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4 Ocean Cruise Lines That Just Aren't Worth it Anymore

Rising fees and shrinking perks are quietly changing the math.

By Amanda Teague , Edited by Sara Albertelli

Updated Sept. 12, 2026

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Cruising is booming. A record number of Americans are expected to book an ocean cruise this year, and the industry keeps promising bigger ships, more onboard extras, and lower entry fares than almost any other vacation. But if you're trying to save money on travel, the sticker price on a cruise deal is only half the story. A wave of 2026 fee hikes, shrinking package inclusions, and rising service charges has quietly widened the gap between what a cruise looks like it costs and what it actually costs once you're onboard.

That gap shows up clearly in Consumer Reports' January 2026 cruise satisfaction survey, which asked nearly 19,000 members to rate 19 ocean cruise lines on value, service, food, and more. A handful of major lines landed near the bottom, and in each case, the low marks line up with specific, dated changes to what guests pay and what they get. Here's a closer look at four lines where the math has shifted, and why.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian finished dead last among the 19 lines rated in Consumer Reports' January 2026 survey of roughly 18,850 respondents. The timing tracks with real changes to the onboard experience. As of September 26, 2025, Norwegian began charging $5 for a second entree in its main dining rooms fleetwide. Around the same period, the line discontinued the printed daily schedule that used to be delivered to staterooms and scrapped its show reservation system in favor of first-come, first-served seating, a change that has led to long lines outside theaters before showtime.

Then, starting May 1, 2026, the prepaid gratuity tied to the Free at Sea Unlimited Open Bar package jumped from $28.50 to $32 per person per day on sailings of two to five nights, a roughly 12% increase. Norwegian's flexible Freestyle Cruising style still appeals to travelers who dislike rigid dining times, but the days of ordering a second entree for free, or budgeting a flat drink package rate, are gone.

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Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean also landed near the bottom of the same satisfaction survey, a notable slide for a line that's spent years marketing itself as the industry's biggest and best. Unlike some competitors, its daily gratuity has held steady at $18.50 for standard cabins and $21 for suites since November 2024, so the value slide here shows up in packages instead.

Starting March 15, 2026, Royal Caribbean removed the Coca-Cola Freestyle souvenir cup from its Deluxe Beverage Package and Royal Refreshment Package, once a standard inclusion. Guests who still want Freestyle machine access now pay $4.99 extra. Meanwhile, the Deluxe Beverage Package itself uses dynamic pricing that now averages nearly $84 per person per day fleetwide, and could top $120 on newer ships. Royal Caribbean still leads the industry on entertainment and new mega-ships, which is part of why families keep booking it despite the value complaints.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival has carried a budget reputation for years, and Consumer Reports' January 2026 survey again placed it among the lower-scoring lines. Carnival raised its daily gratuity for the first time since 2023, moving from $16 to $17 per person per day in standard cabins and from $18 to $19 in suites, effective April 2, 2026.

The same notice announced that its Bottomless Bubbles soda package would rise from $9.50 to $11.99 per person per day, about a 26% jump. That followed a quieter change in December 2025, when Carnival raised its onboard service charge on drinks and specialty dining from 18% to 20% without a public announcement. None of these increases are large on their own, but stacked together, a couple in a standard cabin now pays noticeably more in mandatory charges than they did a year ago, even before buying a single drink package.

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MSC Cruises

MSC rounded out the group of lines that scored low in the same Consumer Reports survey. Effective May 11, 2026, MSC raised what it calls its Hotel Service Charge, the line's version of automatic gratuities, from $16 to $17 per person per day in standard staterooms and from $20 to $23 per day in its Yacht Club suites.

The change applies to Caribbean and Alaska sailings, two of MSC's fastest-growing markets in North America. MSC still tends to offer lower base fares than its mainstream competitors, which keeps it attractive for budget-focused families, but that entry price no longer tells the whole story once the new service charge and Yacht Club premium are added in.

Bottom line

None of these four lines had a single dramatic failure. What they share is a pattern: daily gratuities or service charges ticking up, drink and dining packages getting more expensive, and small inclusions, like a souvenir cup, a printed schedule, or a second entree, quietly becoming add-ons or disappearing altogether. Each change looks minor in isolation, but stacked over a seven-night sailing for two people, they add up to real money that doesn't show up in the advertised fare.

It's worth remembering that a satisfaction survey measures how travelers feel about value and service, not an objective ranking of ship quality, and experiences could vary widely by ship, itinerary, and even which crew you happen to sail with. Royal Caribbean's entertainment, Carnival's low base fares, and Norwegian's scheduling flexibility are all still real strengths for the right traveler.

None of this means these four lines are bad vacations. It means the price you see when you search a cruise deal is rarely the price you'll actually pay once gratuities, service charges, and packages are added in, and that gap has grown wider across the board in 2026. Rather than treating any ranking as a verdict, compare the full cost, fare plus gratuities plus the packages you'd actually buy, against what's genuinely included before you book. If a cruise still pencils out once you've run those numbers, it could be a great way to start traveling more without blowing your budget.

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