Turismo
Top Ships Revealed in 2018 Cruise Critic UK Cruisers' Choice Awards
Adam Coulter , UK Managing Editor, Cruise Critic said: "The UK Cruisers' Choice Awards marks an important date in the cruise industry's calendar, highlighting the cruise ships that UK travellers rank as particularly outstanding – from excellent service, amazing entertainment to the best 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 indeed, we couldn't have this authoritative awards programme without them."
In the Large Ship category, Royal Caribbean was the top-rated cruise line across most categories, winning six top position awards and three second place awards. The line's mega-ship, Oasis of the Seas was voted , and . The ship was also named across all size categories. The line's Brilliance of the Seas scooped the top ranking for , and Freedom of the Seas secured the award. Oasis of the Seas boasts two rock climbing walls, a carousel, a FlowRider surf simulator, a basketball court, mini-golf course, table tennis area and a short zipline.
Celebrity Cruises won the highest ranking for and , along with across all size categories; whilst Cunard, whose Queen Elizabeth was ranked second Best Overall, secured pole position in the category.
Norwegian Spirit won the coveted and awards.
Another big winner, this time in the Mid-Size ship category was Marella Cruises, formerly Thomson Cruises. The cruise line's Marella Spirit secured four top awards, including: , , and . Brits seem to love the fact that all tips are included in the price of the fare, which bypasses the often confusing mandatory tipping culture on international ships.
Cunard scooped another award, this time for Queen Victoria , as well as the accolade. One of the ship's signature features is the stunning three-tier Grand Lobby with its unique artwork, sweeping staircase and sculpted balconies. The centerpiece 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 .
Fred. Olsen's Balmoral was favoured to win the award. The ship's daytime activities are numerous with everything from port lectures and enrichment seminars to line-dancing classes on offer on sea days.
Hurtigruten's newest ship, Spitsbergen, specifically adapted to reduce fuel emissions and consumption, stole the show in the Small Ship category, winning five top ranking awards for , , , and .
Viking Ocean Cruises also continues to impress cruisers with its 2016-launched Viking Sea, which landed three top accolades for , and . All meals are complimentary, including specialty restaurants and all menus include heart-healthy options as well as vegetarian choices. The Chef's Table menu is themed to a certain region or food style, such as Chinese, Norwegian or sweet and salty and menu rotates to a different theme every three days.
Fred. Olsen Cruise Line proved popular again for entertainment, winning the also in the Small-Size ship category.
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: 1,200 or fewer passengers) and are calculated using the ratings submitted with each Cruise Critic member review.
This year's UK winners include:
Oasis of the Seas - Royal Caribbean International (Large)
Marella Spirit - Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Spitsbergen - Hurtigruten (Small)
Queen Elizabeth – Cunard Line (Large)
Queen Victoria – Cunard Line (Mid-Size)
Spitsbergen - Hurtigruten (Small)
Norwegian Spirit – Norwegian Cruise Line (Large)
Rhapsody of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International (Mid-Size)
Viking Sea – Viking Ocean Cruises (Small)
Celebrity Reflection– Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Marella Discovery – Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Viking Sea– Viking Ocean Cruises (Small)
Oasis of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International (Large)
Balmoral – Fred. Olsen Cruise Line (Mid-Size)
Boudicca – Fred. Olsen Cruise Line (Small)
Freedom of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International (Large)
Queen Victoria – Cunard Line (Mid-Size)
Viking Sea - Viking Ocean Cruises (Small)
Celebrity Silhouette – Celebrity Cruises (Large)
Queen Victoria – Cunard Line (Mid-Size)
Viking Sea – Viking Ocean Cruises (Small)
Brilliance of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International (Large)
Marella Cruises – Marella Spirit (Mid-Size)
Spitsberger - Hurtigruten (Small)
Oasis of the Seas – Royal Caribbean (Large)
Marella Cruises – Marella Spirit (Mid-Size)
Spitsbergen - Hurtigruten (Small)
Norwegian Spirit – Norwegian Cruise Line (Large)
Marella Spirit – Marella Cruises (Mid-Size)
Spitsbergen - Hurtigruten (Small)
Celebrity Reflection – Celebrity Cruises
Oasis of the Seas - Royal Caribbean International
For the full list of winners, visit the 2018 UK Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards. For photos of the winning ships, please click here.
This list reflects the winners in the UK Cruisers' Picks Awards. To view the separate list of US winners, click here.
To ensure these awards offer the best reflection of customer satisfaction, the awards are based entirely on ratings submitted with reviews published on CruiseCritic.co.uk. There is no voting component.
For further information, photography or an interview with Adam Coulter , UK Managing Editor, Cruise Critic, please contact Laurena McKenna at lmckenna@cruisecritic.com or on M: 07775 620 232.
Cruise Critic® is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travellers, 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 travellers 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 Traveller, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc.
TripAdvisor-branded sites are home to the world's largest travel community of 455 million average monthly unique visitors*, with over 570 million reviews and opinions covering the world's largest selection of travel listings worldwide -- covering 7.3 million accommodations, airlines, attractions, and restaurants.
TripAdvisor-branded sites are home to the world's largest travel community of 455 million average monthly unique visitors*, with over 570 million reviews and opinions covering the world's largest selection of travel listings worldwide -- covering 7.3 million accommodations, airlines, attractions, and restaurants.
The subsidiaries and affiliates of TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) own and operate a portfolio of websites under 20 other travel media brands:
www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.citymaps.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com and www.viator.com.
*Source: TripAdvisor log files, average monthly unique visitors, Q3 2017
Laurena McKenna , Cruise Critic
lmckenna@cruisecritic.co.uk
020 3194 2137