Turismo
Top Ships Revealed in 2019 Cruise Critic UK Cruisers' Choice Awards
Adam Coulter , UK Managing Editor, Cruise Critic said: "The UK Cruisers' Choice Awards play an important part in showcasing the cruise ships that UK travellers rate most highly in a number of key categories, such as entertainment, service, dining experiences, cabins and shore excursions. Our members play an invaluable role in helping to inform and guide other cruisers and first-time travellers to find and choose the best cruise ships for their ideal holiday, and we wouldn't have this authoritative awards programme without them."
In the Large Ship category, Celebrity Cruises was the top-rated cruise line across most categories, winning nine top position awards. The line's dedicated Caribbean ship, Celebrity Equinox, was named , and . The ship was also named across all size categories. The line's Celebrity Eclipse scooped the top ranking for , and Celebrity Solstice secured the award. Celebrity Equinox boasts a real grass lawn on top of the ship and a Lawn Club Sunset Bar complete with deck furniture and a faux fire pit. It also has a living tree suspended in the atrium, so the outside is never far away.
Royal Caribbean International won the highest ranking for and - across all size categories.
Another big winner, this time in the Mid-Size category was Marella Cruises, which won six top rankings. Marella Discovery secured three top awards, including: and ; whilst Marella Celebration scooped top spots for
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' ship, Balmoral, also proved popular with Brits, securing the coveted ship ranking, as well as the accolade. Refurbished every two years, and famed for its great food and wealth of activities and entertainment, Balmoral continues to make British travellers feel very much at home.
For the second year, Cunard Line's, Queen Victoria , won the top placement. The centrepiece of its Royal Arcade on Deck 3 is a custom-built, chiming pillar clock by English clockmaker Dent & Co. - clockmaker to Queen Victoria , whose most famous work is Big Ben in London .
MSC Lirica was also favoured to win the award. 64 per cent of the ship's cabins offer outside views and all balcony cabins are mini-suites.
A historic ship with nods to maritime heritage of yesteryear, Hurtigruten's, Lofoten, stole the show in the Small Ship category, winning four top ranking awards for , and . What the ship lacks in modern-day bells and whistles, it makes up for in charm – offering a one-of-a-kind way to sail the Norwegian Fjords.
Saga Cruises also did well, securing and pole positions for Saga Sapphire; and and top spots for Saga Pearl II. Saga has taken all-inclusive to the ultimate level, by including everything in the fare, including a complimentary chauffeur service for sailings from Southampton and Dover , and free flights and rail travel with transfers, for non-UK sailings.
For the third year in a row, the stunning Viking Sea, secured the category; whilst Silversea's flagship 2017 cruise vessel, Silver Muse, scooped the win for . Even the smallest of Silver Muse's suites measure almost 400 square feet, and they all boast walk-in closets and ultra-luxury sheets and towels.
The UK Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards are awarded in three ship classes, based on passenger capacity (Large: 2,000+ passengers; Mid-Size: 1,200 to 1,999 passengers; Small: 1,199 or fewer passengers) and are calculated using the ratings submitted with each Cruise Critic member review.
This year's UK winners include:
Celebrity Equinox – Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Balmoral – Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines (Mid-Size)
Lofoten - Hurtigruten (Small)
Celebrity Equinox – Celebrity Cruises (Large)
MSC Lirica– MSC Cruises (Mid-Size)
Silver Muse - Silversea (Small)
Celebrity Equinox – Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Balmoral – Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines (Mid-Size)
Lofoten - Hurtigruten (Small)
Sapphire Princess – Princess Cruises (Large)
Marella Explorer – Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Saga Sapphire – Saga Cruises (Small)
Symphony of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International (Large)
Marella Discovery– Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Saga Sapphire – Saga Cruises (Small)
Celebrity Equinox – Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Marella Discovery– Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Viking Sea – Viking Ocean Cruises (Small)
Celebrity Equinox – Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Queen Victoria – Cunard Line (Mid-Size)
Lofoten - Hurtigruten (Small)
Celebrity Eclipse – Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Marella Celebration – Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Saga Pearl II – Saga Cruises (Small)
Celebrity Solstice– Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Marella Discovery – Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Lofoten - Hurtigruten (Small)
Celebrity Equinox – Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Marella Celebration – Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Saga Pearl II – Saga Cruises (Small)
Jewel of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International
Celebrity Equinox – Celebrity Cruises
For the full list of winners, visit the 2019 UK Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards. For photos of the winning ships, please click here.
Cruise Critic® is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travelers, from first-time cruisers to avid cruise enthusiasts. The site features more than 350,000 cruise reviews and hosts the world's largest online cruise community where travelers share experiences and opinions with fellow cruisers. Cruise Critic was the first consumer cruise site on the Internet, launched in October 1995 by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc.
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Laurena McKenna , Cruise Critic
lmckenna@cruisecritic.co.uk
07775 620 232
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