St. Petersburg Named Top Cruise Destination

St. Petersburg, Russia is the best destination for a cruise vacation, according to a new report from a popular cruise rating website.

Cruise Critic says St. Petersburg’s art, architecture, and rich history helped it come out No. 1 overall. The rankings are based on user reviews at the Cruise Critic website.

Colleen McDaniel, senior executive editor at the website, said cruising offers the ability to see multiple locations on one trip, but she said that makes the choice of destinations all the more important.

"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,” McDaniel said, in a press release. “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."

In addition to the overall rankings, the site also lists top ports in several regions. Cozumel, St. Maarten, and Bonaire were the top ports in the Caribbean, according to the rankings.

In Europe, the top river port was Paris, followed by Cologne, Vienna, and the southeast-German city of Passau.

Among Hawaiian cruises, Kauai, HIlo, and Maui won out. The favorite Alaskan cruise port was Glacier Bay, followed by Sitka and Skagway.

The full list of winners is here.

Twenty-four million passengers are expected to take a cruise this year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. That’s up from about 18 million in 2009. The Caribbean is the most popular region for cruises, by far, but new areas, including Asia and Australia, are becoming more popular. In Australia, for instance, the number of passengers cruising through the region grew by six-fold from 2004 to 2014.