Signature Luxury Travel & Style magazine unveils the Best-of-the-Best Luxury Cruise Awards winners

Travel’s fastest growing sector in Australia is cruising, with a growth rate of 21 per cent in the past year alone, according to the latest report from Cruise Lines International Association Australasia. Last year, one in 19 Australians – 1.28 million of us – went on an ocean cruise, the highest per-capita rate in the world. As we become more seasoned cruisers, more of us – across all age groups – are seeking the best ships and the most inspiring itineraries.

To meet demand, there are more cruise lines, more destinations and more itineraries than ever before catering for discerning travellers, from polar expeditions to Caribbean island-hopping. It’s these five-star experiences that we honour in Signature Luxury Travel & Style’s 2017 Best-of-the-Best Luxury Cruise Awards, Australia’s only accolades dedicated solely to luxury cruise offerings. These unique awards provide a definitive guide for those seeking the best cruising has to offer.

Judging these awards were 10 leading Australian and New Zealand luxury travel advisors that were highly recommended as having the best knowledge of the cruise industry and an understanding both from personal and client experiences.

These experts voted across seven categories covering ocean, river and expedition cruising. Our judges ranked their selections for each sub-category (including cabins, service, cuisine, shore excursions, value, itineraries and embarkation process, plus expedition team for the two expedition categories), which we then converted to points to determine the overall winners.

Full list of categories:

• Sea: Large Ships
• Sea: Small Ships
• Sea: Boutique Ships
• Sea: Tall Ships
• River Cruising
• Expedition: Luxury
• Expedition: Speciality

The Winners
Large Ships (751-2500+ passengers)
1. Oceania Cruises (Marina and Riviera)
2. Crystal Cruises
3. Viking Ocean Cruises
4. Cunard
5. MSC (MSC Yacht Club)

Small Ships (251-750 passengers)
1. Regent Seven Seas Cruises
2. Seabourn
3. Oceania Cruises (Insignia, Nautica, Regatta and Sirena)
4. Silversea
5. Azamara Club Cruises
6. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
7. Ponant (L’Austral, Le Boreal, Le Soleal)

Boutique Ships (50-250 passengers)
1. Crystal Yacht Cruises
2. SeaDream Yacht Club
3. Ponant (Le Lyrial)
4. Windstar Cruises (Star Pride, Star Breeze, Star Legend)

Read more...