P&O Cruises' Britannia awarded 'Best New Ship'; AmaWaterways named ' Best River Cruise Line'.
LONDON – Cruise Critic announced the winners of its annual UK Editors’ Picks Awards for 2015. The winners, which are selected by Cruise Critic’s team of cruise experts, highlight the best cruise lines across 25 categories.
“New ship launches, itineraries and onboard offerings bring more choice than before, which is great news for UK holidaymakers, but can make it even harder to choose the right cruise,” explained Cruise Critic UK editor, Adam Coulter. “We aim to identify the lines we feel are at the top of their game, and highlight the latest innovations in the industry to help people when planning a cruise.”
The biggest ship built for the UK market, P&O Cruises‘ Britannia, was awarded ‘Best New Ship’. Britannia, which debuted in March this year was praised for its sophisticated decor and design, and outstanding dining. In addition, P&O Cruises retained the overall award for ‘Best Dining’ for the second year consecutively, with commendations from Cruise Critic editors for its restaurants including Epicurean, Britannia’s fine dining molecular gastronomy eatery.
AmaWaterways this year took three awards including ‘Best River Cruise Line’, lauded for its game-changing partnerships with Adventures by Disney and Backroads Tours to attract new, younger passengers and families. The line also won ‘Best for Active Cruisers’, and ‘Best Dining’.
Other ocean cruise line winners include Royal Caribbean, which took three awards for ‘Best for Families’, ‘Best Entertainment’ and ‘Best Suites’. For the third consecutive year Azamara won ‘Best Shore Excursions’, while Celebrity Cruises‘ Eclipse was awarded ‘Best Refurbishment’.
River cruise winners include CroisiEurope, taking ‘Best New River Ship’ for Loire Princesse, and ‘Best for Itineraries’, while Emerald Waterways was named ‘Best for Value’.
Southampton maintained the position as ‘Best UK Departure Port’ for the seventh consecutive year, while Guernsey won ‘Best UK Port of Call’ for the first time.
2015 Cruise Critic UK Editors’ Picks Awards (Ocean):
- Best New Ship: P&O Cruises’ Britannia
- Best Refurbishment: Celebrity Eclipse
- Best for Luxury: Crystal Cruises
- Best for Families: Royal Caribbean International
- Best Itineraries: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
- Best for Adventure: Hurtigruten
- Best Value: Thomson Cruises
- Best Dining: P&O Cruises
- Best Entertainment: Royal Caribbean International
- Best Suites: Royal Caribbean International
- Best Cabins: Holland America Line
- Best Shore Excursions: Azamara Club Cruises
- Best for Romance: Star Clippers
- Best for Nightlife: Norwegian Cruise Line
- Best UK Port of Call: Guernsey
- Best UK Departure Port: Southampton
2015 Cruise Critic UK Editors’ Picks Awards (River):
- Best River Cruise Line: AmaWaterways
- Best New River Ship: CroisiEurope’s Loire Princesse
- Best Dining: AmaWaterways
- Best Cabins: Sanctuary Retreats
- Best Enrichment: Tauck
- Best Shore Excursions: Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection
- Best for Active Cruisers: AmaWaterways
- Best for Itineraries: CroisiEurope
- Best for Value: Emerald Waterways
Photo caption: P&O Cruises’ Britannia.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
