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HomeBest-of-the-Best Luxury Cruise Awards 2019

Best-of-the-Best Luxury Cruise Awards 2019

2019-Cruise-Awards-logo_FINAL

Welcome to Signature Luxury Travel & Style’s Luxury Cruise Awards 2019, the world’s Best-of-the-Best in ocean, river, expedition, family and tall-ship cruising. Our third annual awards – now one of the most recognised in Australia’s rapidly growing luxury cruising industry – celebrates the world’s finest luxury cruise lines, ships and operators offering guests an unrivalled travel experience. Australian cruise passenger numbers hit a record high last year with more than 1.35 million people – one in every 17 Australians – taking a cruise in local or international waters. Our annual cruise awards, judged by a panel of 18 leading luxury cruising experts and travel advisors, rate the major cruise lines across six key categories – suites, service, dining, wellness, itineraries and shore excursions – each cruise line scoring points to determine the overall award winners. Congratulations to all of our winners and finalists, a stellar collection of the finest luxury cruise lines on the planet.

Categories

Ocean ships

More than 750 passengers

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Ocean ships

251-750 passengers

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Ocean ships

Less than 250 passengers

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River cruises

Europe

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River cruises

Rest of the World

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Expedition ships

Luxury

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Expedition ships

Four-star ship, five-star experience

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Multigenerational ships

Family cruising and ships-within-ships

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Tall ships

.

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Cruise tour specialists

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Judges

Our panel of expert judges includes 18 of Australasia’s leading luxury cruise specialists and travel advisors.

Anthony Goldman
Goldman Travel Group

Anthony Goldman is Joint Managing Director of Goldman Travel Group. Travel has always been in his blood; as third-generation professionals, the Goldmans are at the forefront of travel advisory in Australia.

Debbie Grace
FBI Travel

Debbie has been working in the travel industry since 1996. She enjoys planning exciting and indulgent itineraries for her clients, as well as the great relationships she has developed with them.

Phil Smethurst
Bicton Travel

Phil is Co-Founder and Director of Perth’s Bicton Travel. Now in its 21st year, Bicton Travel is consistently recognised as one of Australia’s leading cruise and luxury travel agencies.

Alison Di Paolo
Claremont Cruise & Travel Centre

Alison has enjoyed more than 40 years in the industry and for more than 15 years has specialised in luxury travel and cruising. Cruising is her passion and also her personal choice for a holiday.

Gail Kardash
TravelView

Gail has been the owner of TravelView, located in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, for the past 30 years. Her passion for travel is rewarded with a longstanding clientele in a rapidly changing industry.

Jean Summers
Clean Cruising

Jean Summers is Director of Sales at Clean Cruising, with 15 years’ experience in the cruise industry. Jean has enjoyed travelling on more than 35 cruises, with many more still on her bucket list.

Maxine Adams
MTA Travel

Maxine is a senior travel consultant with MTA Travel based in Port Macquarie. She offers a ‘full service’ consultancy and describes her key objectives as happy clients, repeat business and unprompted referrals.

Neil Kirby
Travel Masters & The Travel Studio

Neil has been fully immersed in the cruise industry for more than 20 years, and is now Joint Managing Director of Travel Masters and The Travel Studio on Queensland’s Gold Coast, both Virtuoso agencies.

Mandy Dwyer
Main Beach Travel

Mandy has almost 40 years of industry experience, with the last 19 of those owning her own agency, Main Beach Travel, on the Gold Coast. She is also a qualified Cruise Master.

Elizabeth Clarke
The Cruise Centre

A luxury travel advisor for more than 30 years, Elizabeth has travelled to most continents, many by ship, and she has used that experience to design personalised travel itineraries.

Vera Schwartzbord
FBI Travel

As a member of the FBI Travel team for 30 years, Vera has travelled extensively, visiting a variety of destinations. Her cruising experience has been mainly on small ships, including expedition cruises.

Melinda Gregor
Gregor & Lewis Bespoke Travel

Melinda is Managing Director of Gregor & Lewis Bespoke Travel, and has a passion for cruising, in particular, luxury and small-ship experiences, fostered over more than 30 years in the industry.

Josette Gostin
FBI Travel

In her long career in the travel industry, Josette has specialised in luxury cruising. Furthermore, she personally escorts one or two cruises a year and also qualifies as a Virtuoso host.

Justine Sealey
Ramsgate Travel Service

Justine started as a junior travel consultant in 1989 at Ramsgate Travel Service, and after 30 years, is now Managing Director. Justine’s passion when it comes to cruising is river cruising.

Philip Hoffmann AM
Phil Hoffmann Travel

Philip was named as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012 for his contribution to the travel and tourism industries. He employs 220 South Australians across 10 branches.

Penny Spencer
Spencer Group of Companies

Penny is Managing Director of The Spencer Group of Companies, and has been named in SmartCompany’s 2017 list of Top 30 female entrepreneurs and Travel Weekly’s Women in Travel Power List 2016.

David Brandon
Savenio

David is Managing Director of Savenio and a luxury cruise specialist with 36 years’ experience. Savenio is an award-winning Virtuoso agency with more than 40 Independent Travel Designers.

Jason Kroupa
House of Travel

While Jason’s team is based in the small New Zealand town of Motueka, their specialist knowledge of luxury cruising makes them leaders in their field.