Celebrity Cruises earns a new recognition within the travel industry

In the midst of its most award-winning year in its 20-year history, Celebrity Cruises this week added a tremendously meaningful honor to its lineup. In the prestigious annual Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards celebrating the world’s best hotels, airlines, cities, islands and cruise lines, Celebrity ranked #1 in the highly competitive large-ship (2,500+ guests) category.

“All of us at Celebrity are thrilled with this recognition, which is a genuine validation of everything we’re devoted to offering our guests on every Solstice Class ship – and on our Millennium Class ships, particularly as we continue our ambitious, $140-million ‘Solsticizing’ initiative on each of those ships,” said Celebrity’s President & CEO Dan Hanrahan. “To have our new Solstice Class ships recognized as the best in the category, just as our Millennium Class ships have been for several consecutive years, is extremely rewarding. We’re honored that the sophisticated readers of Condé Nast Traveler appreciate the modern luxury we’re focused on providing across the fleet.”In addition to its ambitious Solsticizing program, Celebrity this year alone launched the fourth sleek ship in its stylish Solstice Class series, Celebrity Silhouette, complete with the industry’s first outdoor, interactive barbecue area, “The Lawn Club Grill,”; initiated construction of the fifth Solstice Class ship, Celebrity Reflection, which sets sail in 2012; announced the line’s first sailings in Asia; announced a very special collaboration with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®; introduced specialty dining packages, as yet another illustration of Celebrity’s culinary leadership and innovation, and published an engaging hardbound book filled with recipes, tips and personality profiles, Excite the Senses. Additionally, on October 10, further showcasing its expertise in wine and food, Celebrity announced plans to introduce an entirely new series of wine-themed cruises in France, Spain and Portugal during peak harvest season in 2012, enhancing its already broad and varied European vacation options, with several itineraries featuring visits to the destinations Conde Nast Traveler’s poll ranked as the top three in Europe: Florence, Barcelona, and Rome.

Nearly 29,000 readers participated in Condé Nast Traveler’s 24th annual survey, evaluating cruise lines in seven areas: Food/Dining, Staterooms, Design/Layout, Crew/Service, Shore Excursions, Activities/Facilities and Itineraries/Schedules. The complete listing of award winners is featured on Conde Nast Traveler’s website and in the magazine’s November 2011 issue.