Best for: Enrichment seekers
Why: Cunard and its trio of Queens ooze culture like an Oxford don. The cruise line introduced the Cunard Insights enrichment program in 2007, inviting onboard such luminaries as a NASA astronaut, a polar explorer and British wit John Cleese. In 2016, the Insights program partnered with The New York Times to present a speaker series highlighting experts on journalism, climate change, politics, national security, sports and more. Passengers can also indulge in cultural pursuits with ballroom dancing, West End-style theater (in a box seat, no less), a planetarium (on Queen Mary 2 only) and string quartets that bid the sun adieu. Audience participation is encouraged; you can learn the art of acting with Royal Academy of Dramatic Art members and wax poetic in onboard book clubs. Starting in 2018, passengers will have the opportunity to trace their family tree, too, under the tutelage of experts from Ancestry. com.
Runner-up: Onboard enrichment is a pillar of the high-end Crystal Cruises brand, with complimentary enrichment-minded programming featured heavily aboard every sailing. Via the Creative Learning Institute, passengers get a chance to take language lessons (in partnership with Berlitz), sign up for wine-tastings (helmed by trained sommeliers), participate in wellness lectures (put on by experts and doctors from the Cleveland Clinic) or enroll in art instruction (with courses in painting, sculpture or crafts). Through the Crystal Visions program, luminaries from the world of screen and stage, comedy, sports, politics, science and more are brought onboard to present guest lectures and seminars. Plus, cruisers can sign up for techie instruction via Crystal's Computer University@Sea program, or opt to sail on special themed voyages, focused on topics like music, golf, photography, food and wine, and fitness.
Best Enrichment Cruises