DETROIT – CruiseCompete has released its September 2016 CruiseTrends Report, revealing that when it comes to a premium cruising experience, Royal Caribbean is tops.

Sponsored by EyeforTravel Ltd., the report is compiled based on actual consumer quote requests and transactions taking place via CruiseCompete.com. Consumers request an average of more than 25,000 cruise quotes per month via CruiseCompete.

In the Contemporary/Premium category, the most popular cruise lines are Royal Caribbean International, Carnival Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises. In Luxury, Oceania Cruises ranked above all others, followed by Cunard Line and Crystal Cruises, while Viking River Cruises, AmaWaterways and American Cruise Lines ranked in the top three in the River category.

Most popular cruise regions in the Contemporary/Premium category are the Caribbean, North America and Central America, while luxury cruisers preferred Europe, Mediterranean and North America. River cruisers ranked Europe, North America and Asia/Far East as their top three destinations.

Most popular cruise ports visited included a wide range of destinations. Among Contemporary/Premium cruisers, Cozumel, Nassau and Philipsburg came in as the top three, while Gustavia, Kotor and Cartagena were tops among luxury cruisers. In the River category, Vienna, Cologne and Passau were best.

As for most popular countries visited, Mexico, Bahamas and the U.S. were tops in the Contemporary/Premium category, while in the luxury category, the U.S., Italy and Greece rounded out the top three. River cruisers loved sailing to Germany, Austria and France the most.

The most popular sailing month requested among Contemporary/Premium cruisers was December 2016, while luxury cruisers plan on travelling a month earlier in November. River cruisers came in even earlier, with most of them requesting travel in October 2016.