READERS CHOICE CRUISE AWARDS READER BEWARE

So the winners have been announced for the UK Cruise Critics 2012 Readers Choice Awards. Some surprising results indeed. Lets take a look.

Best overall cruise experience: -

• Celebrity Equinox in the large ship category
• Thomson Dream in the mid-size category
• Seabourn Odyssey in the small ship category

Thomson Dream? Seriously? This ship beat Oceania Cruises new ship Marina, (it came in second place in the mid-size category). Ok to be fair I've not experienced Thomson Dream but I fail to see how it could possibly be any better than the Marina - still the great British public have spoken - or rather those that trawl the boards and forums of Cruise Critic have.

Best for Dining:-

• Celebrity Equinox in the large ship category
• Oceania Cruises Marina for the mid-size category
• Azamara Journey for the small ship category

This is much more on track - and interesting to see a ship that carries just under 700 pax is now classed as small.

Best for Service:-

• Celebrity Equinox again got top honours for large ship
• Thomson again for mid-size
• Seabourn Odyssey again for small ship

Thomson must have some incredible service onboard frankly - again they beat Oceania Marina in this category.

Best for Cabins:-

• Celebrity Eclipse - large ship
• Thomson Dream - mid-size
• Seabourn Odyssey - small

Oceania Marina was beaten AGAIN by Thomson Dream in the mid-size category

I was curious about how amazing these cabins must be on Thomson Dream so I headed over to their website. I was disappointed - these cabins only have small windows, no verandas, and even the suites don't have balconies.

So how were the results obtained? This from Cruise Critic - "Rankings are based on ratings given by our members in published member reviews"

It just goes to show that opinion polls and readers awards have to be taken in context and the sort of people that are awarding the points can only judge it based on their own experience. If they have never cruised before then the Dream will blow them away if their usual holiday is a camping trip.

The best way to ensure that you are on the right ship (that is suited for you) is to talk to an experienced cruise consultant - I'm a firm believer that there is a cruise for everyone, for those that love ships like the Thomson Dream right through to those where only Seabourn will do.

Full details of all the categories and winners can be found at the cruisecritic.co.uk website.

Author	Mr James Peterson
Date	22 February 2012
Comment	Im not sure about these results either, it looks like Thomson have thrown Cruisecritic a ’bung’. Having not cruised on the Thomson Dream i cant comment really. But having cruised on the Oceania Marina I have to say it exceeded all my expectations.
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Author	Miss Patricia Dempsey
Date	20 February 2012
Comment	Completely agree. These ’results’ are completely mind boggling and too repetitive. I read some of these reviews (other sites too) and think I must have been on a different cruise to them. Cruising is subjective BUT many things in reviews you want to know about are omitted altogether while they ramble about bugger all. Personally I would rather go by talking to people about their experience than these things.
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Author	Mrs Maureen Modica
Date	01 March 2012
Comment	Sorry to disagree but our experience on Oceania was not the best. Dining was not great, as food came up tepid and when we drew attention to this, we had to go through an interrogation by both the maitre d’hotel and subsequently, the concierge. Despite any tempting offers that they may have, we do not wish to repeat our previous experience. I cannot comment on the Thomson Dream but will see for myself when we sail with them later this year. Thomson seem to excel on the entertainment side compared with the likes of Cunard, Seabourn and Oceania.
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