Cruise Critic, the World's Largest Cruise Review Site, Announces First Ever Cruisers' Choice Awards

PENNINGTON, N.J., June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --- Cruise Critic® (http://www.cruisecritic.com), the leading cruise reviews site, today announced the winners of the first-ever Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards. The awards honor the top cruise ships, based on ratings submitted by consumers for cruise reviews published on the site.

"The reviews submitted by our members are an outstanding resource for cruisers and offer a fantastic insight into the different cruise experiences you will find on each ship," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of Cruise Critic. "With these awards, we're looking to honor the ships that rank highly with our members by providing exceptional facilities, accommodations, activities and service."

Cruise Critic boasts the world's largest online cruise community with more than 700,000 members and 70,000 cruise reviews. Each month, almost 2 million people visit the site to read cruise reviews, find information on planning cruises or access the forums, where they swap advice and stories with other cruisers.

The Winners

The Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards are divided into three ship classes -- small, mid-sized and large -- based on passenger capacity. Awards are given to the top 10 ships in each class. In addition, awards are given to ships in 10 categories, which include: Value-for-Money, Service, Dining, Cabins, Entertainment, Shore Excursions, Public Rooms, Family, Fitness and Embarkation.

Proving that bigger really is better, Oasis of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's 5,400-passenger mega-ship, swept the boards in the large-ship class with three category wins, as well as the top ranking for the overall category of Best Large Cruise Ship. The ship, which sails in the Caribbean year-round, picked up awards for Best Entertainment, Best Family Ship and Best for Embarkation.

In the mid-sized class, first place went to Princess Cruises' Island Princess, which sails the Panama Canal during the winter and heads north to Alaska for the summer season.

In the small-ship class, the top award goes to Celebrity Cruise's Celebrity Xpedition, which operates year-round in the Galapagos Islands and carries fewer than 100 passengers. The ship consistently receives exceptional ratings from passengers and also picked up awards for Value-for-Money and Shore Excursions.

This is the first time since the site launched in 1995 that Cruise Critic has released annual ratings for cruise ships and divided the ratings according to ship size. Previous rankings have been based on cumulative totals. Awards are based on ratings and reviews submitted during 2010 by Cruise Critic members. Membership, which is open to everyone free of charge, is required in order to post a review. Cruisers simply need to register on the site. Members are asked to provide comprehensive reviews, providing details of where and when they sailed.

For the complete 2011 list of Cruisers' Choice Awards winners, please visit http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm.

Best Large Cruise Ships – 2,000+ passengers

Best Mid-Sized Cruise Ships – 1,200 – 1,999 passengers

Best Small Cruise Ships – 1,119 or fewer passengers

See all 10 winners for each ship class.

CATEGORIES  

Best for Value

Best for Service

Best for Dining

Best for Entertainment

Best for Cabins

Best for Families

Best for Fitness

Best for Embarkation

Best for Public Rooms

Best for Shore Excursions

About Cruise Critic:

Cruise Critic is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travelers, from first time cruisers to avid cruisers. The site features both professional and member reviews of more than 350 ships and hosts an active community where travelers share experiences and opinions with fellow cruisers.

Launched in October 1995 by The Independent Traveler, Inc., Cruise Critic was the first consumer cruise site on the Internet.

The Independent Traveler, Inc. is a subsidiary of TripAdvisor® LLC, which is an operating company of Expedia. Cruise Critic, The Independent Traveler and the Cruise Critic logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of The Independent Traveler, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

© 2011 The Independent Traveler, Inc. All rights reserved.  

Media Contact:
Carrie Gonzalez
PR and Marketing Manager, Cruise Critic
[email protected]
(609) 730 9155 ext 231

SOURCE Cruise Critic