Wednesday, 27 November 2024
by Rose White
Luxury cruise has been celebrated as a powerhouse of the reenergised travel industry, with Australia’s cruise community turning out in force for the Signature Luxury Travel & Style Luxury Cruise Awards 2024.
Opening the event, Signature Media’s CEO and Group Editor Cathy Wagstaff applauded the industry for its focus on innovation, sustainability and protecting the oceans as it continues to grow.
“With a much smaller population than China, the UK and the US, Australia is now the sixth largest market in the world for luxury travellers with cruise leading the way,” she said. “31.5 million passengers globally are expected to cruise this year and there is huge growth predicted for new-to cruise.”
Virtuoso was the major sponsor of the event, with the luxury travel network’s General Manager AU/NZ Greg Treasure taking to the stage to reflect on the key role cruise had played in the overall picture for the luxury network since the pre-pandemic days of 2019. In that time Virtuoso has seen growth of 216% across all segments.
“That compares to an industry average of about 126%,” Treasure revealed. “There’s absolutely no question that luxury cruise is at the heart of that growth and has become such a an integral part of the health and wellbeing of the whole luxury travel ecosystem.
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“And it is no surprise when you continue to look at the elevation and quality with ocean cruising, the ever-increasing popularity of river cruising, and the opening up of new frontiers with expedition ships.”
The awards ceremony, held at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art and MC’d by TV and radio personality Andrew Daddo, saw close to 100 representatives from the cruise industry gather to celebrate the sector’s achievements over the last year.
CLIA Australasia Managing Director Joel Katz presented the keynote speech highlighting the “evolution of luxury cruising” (see more in tomorrow’s LATTE) while LATTE Managing Editor Guy Dundas acknowledged the major strides made in the crucial area of sustainability.
It is the sixth iteration of the annual Luxury Cruise Awards, with judging carried out by a panel of 20 leading luxury cruise experts and travel advisors.
The lunchtime event honoured winners across 13 key categories, with second and third runner-ups also recognised.
The most anticipated cruise ships of 2025 were also pondered by the panel of esteemed luxury cruise experts who highlighted Four Seasons Yachts, Crystal and Regent Seven Seas Prestige as ones to watch.
For the full list of winners, see below:
Ocean Ships – More than 750 passengers
Finalists: Celebrity Cruises, Cunard Line, Virgin Voyages
Ocean Ships – 251-749 passengers
Finalists: Azamara, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Ponant, Seabourn
Ocean Ships – Boutique 50-250 passengers
Finalists: Aqua Expeditions, Lindblad Expeditions
Ocean Ships – Yachts 50-300 passengers
Finalists: Emerald Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club
Ocean Ships – Tall ships
Finalists: Star Clippers
Ocean Ships – Multigenerational
Finalists: Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises
River Cruises – Europe
Finalists: AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Les Bateaux Belmond, Emerald Cruises, Viking Cruises
River Cruises – Rest of the world
Finalists: Delfin Amazon Cruises, Sanctuary Retreats, The Strand Cruise
Expedition Ships – Luxury
Finalists: Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Ponant, Quark Expeditions, True North Adventure Cruises, Viking Expeditions
Expedition Ships – Four-star ship, five-star experience
Finalists: Aranui Cruises, Coral Expeditions, Hurtigruten Expeditions, UnCruise Adventures
Ship-in-a-ship
Finalist: Royal Caribbean Cruises
Luxury Operator
Finalist: Latitude 33 Luxury Tours
Sustainability
Hurtigruten Expeditions, Ponant, MSC Group
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