British Cruisers Name Favourite Cruise Ships In 2013 Cruise Critic U.K. Cruisers' Choice Awards

-- Top Honours for Celebrity, Oceania and Azamara

LONDON, Feb. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cruise Critic® (http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk), the leading cruise reviews site and world's largest online cruise community, has released its 2013 Cruise Critic U.K. Cruisers' Choice Awards -- the cruise awards based entirely on reviews submitted by cruisers.

British cruisers named Celebrity Eclipse as the top ship in 8 of the 10 categories in the Large Ship class, including the Best Overall Large Ship and Best Value for Money, and Best Ship Sailing from the U.K.. Celebrity Eclipse, which launched in 2010, is the third of five Solstice-class ships in Celebrity Cruises' fleet of 11 vessels. Sister-ship, Celebrity Solstice took Best Service.

Oceania Cruises stole the show in the Mid-Sized ship category, with its newest ship, Riviera taking seven top awards, including Best Overall Mid-Sized Ship and sister ship Marina taking the Best for Fitness award.

Azamara Club Cruises made a splash with U.K. cruisers in the Small Ship class. Azamara Journey won Best Overall Small ship and 6 other top awards, including Best Service, Best Dining and Best Value for Money. Azamara Quest was named Best for Fitness.

The U.K. Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards are based on reviews submitted by U.K.-based cruisers for cruises taken during 2012. They are awarded in three ship classes, according to passenger capacity – small (1,199 passengers or fewer), mid-sized (1,200 to 1,999) and large (2,000+). The top 10 ships in each class are named in the following categories: Overall, Cabins, Dining, Embarkation, Entertainment, Fitness, Public Rooms, Service, Shore Excursions and Value for Money. Awards are also given to the top-ranked ships in popular cruise regions; Alaska, Bahamas, Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

This year's winners include:

Best Large Ships
Celebrity Eclipse: Best Overall Ship, Best Cabins, Best Dining, Best for Embarkation, Best for Fitness, Best Public Rooms, Best Shore Excursions, Best Value for Money
Celebrity Solstice: Best Service
Norwegian Epic: Best Entertainment

Best Mid-Sized Ships
Riviera (Oceania): Best Overall Ship, Best Cabins, Best Dining, Best for Embarkation, Best Public Rooms, Best Service, Best Value for Money
Marina (Oceania): Best for Fitness
Thomson Spirit: Best Entertainment
Celebrity Century: Best Shore Excursions

Best Small Ships
Azamara Journey: Best Overall Ship, Best Dining, Best for Embarkation, Best Entertainment, Best Service, Best Shore Excursions, Best Value for Money
Azamara Quest: Best for Fitness
Seabourn Sojourn: Best Cabins, Best Public Rooms

Best for Families (all ship sizes) – P&O Cruises' Azura

Best Destination Cruises (based on global ratings)
Best Cruise to Alaska: Volendam (Holland America)
Best Cruise to the Bahamas: Disney Dream
Best Cruise to the Caribbean: Disney Fantasy
Best Cruise to the Mediterranean: Riviera (Oceania)
Best from the U.K. Celebrity Eclipse

"These awards aren't the result of a vote, instead the ratings are based entirely on reviews submitted by cruisers over the course of the past year, so it's a great snapshot of what British consumers think of the cruises they have taken," explained Adam Coulter, senior editor at Cruise Critic.

Cruise Critic boasts the largest online cruise community in the world with more than 100,000 cruise reviews, covering approximately 400 of the most popular cruise ships. Awards are based on reviews submitted for cruises taken in 2012. Visit Cruise Critic for a complete of the 2013 U.K. Cruisers' Choice Awards winners.

About Cruise Critic

(www.cruisecritic.co.uk):
Cruise Critic® is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travellers, 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 travellers 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.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands, and together the sites attract more than 75 million unique monthly visitors.* TripAdvisor, Inc.'s travel media brands include www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Worldwide, January 2013

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Media Contact
Carrie Gonzalez
+001-609-730-9155 Ext. 231
carrie@cruisecritic.com

Note to Editors:
Awards are based on reviews submitted by U.K.-based cruisers for cruises taken in 2012 – except for the Destination categories which are based on global results. It is necessary to register to submit a review which is simply involves completing an online registration, and is free of charge. Members are asked to provide comprehensive reviews with details of where and when they sailed. It is also possible to view the global list of winners at: http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm