First Annual Bon Voyage Cruise Awards Announced

Bon Voyage, a digital travel magazine published by CruiseLine.com, has released their first annual editor’s choice awards. There were 35 different awards handed out in a variety of cruise categories.

“We were so inspired by the amount of quality cruising on the market today that we wanted to acknowledge the excellence in a formal way. We firmly believe that our winners deserve the accolades we’ve bestowed upon them.

In fact, it was no easy feat to accomplish; we originally thought we would give out 10 or 20 awards, but found so much to celebrate that we are handing out 35 in our inaugural year.” – Sherri Eisenberg, editor-in-chief of Bon Voyage.

A panel of top cruise writers were the judges for the awards.  They were Heidi Sarna (a 20+ year cruise writer), Ted Scull (travel writer), Lisa Cheng (former editor at Travel & Leisure), and Donna Heiderstadt (former travel editor at Modern Bride).

And the winners are…

Best Mainstream Line

Gold: Disney Cruise Line
Silver: Celebrity Cruises
Bronze: Princess Cruise Line

Best Premium Line

Gold: Oceania Cruises
Silver: SeaDream Yacht Club
Bronze: Azamara Club Cruises

Best Luxury Line

Gold: Crystal Cruises
Silver: Seabourn Cruise Line
Bronze: Silversea Cruises

Best for Couples

Gold: SeaDream Yacht Club
Silver: Celebrity Cruises
Bronze: Paul Gauguin Cruises

Best for Singles

Gold: Norwegian Cruise Line
Silver: Carnival Cruise Lines
Bronze: Cunard Line

Best for Multigenerational Families

Gold: Disney Cruise Line
Silver: Royal Caribbean International
Bronze: Lindblad Expeditions

Best Service

Gold: Crystal Cruises
Silver: Seabourn Cruise Line
Bronze: Disney Cruise Line

Best Value

Gold: Holland America Line
Silver: Carnival Cruise Lines
Bronze: MSC Cruises

Best New Ship

Gold: Norwegian Getaway
Silver: Regal Princess
Bronze: MSC Divina

Best Refurbished Ship

Gold: Carnival Sunshine
Silver: Crystal Symphony
Bronze: Star Pride

Cabins and Food

Best Mainstream Cabins

Gold: Disney Cruise Line
Silver: Holland America Line
Bronze: Carnival Cruise Lines

Best Premium Cabins

Gold: Oceania Cruises
Silver: Cunard Line
Bronze: Windstar Cruises

Best Luxury Cabins

Gold: Silversea Cruises
Silver: Seabourn Cruise Line
Bronze: Crystal Cruises

Most Innovative Cabins

Gold: Celebrity Reflection Sea View Suite
Silver: Oceania Marina and Oceania Riviera Ralph Lauren Suite
Bronze: Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas Oasis Duplex

Best Food

Gold: Crystal Cruises
Silver: Seabourn Cruise Line
Bronze: Oceania Cruises

Most Improved Food

Gold: Carnival Cruise Lines
Silver: Princess Cruises
Bronze: Norwegian Cruise Line

Best Free Takeaway Fare

Gold: Carnival’s Blue Iguana Cantina
Silver: Carnival’s Guy’s Burger Joint
Bronze: Holland America’s Dive In

Entertainment

Best Onboard Daytime Activities

Gold: Royal Caribbean International
Silver: Norwegian Cruise Line
Bronze: Disney Cruise Line

Best Onboard Evening Entertainment

Gold: Disney Cruise Line
Silver: Norwegian Cruise Line
Bronze: Carnival Cruise Lines

Best Nightlife

Gold: Celebrity Cruises
Silver: Carnival Cruise Lines
Bronze: Norwegian Cruise Line

Best Water Parks

Gold: Royal Caribbean International
Silver: Disney Cruise Line
Bronze: Norwegian Cruise Line

Best Services for Children (Under 3)

Gold: Disney Cruise Line
Silver: Royal Caribbean International
Bronze: Cunard Line

Best Services for Children (Age 3 – 12)

Gold: Disney Cruise Line
Silver: Royal Caribbean International
Bronze: Carnival Cruise Lines

Best Services for Teens

Gold: Royal Caribbean International
Silver: Norwegian Cruise Line
Bronze: Disney Cruise Line

Destinations

Best for Beaches

Gold: French Polynesia
Silver: Eastern Caribbean
Bronze: Bermuda

Best for Culture

Gold: Western Mediterranean
Silver: Eastern Mediterranean
Bronze: Baltic

Best for Food Lovers

Gold: Western Mediterranean
Silver: Southeast Asia
Bronze: Eastern Mediterranean

Best for Nature Lovers

Gold: Galapagos Islands
Silver: Alaska
Bronze: Australia/New Zealand

Best Caribbean Port

Gold: Tortola
Silver: Aruba
Bronze: St. John

Best Alaska Port

Gold: Juneau
Silver: Sitka
Bronze: Anchorage

Best Eastern Mediterranean Port

Gold: Venice, Italy
Silver: Istanbul, Turkey
Bronze: Santorini, Greece

Best Western Mediterranean Port

Gold: Barcelona, Spain
Silver: Portofino, Italy
Bronze: Valenica, Spain

Best Baltic Port

Gold: Copenhagen, Denmark
Silver: St. Petersburg, Russia
Bronze: Helsinki, Finland

Best Asian Port

Gold: Shanghai
Silver: Hong Kong
Bronze: Kyoto, Japan

Best South Pacific Port

Gold: Sydney
Silver: Bora Bora
Bronze: Easter Island