | CheapCaribbeanPartner | 9.3/10 |
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives | |
| 66 | DespegarPartner | 9.3/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 67 |  IRCTCPartner | 9.3/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 68 |  RastreatorPartner | 9.3/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 69 |  TUIPartner Up to 300 EUR extra off with myTUI promo code: up to 300 EUR | 9.3/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
| 70 | DFDSPartner | 9.3/10 |
|
| ReviewCompareSee alternatives |
About Top cruises and ferries compared
This ranking covers the booking services that sell water transport alongside the rest of a trip: ferry crossings, cruise sailings and the transfers, hotels and flights that wrap around them. 49 brands are ranked here, and the list splits sharply. Some are broad marketplaces that treat cruise as a single line among many, while others are narrow operators whose ferries or resort sailings are the main event. The main trade-off is breadth against focus. A wide catalogue makes it easy to build a whole trip in a single place, and a focused site tends to know its routes better, with clearer terms on refunds and fees. Price sits in the middle, because a booking fee is only part of what a traveller pays, and cancellation terms often matter more once a sailing is booked. Support and mobile apps break the ties, since a missed ferry leaves little room for a slow answer.
How we picked
Scores come from a weighted score with cost at 40%, offer at 40% and trust at 20%. Cost and offer carry the most weight, so what a brand charges and what it actually sells move it up or down more than anything else, while trust separates the close scores. Facts are taken from each brand's own terms and conditions, product pages, contact and support pages, and its app listing where one exists. Booking fees and cancellation terms are read as written rather than summarised into a score, and a product list counts only what a brand states for itself. Water transport is weighed through this ranking's own product weights, so cruise counts for more than ferry. Partner entries sit at the top of any list, and this ranking shows 0 partner slots, so the order below rests on score alone. The ranking covers 49 brands. Regulators, licences, protection schemes and payment processors are named only where a brand's own pages state them.
How we rankOur top picks
1. Booking.comBooking.com is in this ranking because it wraps a cruise line in hotels, packages and flights. flights, car rental and transfers places cruise beside flights, car rental, transfers, hotels, hostels and tours, its booking terms read No booking fees, and free cancellation at most properties is set out in Free cancellation at most properties. Support is the widest list in the group at help centre, phone and email, and a mobile app is available. Founded in 1996, it is run by Booking.com B.V. in NL. The con is that cruise sits far down that list and ferries sit outside flights, car rental and transfers. Against the member ranked next to it, BookMe+, Booking.com adds hotels and flights while BookMe+ has ferries.
- Products: Flights, Car-rental, Transfers, and 4 more
- Booking fees: No booking fees
- Cancellation terms: Free cancellation at most properties
Pros
- One account covers flights, car rental and transfers, so a group can hold transport and beds together instead of searching supplier by supplier.
- No booking fees keeps the booking charge out of the price you compare.
- A mobile app is available, so bookings and changes travel with you between searches.
- Support runs on help centre, phone and email, which puts a person as well as self-service behind every reservation.
- Free cancellation at most properties gives a group room to move dates at most properties.
Cons
- FlixBus is the shorter decision when the trip is bus only, where flights, car rental and transfers asks you to weigh many choices.
- Hertz Bahamas WiFi covers car rental and transfers, so a car and a transfer trip does not need the wider list.
- Latam Travellers states its fee promise as 0 hidden fees, no contracts, which writes the position out in full words.
What to look for
- The water mix
- Cruise is the heaviest signal in this category at 73.5%, with ferry behind it at 34.7%. Decide whether you want a sailing, a crossing, or both, then check that the brand you shortlist actually sells that line.
- A booking fee you can price in
- Cost carries 40% of the score, and booking fees differ sharply across this list. Some brands charge nothing at the booking stage while others add service, convenience or change fees. A fee that is written down beats a low headline rate that quietly carries extras later.
- Refund terms before you pay
- Cancellation terms decide how much money comes back, and every brand here states them differently: fixed windows, deposit stages, per-night charges and property-dependent free cancellation. Read the terms on the brand you are booking, not the headline policy, because the sailing date sets the stakes.
- Getting hold of someone
- Phone and help centre support weigh heavily here at 77.8% and 80%, ahead of email at 73.3%. A missed sailing is time critical, so a live channel matters more than a long help centre article.
- Booking from your phone
- A mobile app is close to expected in this category at 89.2%, so a brand without one is giving up convenience at the boarding gate. Check that the app covers ticketing and changes, not only browsing, before you rely on it.
- What sits around the sailing
- Hotels score 71.4% and transfers 42.9%, which is where broad marketplaces pull ahead of crossing specialists. A ferry that lands you at a port makes the rest of the trip worth pricing in the same basket.
Frequently asked questions
Does any brand here sell both ferries and cruises?+
No brand in this ranking lists a ferry and a cruise line together. Cruise shows up in lists such as flights, rail and bus and flights, car rental and transfers, while ferry leads the lists at 12Go and Bookaway, flights, rail and bus and bus, rail and ferry, and appears in flights, ferry and transfers and bus, ferry and transfers. That single line decides which side of the category a name belongs on, so check it before reading the catalogue.
Which of these charge no booking fee?+
WayAway states Free, no sign-up or ongoing fees, and Booking.com states No booking fees. The rest read differently: Service, convenience or cross-border fees may apply, a change fee inside No booking fee; change fee from CAD $25 per person, and a booking charge plus a per-night cost in 5% booking charge; US$9 + US$3 per night per room. A fee free booking covers the reservation only, not the fare, the cabin or the trip around it.
How do the cancellation terms differ?+
Each states its own window. 12Go asks for Change or refund requests at least 24h before departure, Bookaway applies 10% cancellation fee, up to 48h before departure, and Atoll Transfer's terms sit in No refund if cancelled within 10 days of arrival. Air Canada Vacations uses a deposit schedule, Deposit 45+ days out; 50% 44-21 days; 100% 20 days or less, while Booking.com ties free cancellation to the property, Free cancellation at most properties. The closer the sailing date, the more of the money tends to stay with the operator.
What support is available after booking?+
Phone lines matter most on a bad travel day, and this category weights them at 77.8%. Booking.com and Atoll Transfer run the widest lists, help centre, phone and email and email, chat and phone. American Express works through phone and help centre, and Bakai Bank through phone, help centre and community, so check which channel you can actually reach from abroad.
Do I need a mobile app?+
A mobile app carries real weight in this category at 89.2%, and most names in this ranking ship one. Atoll Transfer offers no mobile app, which leaves booking through its own channels. For anyone holding a boarding pass on a moving deck, the app is a convenience rather than a condition of travel, but it saves queueing at the gangway.
Why do the ferry specialists sit low?+
Breadth counts, because cruise is the strongest signal in this category at 73.5%. A crossing specialist such as Bookaway or BookMe+ does a narrow job well, but no cruise line appears in bus, rail and ferry or bus, ferry and transfers to add, so it competes for fewer of the trips readers actually plan.
Ready to try Hurtigruten?
Ranked #1 of 10.
Top cruises and ferries compared by country
Related by the facts
The data behind this ranking
| Metric | Value | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Products: flights | 63.3 % | 49 |
| Products: rail | 28.6 % | 49 |
| Products: bus | 28.6 % | 49 |
| Products: ferry | 34.7 % | 49 |
| Products: cruise | 73.5 % | 49 |
| Products: car-rental | 49 % | 49 |
| Products: transfers | 42.9 % | 49 |
| Products: parking | 4.1 % | 49 |
| Products: hotels | 71.4 % | 49 |
| Products: ota | 10.2 % | 49 |
| Products: packages | 55.1 % | 49 |
| Products: tours | 61.2 % | 49 |
| Products: rail-pass | 10.2 % | 49 |
| Products: hostels | 4.1 % | 49 |
