The World’s Best Cruise Ship You’ve Never Heard Of

My sailing aboard Europa 2 was complimentary and hosted by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. All opinions and experiences shared in this post are my own.

Quick: Name the world’s best cruise ship according to the Insight Guides Cruising and Cruise Ships (formerly Berlitz Cruise Guide), repeatedly earning that distinction since its debut in 2013. If you couldn’t identify Hapag-Lloyd’s 500-passenger Europa 2, you’re not alone. That’s probably because Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has catered almost exclusively to Germans since its founding in 1891, when it launched the world’s first “pleasure cruise.”

But while the German vibe is still evident on Europa 2 and most guests hail from Germany or Austria, the ship has adopted a dual-language format so English speakers can now expect a bilingual service staff and daily programs, menus, entertainment, and enrichment in their own language.

On my recent five-night sailing from Lisbon, Portugal, to Bilbao, Spain, I was also delighted to find the service discreetly attentive, the guest-to-crew ratio nearly 1:1, and the ship’s smaller size perfect for nosing into intimate, less-frequented ports where the behemoths can’t go.

Here are five ways Europa 2 stands out.

Design

Europa 2 redefines luxury at sea with a design that favors understated elegance over traditional opulence. Rather than old-fashioned chandeliers and gilded décor, the ship embraces a contemporary European aesthetic marked by clean, modern lines, abundant natural light, and an atmosphere that feels more like an exclusive boutique hotel than a conventional cruise ship.

The interiors are sleek and sophisticated, featuring a palette of warm neutrals, soft earth tones, blond woods, gleaming metals, and natural stone that create an inviting residential ambiance. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the public spaces, even the staircases, with daylight, while one of the greatest space-per-guest ratios at sea creates an open, airy feel.

The overall impression is one of relaxed sophistication, appealing to travelers who appreciate style, space, and a quiet sense of luxury.

Suites

Just like in the public spaces, the 251 accommodations — which range from 301 to 1,227 square feet — emphasize comfort over ostentation. Each is a suite with a private veranda, extending the living space outdoors and reinforcing the seamless connection between the ship and the sea. The Scandinavian-inspired design, custom blond-wood cabinetry, and soothing creams and taupes create a calm, uncluttered feel.

My entry-level Veranda Suite was a generous 301 square feet of living space plus a 75 square-foot balcony with two deck chairs, a small table, and a lounger. A decorative wood screen cleverly separated the sleeping and sitting areas, while floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors flooded the interior with natural light. A roomy walk-in closet with loads of hangers, queen bed, L-shaped sofa, and complimentary minibar (including both still and sparkling water, be still my heart!) added to the residential feel. An especially nice touch over the desk was a large lighted vanity mirror that can be hidden behind beige lacquered panels. One nit: The high-tech lighting system threw me for a loop.

My limestone bathroom ticked all the boxes with an elegant Villeroy & Boch vessel sink, a soaking tub adorned with a single orchid, a rain shower, a phone, plenty of counter space and storage, and a makeup mirror. A TV-connected speaker let’s you can continue listening even away from the monitor.

Food

Meals are a gourmand’s delight, some even award worthy. Seven restaurants, including four specialty ones, offer enough variety for any length cruise. Desire an indulgence? Order the Ossetra caviar (for an extra fee) available in most of them.

As one would expect on a German ship, German culinary touches abound: afternoon kaffee und kuchen (coffee and cake) served in the stylish Belvedere lounge; Bavarian wursts, apfelstrudel, and an impressive array of cheeses in the Yacht Club buffet; Weiner schnitzel in the Weltmeere restaurant; and decadent Black Forest waffles (among different daily flavors) served poolside.

Weltmeere, the spacious main dining room adorned with Chihuly-like Venetian glass chandeliers, offered daily changing pan-European menus. My amuse bouche of smoked salmon with caviar and crème fraiche, tuna tataki with avocado cream, and lobster fricassée were excellent.

Francophiles will enjoy bistro classics in the French brasserie, Tarragon, amid fin-de-siècle prints and black-and-white checkerboard floors. Think escargots, duck a l’orange, and chocolate mousse. The signature dish is beef tartare prepared tableside.

Go for Italian pastas, antipasti, and specialties like ossobuco alla Milanese in Serenissima, surrounded by black-and-white photos of Venetian scenes, gorgeous Murano glass chandeliers, and classical white columns on black marble bases.

The Asian restaurant, Elements, is a study in minimalist elegance with tatami screens, Chinese porcelains, and Asian-style lanterns. My pan-Asian meal was a knock-out: Cambodian mango salad with smoked fish and peanuts; Thai marinated prawns with green curry cream; Vietnamese spring rolls; and Indian murgh makhani (creamy butter curry chicken).

More Asian food was served in the tiny Japanese restaurant, Sakura. All the classics were there: sashimi, sushi, tempura, sukiyaki, and teriyaki — exquisitely presented and astonishingly good even though most of the fish and seafood was flash-frozen.

You can reserve each specialty restaurant (at no extra cost) at least once per voyage and — highly unusual for a cruise — you can show up for dinner any time.

The Yacht Club indoor-outdoor buffet restaurant serves enough options for the fussiest of eaters. Don’t miss the addictive gelato bar with 12 flavors — from Sicilian pistachio to eggnog stracciatella.

Guests interested in honing their culinary skills can take cooking classes in a dedicated classroom and mixology classes in Club 2, where I learned to make creative non-alcoholic drinks.

Art

Art is woven into the vessel’s identity. Nearly 900 carefully curated works — including paintings, photographs, sculptures, and limited-edition prints by internationally acclaimed and emerging artists — transform the ship into a floating gallery. Rather than existing as decorative afterthoughts, the artworks were all commissioned for the ship and are integrated into restaurants, lounges, corridors, and suites, inviting guests to discover them organically.

There’s even a one-room, light-filled Gallery, which features temporary exhibits of art for sale that change every two cruises. Half a dozen land-based galleries use this space to sell their work. A gallerist takes passengers on shipboard art walks, pointing out noteworthy pieces and their back stories.

“A lot of the art on board has a travel theme,” said Berlin gallery owner Alexander Freidmann-Hahn, who was managing the Gallery during my cruise. “Hapag-Lloyd wants small, interesting shows. They really care about the quality.”

Spa

At 10,764 square feet, the Ocean Spa and fitness area is one of the largest of any ship in Europa 2’s class.

Treatments range from massages to beauty services (Thalgo algae wraps, anyone?) to hydrotherapy in a whirlpool and a Kneipp pool. Looking for a specialty massage? There’s shiatsu, hot stone, sand compress, Hawaiian lomi lomi, lymphatic drainage, and reflexology. Looking for privacy? The Personal Spa comes with a sauna, its own whirlpool, and massage tables.

For this size ship, the variety of saunas and steam rooms is impressive. They include a mineral steam bath at 113 degrees Fahrenheit with up to 100% humidity, an herbal sauna at 149 degrees, a deep-ocean 176-degree sauna, and a dry Finnish 194-degree sauna. After baking in the latter, you can cool down Scandinavian-style with an ice rub from the nearby ice fountain.

But take note: All saunas and steam rooms are co-ed and “textile-free” (read: nude) in typical German fashion. (I discovered that a discreetly wrapped towel was acceptable.) “We’re a German ship so we don’t want to lose our identity even though we cater to international guests,” said Theresa Stempfle, international guest relations manager. Indeed, she could well have been describing the entire cruise itself.