[Regent Seven Seas Voyager]Regent Seven Seas Cruises * 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. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. "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. NEW ORLEANS ROUND TRIP TO THE CARIBBEAN ON THE NORWEGIAN GETAWAY NCL CRUISE LINE: Norwegian Cruise Line LENGTH OF TRIP: 5 days or 7 days PRICES START AT: $399 per guest on 5-day cruise, $599 per guest on 7-day cruise The Norwegian Getaway sails from New Orleans to the Western Caribbean. Potential stops include Cozumel, Mexico; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; and George Town, Grand Cayman. The ship docks back in New Orleans. The Norwegian Getaway is the largest ship on this list – it's 1,068 feet long and can carry up to 3,963 guests. The ship, which boasts nearly 30 dining options and an original art collection, was refurbished this year. COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, TO STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, ON THE OCEANIA MARINA Oceania Cruises CRUISE LINE: Oceania Cruises LENGTH OF TRIP: 10 days PRICES START AT: $2,999 per guest The Baltic cruise starts in Copenhagen and makes its way to eight cities, including Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki, before docking in Stockholm. The ship has a carrying capacity of 1,250 and its nicest suites were furnished by Ralph Lauren. Off the ship, Oceania recently introduced local tour guides to its excursion offerings. PAPEETE, TAHITI, TO AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND ON THE CRYSTAL SERENITY Crystal Cruises CRUISE LINE: Crystal Cruises LENGTH OF TRIP: 14 days PRICES START AT: $4,549 per guest The Crystal Serenity is doing a two-week cruise through French Polynesia and the South Pacific, starting in Tahiti and stopping in Tonga and Fiji before docking in New Zealand. The ship has been around for 17 years but just underwent a dramatic renovation in 2018. The re-design included the implementation of an open-plan dining space that eliminated the classic assigned seating trope found on traditional cruises as well as updated and expanded cabins. The renovations brought the ship's carrying capacity down 9% to 980 passengers. SEE THE REST OF THE STORY AT BUSINESS INSIDER SEE ALSO: * Just 26 of the world's richest men have more combined wealth than the poorest 3.8 billion people * A family of 8 is traveling through Australia's most remote regions in a fully customized double-decker camper van. Here's a look inside. * Taylor Swift just turned 30, and she's already worth at least $360 million. Here's how the pop superstar makes and spends her ever-growing fortune. SEE ALSO: THE WORLD'S FIRST HYBRID CRUISE SHIP IS CURRENTLY ON ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE, AN 18-DAY TRIP TO ANTARCTICA WITH 450 GUESTS ONBOARD. HERE'S A LOOK INSIDE. DON'T MISS: THE 17 BEST HOTELS IN THE WORLD, ACCORDING TO TRAVELERS
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