Fred Olsen score top marks

Fred. Olsen Cruises has been voted by the British public as ‘Ocean Cruise Line of the Year’ in consumer magazine Cruise International’s first Cruise Awards.

Viking River cruises were voted best River company.  Best luxury line was Seaborne and best entertainment was won by Royal Caribbean.

Fred. Olsen also walked away with the trophies for ‘Best Educational Programme’, for its Vistas series of lectures, workshops and excursions, and ‘Best Live Performance’, for its staging onboard of the glamorous singing duo, The Operababes, whose album has topped the classical charts.

Some of the prizes were more light-hearted; NCL’s Havard Ramsoy, the fleet’s youngest captain at 38, won ‘Coolest Captain’. Her Majesty the Queen was voted ‘Cruise Celebrity of the Year’ for her naming of Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth but did not attend to collect her plaque; a Cunard executive picked it up on her behalf. ‘Cruise Photo of the Year’ was a flaming sunset shot from an MSC ship but with a shot of an unusual stunt in high winds coming a close second.

Several cruise lines walked away empty handed including Holland America, Celerbrity and Thompsons.