Cruise Critic Names the Best Ships for 2015 in the 5th Annual Cruisers' Choice Awards

World's largest cruise reviews site announces the highest ranked ships of the year, based entirely on passenger feedback

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Cruise Critic

Feb 23, 2015, 05:30 ET

PENNINGTON, N.J., Feb. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Cruise Critic^®, the world's leading cruise reviews site and online cruise community, has announced the winners of the 2015 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards. The awards name the best cruise ships of the year, based entirely on consumer reviews posted to the Cruise Critic website.

Best Overall Large Ship: Disney Dream Photo Credit: Disney Cruise Line

For the third year in a row, Disney Cruise Line won the coveted "Best Overall" award, with Disney Dream winning in the large ship category and Disney Wonder in the mid-size category. In total, Disney's fleet won twelve awards, including "Best Entertainment" and "Best Cruises to the Bahamas" for Disney Dream, and "Best Cabins," "Best Service" and "Best for Families" for Disney Fantasy.

A back-to-back win was also nabbed by Oceania Riviera, named "Best Cabins" and "Best Dining" in the mid-size category for the second year in a row – a nod to the ship's luxurious cabin furnishings, wide variety of restaurants and onboard Culinary Center. Carnival Liberty was named "Best Value-for-Money" in the large ship category for the second consecutive year.

Unique, best-seen-by-cruise itineraries ruled the "Best Shore Excursions" category – Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America, which sails year-round in Hawaii, won the award in the large ship category and Princess' Coral Princess won in the mid-size category, sailing partial and full transit Panama Canal cruises. Silversea's Silver Galapagos won in the small ship category, offering expedition cruises of the Galapagos.

"Being named to this list of winners is one of the highest forms of praise cruise lines can receive," explains Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic. "The awards represent the compilation of thousands of reviews Cruise Critic received over the past year, so it's truly representative of the experiences of those who have sailed on the ships first-hand."

The Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards are awarded in three ship classes, based on passenger capacity (Large: 2,000+ passengers; Mid-Size: 1,200 to 1,999 passengers; Small: 1,199 or fewer passengers) and are calculated using the ratings submitted with each Cruise Critic member review.

First-place winners include:

Best Cruises Overall
Disney Dream (Large)
Disney Wonder (Mid-Size)
Pacific Princess (Small)

Best Cruise Ship Cabins
Disney Fantasy (Large)
Oceania Riviera (Mid-Size)
Regent Seven Seas Voyager (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Dining
Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam (Large)
Oceania Riviera (Mid-Size)
Azamara Quest (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Embarkation
Disney Fantasy (Large)
Disney Magic (Mid-Size)
Crystal Symphony (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Entertainment
Disney Dream (Large)
Disney Magic (Mid-Size)
Pacific Princess (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Fitness
Celebrity Equinox (Large)
Oceania Riviera (Mid-Size)
Azamara Quest (Small)

Best Cruise Ship Public Rooms
Disney Dream (Large)
Oceania Riviera (Mid-Size)
Crystal Serenity (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Service
Disney Fantasy (Large)
Disney Wonder (Mid-Size)
Regent Seven Seas Voyager (Small)

Best Cruise Ship Shore Excursions
Norwegian Pride of America (Large)
Coral Princess (Mid-Size)
Silversea Silver Galapagos (Small)

Best Cruise Ships for Value
Carnival Liberty (Large)
Holland America Zuiderdam (Mid-Size)
Pacific Princess (Small)

Best Cruises for Families: Disney Fantasy

Best Alaska Cruises: Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas
Best Bahamas Cruises: Disney Dream
Best Caribbean Cruises: Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam
Best Mediterranean Cruises: Celebrity Reflection
Best Cruises from Florida: Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam
Best Cruises from the Northeast: Carnival Pride
Best Cruises from the West Coast: Sapphire Princess
Best Cruises from the U.K.: Celebrity Eclipse

For the full list of winners, visit the 2015 Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards.

Cruise Critic boasts the world's largest online cruise community, with more than 100,000 cruise reviews, covering approximately 500 cruise ships. Awards are based on reviews submitted for cruises taken in 2014.

About Cruise Critic
Cruise Critic® is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travelers, from first-time cruisers to avid cruise enthusiasts. The site features more than 100,000 cruise reviews and hosts the world's largest online cruise community where travelers share experiences and opinions with fellow cruisers. Cruise Critic was the first consumer cruise site on the Internet, launched in October 1995 by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc.

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Media Contact:
Aubrey Manzo, Cruise Critic
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609-583-0054

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150220/176868

SOURCE Cruise Critic