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Travel + Leisure

These Are the 10 Best River Cruise Lines of 2025—and No. 1 Is a Luxe Journey Through the Nile

Today's travelers want experiences, and on rivers as diverse as the Danube, Rhine, Seine, and others in Europe; Egypt's Nile; the Mekong in Vietnam and Cambodia; America's Mississippi; and the Peruvian Amazon, you can find just that with these inland ships. They slowly cruise to and past villages and in some cases world-class cities, nature areas and such sights as local people fishing and otherwise going about their daily chores. And on shore, you can follow local experts to top sights, or wander on your own and experience local life. Your floating hotel leads the way. Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe—to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Nearly 180,000 T+L readers completed the 2025 survey. A total of more than 657,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.). For the cruise category, respondents were asked to rate individual ships; the results were combined to generate scores for cruise lines in different categories based on number of cabins. Ships were specifically rated on the criteria below: Cabins/facilities Food Service Itineraries/destinations Excursions/activities Value For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses. Travel + Leisure readers praised the casual nature of river travel and the ability to see destinations from a unique on-the-water viewpoint. Aqua Expeditions (No. 3) was also applauded for its top-notch Peruvian cuisine using local ingredients on the Amazon. Fans of Grand Circle Cruise Line (No. 2) continue to cite the line's seamless delivery of destination knowledge via expert guides. The winner in this category, The Oberoi Cruises, with five-star sailings on the Nile, achieved one of the top scores in the entire World's Best Awards survey for 2025. The Oberoi Luxury Nile Cruisers The Oberoi Philae, Luxury Nile Cruiser at sunset. With a nearly perfect score, The Oberoi Cruises was a standout fan favorite. The line's two small river ships, the Oberoi Philae and Oberoi Zahra, sail the Nile in style, with the option of suite accommodations with their own outdoor whirlpools, Egyptologists on board for history lessons, and riverview spas where you can pretend you are Cleopatra while getting a signature facial using fresh products such as honey and watermelon. The ships are operated by Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. Comments from T+L readers included 'amazing,' 'wow, nice, best in class,' and 'fabulous.' Wow, nice, best in class. — T+L Reader 1. The Oberoi Luxury Nile Cruisers Reader Score: 99.07 2. Grand Circle Cruise Line Reader Score: 97.37 3. Aqua Expeditions Reader Score: 96.93 4. Tauck WBA Hall of Fame honoree. Reader Score: 96.00 5. AmaWaterways Reader Score: 94.74 6. Uniworld Boutique River Cruises WBA Hall of Fame honoree. Reader Score: 93.50 7. Viking WBA Hall of Fame honoree. Reader Score: 92.10 8. Scenic Reader Score: 88.95 9. American Cruise Lines Reader Score: 88.52 10. Avalon Waterways Reader Score: 88.09