Preferences in cruising, or rating the ships, is at best a straw poll and at worst an utter waste of time. Too many factors can influence the “people’s choices.” Your room steward is lazy. The seas are rough. You’re feeling under the weather. Your stateroom is in the wrong part of the ship. The other passengers you’ve met are boors. Your toast was cold. Etcetra.
Having said that, people who cruise a lot are always being asked for their favorite this and that. And websites like Cruise Critics poll readers and compile their Cruisers’ Choice Awards.
And we all read them.
So when Cruise Critic posted its first-ever Cruisers’ Choice Awards the other day, like everybody else who enjoys cruising, we scoured the results to see if we agree…even if we don’t attach a lot of importance to them.
You can do that, too, at Cruise Critic. If you’d like a snapshot, here it is:
• Oasis of the Seas (right) was picked overall Best Large Cruise Ship and also won for Best Embarkation, Best Entertainment and Best for Families among the big ships.
• Island Princess was picked best in the Mid-Size category and Celebrity’s Xpedition for small ships.
• Celebrity ships won three of the other big-ship categories, Royal Caribbean and Carnival two each.
• The best line among mid-size ships was Holland America with four.
• The best small-ship line was Celebrity (Xpedition) with three.
The best review we’ve heard for “What’s Your Favourite Ship?” is this:
“The one I’m on.”