#CruiseLiners – The cruise and ferry industries were among those gathered at the annual Irish Travel Industry Awards held in association with Aer Lingus.
The prestigious gala awards of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) ceremony took place recently in the Mansion House, Dublin, where more than 500 travel and tourism professionals from around the world attended. Adding to the glamour, broadcaster, Miriam O’Callaghan was this year's Master of Ceremonies.
Among the big winners on the night from the cruise and ferry industries, were MSC Cruises that was awarded ‘Best Main Stream Cruise Company’. This category has been dominated by Miami USA based, Royal Caribbean since the awards were inaugurated in 2011. The Italian founded Mediterranean Shipping Company are a global cruise operator based in Switzerland.
Irish Ferries took the title for ‘Best Ferry Company’ which Afloat adds is the eight-consecutive year that the Dublin based transport shipping company has won this award. Voting in this category of the annual ITAA awards that began also eight years ago, were cast by travel agents and their staff from across Ireland.
In the overall ITAA awards, Manning Travel, who are based in Kilkenny, won the title of ITAA Travel Agency of Year 2018 with under ten employees, whilst Tour America was crowned the ITAA Travel Agency of Year 2018 with over ten employees. Both of the winning agencies were praised for their stand-out customer service, their first-rate expertise and the wide range of travel options available to customers.
The annual event is designed to showcase excellence within the industry and the difficult job of judging the Member Award Winners falls to an independent panel of judges, chaired by Bill Smith. Supplier Award Winners were voted upon by Irish travel agents.
The awards are an initiative of the ITTA in association with Aer Lingus, and supported by Travelsavers, Travelcentres and Worldchoice.
Listed below are the award winners exclusively from those of the cruise and ferry industries.
CRUISE & FERRY CATEGORY - SPONSORED BY TURKISH AIRLINES
BEST MAIN STREAM CRUISE COMPANY
MSC Cruises
BEST PREMIUM CRUISE COMPANY
Celebrity Cruises
BEST SPECIALIST CRUISE COMPANY (INCLUDING RIVER)
Uniworld River Cruises
BEST ULTRA LUXURY CRUISE COMPANY
Silversea Cruises
BEST FERRY COMPANY
Irish Ferries
SUPPLIER STAFF / TRAVEL MEDIA CATEGORY - SPONSORED BY IRELAND WEST AIRPORT
BEST SUPPLIER SUPPORT TEAM
MSC Cruises
BEST SUPPLIER REPRESENTATIVE
Rebecca Kelly - MSC Cruises
For further information on the ITAA click their website here.