The winners have been revealed in the 2020 Cruise Ship Awards. Cruise Hive readers have been voting since mid-September on their favorite cruise ships, cruise lines, and ports. Finally, we come to announce which ones have come out on top.
In this year’s annual awards, we scaled back due to the global pandemic. With most of the cruise industry on pause since March 2020, it would not be right to include all our usual categories. Instead, the awards mainly focused on 2021 and what we’ve got to look forward to.
There are a total of six categories in which readers have been able to vote in. only one vote was allowed in each category, and any suspicious activity or repeat IPs were not counted.
Most Anticipated Cruise Region for 2021
A new category introduced just for 2020 is “Most Anticipated Cruise Region for 2021” and we aim to get readers excited for the year to come once the industry makes a return.
Related: 10 Best Western Caribbean Cruise Ports You Should Visit
It comes as no surprise that the Caribbean received more votes than any other. All the major cruise lines sail in this region with so many exciting ports to explore. The Caribbean has the weather everyone prefers, and plenty of cultures to experience. You can read the full list of results in order below:
- Caribbean
- Alaska
- Mediterranean
- Northern Europe
- Pacific
- South America
- Asia
- Baltic
- Bahamas
- Asia
- Hawaii
- British isles
- South Africa
- Mexican Riviera
In a close second came Alaska, but there could be a long wait to enjoy the region as Transport Canada has banned cruise ships through February 2021. That means cruises out of Vancouver are a no go for a while. However, Seattle could be an option moving forward.
In third came the Mediterranean, always a popular choice for cruise vacations. the region just missed out on the second spot.
Best Cruise Line Web Site in 2020
Cruise Line web sites were a major factor for 2020 as guests scrambled to find out about cancelled sailings. Cruise lines are posting the latest developments on the suspensions, and as demand starts to go up for 2021, there is no doubt the first call will be the official sites.
Carnival Cruise Line took first place in this category followed by Royal Caribbean and then in third was Norwegian Cruise Line.
- Carnival Cruise Line
- Royal Caribbean International
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- Princess Cruises
- Celebrity Cruises
- MSC Cruises
- Costa Cruises
- Viking Cruises
- Holland America Line
- Cunard Line
- American Queen Steamboat Company
- P&O Cruises
- Virgin Voyages
- P&O Australia
- Aida Cruises
Best Cruise Homeport in the United States for 2020
In 2019, Port Canaveral was voted best cruise homeport, but this year it has turned around, and PortMiami has taken the top spot. The cruise capital of the world received the most votes, and more recently during the suspension, cruise ships have started to return to Miami so port activity is picking up.
- PortMiami, Florida
- Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale), Florida
- Port Canaveral, Florida
- Port of New Orleans, Louisiana
- Port of Galveston, Texas
- Manhattan Cruise Terminal, New York
- Cape Liberty Cruise Port, New Jersey
- Long Beach Cruise Terminal, California
- Port of Baltimore, Maryland
- Port of Tampa, Florida
- Port of Seattle, Washington
- Port of Jacksonville, Florida
- Port of Mobile, Alabama
- Port of Los Angeles, California
- Port of Charleston, South Carolina
Best Cruise Line in 2020
Cruise Hive readers have chosen, and Carnival Cruise Line has become the best cruise line of 2020. Carnival operates a total of 24 cruise ships, including the recently delivered Mardi Gras. This comes after the cruise line has had a difficult year and sold off four of its older Fantasy-class ships.
During the year, Carnival has continued to keep guests updated and support crew members. During the festive period, the cruise line launched “Operations Happy Holidays” and delivered more than 10,000 cards to workers. Even president Christine Duffy has been keeping morale up with advice and hope.
- Carnival Cruise Line
- Royal Caribbean International
- Celebrity Cruises
- Princess Cruises
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- Holland America Line
- MSC Cruises
- Costa Cruises
- P&O Cruises
- Regent Seven Seas Cruises
- Viking Cruises
- Disney Cruise Line
- Crystal Cruises
- Seabourn
- Cunard Line
- Aida Cruises
- P&O Australia
In second place came Royal Caribbean International which has a total of 24 ships, no identical to rival Carnival. In third came Celebrity Cruises which is much smaller but has recently found a new spark thanks to the new Edge-class vessels.
Most Anticipated New Cruise Ship for 2021
Carnival’s new Mari Gras cruise ship has received more votes than any other cruise ship for the most anticipated new cruise ship for 2021. Cruise Hive already detailed the results of this category.
There were some really exciting new ships in this category, some of them were supposed to have arrived in 2020 but the pandemic forced delays. We now look forward to a busy 2021 with new ship debuts. Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas came is second and she will arrive in April 2021. Discovery Princess from Princess Cruises completed the top three.
- Mardi Gras (Carnival Cruise Line)
- Odyssey of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
- Discovery Princess (Princess Cruises)
- Valiant Lady (Virgin Voyages)
- Disney Wish (Disney Cruise Line)
- Costa Toscana (Costa Cruises)
- MSC Seashore (MSC Cruises)
- Rotterdam (Holland America Line)
- AIDAcosma (Aida Cruises)
- Viking Venus (Viking Cruises)
Mardi Gras was delivered by the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland towards the end of December 2020 and is the first ship in the fleet powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). She’s over 180,800 gross tons and is the ninth largest cruise ship in the world right now.
Most Anticipated Future Class Cruise Ship
We finally come to ‘Most Anticipated Future Class Cruise Ship’ and Royal Caribbean’s Icon-class has come out on top with the most votes. Not a huge deal is yet known about this future class but they will be huge at around 200,000 gross tons.
The first of these vessels will arrive in 2022 and the cruise line has ordered a total of three. these will be the first cruise ships to be LNG powered for Royal Caribbean.
- Icon-Class (Royal Caribbean)
- New Generation LNG-Class (Princess Cruises)
- Leonardo-Class (Norwegian Cruise Line)
- World-Class (MSC Cruises)
- Global-Class (Dream Cruises)
The Icon-class ships were also the winners of the 2019 Cruise Ship Awards. In second came the new generation of LNG for Princess Cruises and in third the Leonardo-class for Norwegian Cruise Line. Plenty of new ships to look forward to in the years to come.
Thanks for Voting!
It has been a tough year but hopefully, the altered 2020 Cruise Ship Awards have provided some hope on what’s to come in 2021. Thanks to all our readers for taking the time to vote!
Main Photo Credit: ackats / Shutterstock.com
