The release of the National Travel Industry Award nominations for 2015 this morning has seen significant new opportunities for the industry to celebrate cruising excellence.
Revamped NTIA categories include the new Best Cruise Ship – Domestic Deployment award – which for the first time enable specific cruise vessels operating in local waters to be recognised for their high standards.
The industry seems to have been quick to embrace the new category, with nominations from across the board including P&O’s Pacific Aria, Pacific Eden, Pacific Jewel and Pacific Dawn.
They have been joined by fellow Carnival Australia brand Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend, while Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess is also nominated – the only Princess ship to be on the list.
Rival Royal Caribbean has also joined the fray with Voyager of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas.
Sister RCCL brand Celebrity Cruises rates a mention with the nomination of Celebrity Solstice.
Other nominees include Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Orion which ironically won’t be cruising in Australasian waters soon after it is redeployed by its parent firm (CW 09 Jan).
The final nominee in this category is North Star Cruises, with its True North on the list.
Also being hotly contested is the category of Best River Cruise Operator, with perennial nominees APT, Uniworld, Avalon Waterways, Scenic Tours and Evergreen Tours joined by The American Queen Steamboat Company, Tauck & Viking Cruises.
With the release of the nominations, the NTIA now moves to the next stage, with formal voting kicking off on the AFTA website tomorrow morning from 9am AEST.
