To make this list, I looked at current App Store or Google Play listings and official help pages (as of 5 November 2025), then mixed in usability notes from trying them out myself. Apps change a lot, so take this list with a pinch of salt, knowing that your experience could be entirely different by the time you sale...

12) P&O Cruises — “My Holiday” (web app while onboard)

There isn’t a downloadable P&O app in the stores. Instead, P&O points guests to its “My Holiday” digital planner once you join the ship Wi-Fi, to view your onboard account and book things. It works, but because it’s a web experience you won’t find ratings in the app stores and offline use is limited (meaning it's problematic if you haven't paid for a wifi package).

11) Cunard — My Voyage (web app while onboard)

Same story as P&O: no store app to rate. Cunard’s My Voyage runs in your browser on the ship Wi-Fi for dining queues, daily planner and bookings; pre-cruise is handled in My Cunard on the web. Clean and useful, but again, no native app store presence.

10) Princess Cruises — Princess Cruises app

The Princess app does the essentials, but ratings are patchy by region and long-standing reliability gripes seem to keep surfacing for lots of users. Huawei’s AppGallery shows a low average, which aligns with the “great when it works” reputation; the UK App Store page lists the features but not a rosy rating. If you’re sailing Princess, install it but keep your expectations measured. 

9) Holland America Line — Navigator

Holland America Line’s Navigator app generally behaves, but it isn’t the snappiest of the bunch. In several App Store regions it sits in the low-to-mid 4s out of 5, which tracks with my experience trialing it: seems solid for schedules and reservations, less dazzling for bells and whistles (like individual meet ups on board). 

8) Celebrity Cruises — Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity’s app is the sleeker cousin in Royal Caribbean Group’s family. It covers check-in, reservations and daily planners and tends to score mid-to-high 4s on Google Play. On board it’s perfectly serviceable, though not quite as bulletproof as Disney or Royal, I noticed a few glitches/lagging pages while on board. 

7) Virgin Voyages — Sailor app

Virgin’s app leans into vibes and pre-booking, and recent Store listings show mid-to-high 4s. It’s fun once you’re in the ecosystem, but occasional hiccups can appear on embarkation day as everyone hammers the same screens at once seem to be common. 

6) MSC Cruises — MSC for Me

A very capable planner on newer ships, with strong Google Play ratings in multiple regions and the usual roster of dining, show and activity reservations. It really clicks on the newer vessels which have been built around the platform. 

5) Carnival — HUB

Carnival’s HUB app is one of the most downloaded in cruising and typically sits in the mid-to-high 4s, helped by dead-simple chat, queue-free pizza orders on some ships, and a daily schedule that’s hard to mess up. If your party loves shows, trivia and meeting spots, this one’s a stress reducer.

4) Norwegian Cruise Line — Norwegian Cruise Line

NCL rolled out an all-new app in late 2024. It covers online check-in, reservations and on-ship planning, and shows a high 4-star rating footprint on Google Play today. It feels cleaner than the previous “Cruise Norwegian” app and is trending the right way (up).

3) Royal Caribbean — Royal Caribbean International

Rich features before and during your cruise, including e-muster, calendar planning, purchase management and even digital keys on some ships. Store pages and recent round-ups cite high-4 ratings and millions of downloads; the official help pages are excellent if you get stuck. A reliable workhorse.

2) Disney Cruise Line — Navigator

Polished, relentlessly updated and loved by families. The UK App Store listing shows the full pre-cruise and onboard toolset, and regional pages reflect very high user scores. If you like an app to just behave while you chase characters and showtimes, this is the benchmark.

1) The all-round champ: a photo-finish between Disney and Royal

If you want absolute smoothness and the least faff, Disney’s Navigator edges it on consistency and user feedback; if you want sheer breadth of features and fleet-wide muscle, Royal’s app is outstanding. Both are excellent and both are updated frequently.

A few practical notes that will save you grief

Many lines let you use their app for free on the ship Wi-Fi, even without an internet package. Royal spells that out clearly, and Disney does the same for core functions. If you’re sailing Cunard or P&O, remember you’ll use the ship’s free web portal rather than a store app, so don’t waste time hunting in the App Store on embarkation morning.