The following ratings were done by GalaxSea Cruises of San Diego. They have claimed to have cruised on all major cruise lines and this is how they see it.
Luxury Class
Regent Seven Seas - The top rated cruise line of them all!
Silversea - One of the top luxury small-ship cruise lines.
Crystal - One of the best & dominated this market until 2001 when Regent Seven Seas took this place.
Seaborn - One of the older luxury cruise lines and now owned by Carnival.
Deluxe Class - Between Luxury and Premium
Azamara Cruises - A new cruise line from Celebrity Cruises - extra high level of food & service.
Oceania Cruises - Has great food and service, but Azamara ranks higher.
Premium Class - Just below Deluxe and above Budget Class
Celebrity Cruises - Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity and has made them their upscale brand.
Royal Caribbean - The best overall cruise line for families and active adults.
Holland America - A fine premium class that caters to seniors.
Disney Cruises - A great brand that caters to children.
Princess Cruises - Owned by Carnival Corp. Many new reports of poor food quality & service.
Budget Class - Usually the price leader but with problems and issues.
Carnival Cruises - is the low price leader in the cruise market. Their ships pack in more people than any others.
NCL - A cruise line they do NOT recommend. Too many problems and complaints and NCL has an atrocious way of handling problems.
www.galaxsea.com/ratings