Everything was bigger and better, shinier and techier (yeah, we made that word up) in 2014 for the cruise lines. From acquisitions to an epic game of features one-upmanship, this year was all about giving the customer a better value for their buck -- from the basics to the highest in luxury.

Who got it right and who has some homework to do for 2015? Here's how we saw the year in cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings

Grade: A-

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings was a big winner in 2014, highlighted by the $3 billion purchase of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

The parent of Norwegian Cruise Line now has a presence in the upper-premium and luxury segments, and travel agents like the idea — as long as Oceania and Regent keep their own personalities and service levels.

The merger resulted in new management — former chain restaurant executive Drew Madsen is the president and COO of the Norwegian brand while Jason Montague emerged from the accounting books to enter the spotlight as the president and COO of Prestige Cruise Holdings, the parent of Oceania and Regent.

One discordant note was the subsequent departure of Camille Olivere, the senior vice president of sales for Norwegian Cruise Line. A popular executive with travel agents, Olivere successfully led the charge to build Norwegian’s relationship with cruise sellers over the past four years.

Other highlights in 2014: the introduction of the Norwegian Getaway in January, ordering two more Breakaway-Plus ships, buying a ship for Oceania, and negotiating deals to add lively bars Margaritaville and Tobacco Road to its fleet.

Carnival Corp. and plc

Grade: B

CEO Arnold Donald is hitting his stride with well over a year at the helm of the nine-brand cruise company. He’s becoming a familiar figure at industry conferences and with the media, appearing on financial TV shows and scheduling regular conference calls with trade reporters, making headway with his easy-going accessibility.

The company is making headlines with a new marketing campaign that seeks to capture newcomers to cruising and will include Carnival’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial.

Carnival Corp. also is expanding greatly overseas, primarily in Asia and Australia, and even moved a top executive to Shanghai. Closer to home, it’s investing $400 million in emissions control technology and taking steps to save about $2.5 billion in fuel costs.

Its namesake brand, Carnival Cruise Line (which is gradually eliminating the “s” from Lines) is making strides in its relationship with travel agents and recovering from a slowdown over the past few years and the hit to its reputation after the Carnival Triumph incident.

The Fun Ship line will have a new president on Feb. 1 when Christine Duffy, the current CEO of the Cruise Lines International Association, takes over. Most expect she’ll be able to continue building on the brand’s recovery as The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line.

Royal Caribbean International

Grade: A

The exclamation point on a great year was the introduction of the showiest, most innovative cruise ship in years — the Quantum of the Seas — which generated excitement and headlines for its cherry-picker thrill ride, sky-diving simulator, robotic bartenders, virtual balconies in interior staterooms, and indoor sports center with bumper cars and circus trapeze.

The Royal Caribbean brand also has a new leader. Michael Bayley, previously president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, took the helm in early December. Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, who had been executive vice president-operations for Royal, moved to the top spot at Celebrity.

Parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. also is expanding overseas, with plans to create a cruise line aimed at Chinese travelers in partnership with Shanghai-based retailer Ctrips. To illustrate its commitment to China, the company is moving the Quantum of the Seas to Shanghai in April.

Princess Cruises

Grade: B+

This line’s newest ship isn’t a ground-breaking vessel like Quantum of the Seas. It’s a sister ship to the Royal Princess introduced in 2013 and christened by Kate Middleton.

But the beautiful Regal Princess still made headlines for bringing together the cast and 25 celebrity guest stars of “The Love Boat” TV show for a fun and nostalgia-fueled christening. The year 2015 also marks Princess’ 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated on virtually every cruise with balloon drops, disco parties and special menus.

It was the first full year with Jan Swartz at the helm as president and CEO of Princess, which now is part of the Holland America Group. We also saw Princess become partners with the Discovery Network to develop branded onboard programs as well as the Seattle Seahawks, which fits in with the company’s Alaska cruise specialty.

Princess seems to have been hit with a disproportionate number of norovirus cases, probably due to simple bad luck, but it deals with the outbreaks in a fast and efficient way.

Virgin Cruises

Grade: C+

Sir Richard Branson wants to bring his hip Virgin brand to the high seas. So far we don’t know a lot, other than he’s hired former Disney Cruise Line president Tom McAlpin and plans to build two ships.

But everyone is breathlessly awaiting every detail. We’ll hold off on a top score until we know more, but we’re rewarding him for generating a maximum amount of press for a minimal number of details.

Crystal Cruises

Grade: A

Year after year, this luxury line quietly cruises on, consistently earning No. 1 rankings from major travel publications, guidebooks and its own guests.

Edie Rodriguez has been at the helm as president and COO for well over a year now as Crystal continues to announce itineraries far in advance, giving agents time to promote them, and give advance warning of sale expiration dates with its “Book Now” fares.

Crystal continues to go to extraordinary measures to renovate its two ships before they start to show any wear. The luxury line has invested more than $140 million in ship makeovers in recent years, including a recent $20 million update of the Crystal Symphony and the $17 million dry-dock renovation of Crystal Serenity in November 2013.

In July, the company announced a very unusual expedition — the Crystal Serenity’s traverse of the legendary Northwest Passage from Seward, Alaska, to New York City, departing Aug. 16, 2016. It’s that kind of eye-catching voyage that keeps passengers coming back.