#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.

#Awards&Shows – The Irish Travel Industry Awards ceremony is to take place in Dublin on 26 January in the historic surroundings of the Round Room of the Mansion House.

The annual awards are an initiative of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) with the support of Worldchoice and Travelsavers. The awards are the premier awards for suppliers and travel agents in Ireland.

Among the many categories are the ITAA Supplier Finalists representing the Cruise (ship: Magellan) industry and Ferry sectors. They along with each category are listed below:

Best General Cruise Company:

Celebrity Cruises
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
MSC Cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line
Royal Caribbean International

Best Ultra Luxury Cruise Company:

Azamara Club Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Silversea Cruises

Best Specialist Cruise Company (including River):

Hurtigruten
Riviera Travel
Silversea Cruises
Uniworld River Cruises

Best Ferry Company:

Brittany Ferries
Doolan 2 Aran Ferries
Irish Ferries
Stena Line

Afloat also takes this opportunity to highlight the annual public Holiday World Show's which too are to be held this month as detailed below.

Jan 20-22 2017 Holiday World. Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast

Jan 27-29 2017 Holiday World, RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin

#FerryAward - Voted Ireland’s Best Ferry Company 2016 for the 6th year in succession was Irish Ferries at the Irish Travel Industry Awards (ITAA) held recently in the Mansion House, Dublin.

An initiative of the ITAA, the award in the category of Ferry & Cruise was presented to the company on foot of votes cast by Irish travel agents and suppliers.

Accepting the award, Irish Ferries head of passenger sales Dermot Merrigan thanked travel agents for their support, adding: ‘Irish Ferries is extremely honoured that our efforts to provide the highest possible level of service continue to be recognised, not only by our industry but especially by some of the hardest workers in it – our travel agents.'

The award follows the 'Best Ferry Company 2015' title awarded to the operator at the Irish Travel Trade News Awards in November.

#TravelWinners – Celebrity Cruise along with Irish Ferries were among the winners at the Irish Travel Agents Association's Industry Travel Awards 2015 held recently in Dublin's Mansion House.

The premier travel awards presented by Miriam O'Callaghan during a Gala Diner included the category of Cruise & Ferry which was sponsored by the Port of Cork Company.

Below are the four sub-category winners:

Best General Cruise Company: Royal Caribbean International

Best Ultra Luxury Cruise Company: Celebrity Cruises

Best Specialist Cruise Company: Uniworld

And the fourth and final award for Best Ferry Company went to Irish Ferries

In the category for Agency Services Provider sponsored by Travelbiz.ie, the following sub-category awards included those from the Cruise Industry.

Best Supplier Support Team: MSC Cruises

Best Supplier Representative: Rebecca Kelly – MSC Cruises

For a complete listing of all categories and links to photo-presentations.