Citing Cruise Awards Accurately
Program, year, category: the three words that make an award worth quoting.
Sell Award-Winning CruisesEvery cruise line has won something. What makes an award useful in a sales conversation is precision: which program, which year, which category, and what that program actually measures.
A House Style for Citing Cruise Awards
| Element | Example of the form | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Program | Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards | Different programs measure different things |
| Year | 2025 | Results change every year |
| Category | Ocean cruise lines | A category win is not an overall win |
| Rank, if ranked | No. 1 | Top 10 and No. 1 are different claims |
| Source you checked | The program’s own results page | Second-hand claims drift |
Put together: “Rated No. 1 ocean cruise line in the Condé Nast Traveler 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards.” Short, accurate, checkable.
Five Checks Before You Repeat an Award
- Find it on the awarding organisation’s own page, not only in a press release.
- Confirm the year and whether a newer edition has been published.
- Note the category and any size or region qualifier.
- Understand the method — reader vote, reviews, judges or entries.
- Match it to the client: a family award means little to a couple seeking quiet.
Awards in a Sales Conversation
Use an award to support a recommendation you are already making for good reasons — never as the reason itself. “I suggested this line because of the way it handles multi-generation families; travelers also rate it highly in the Cruise Critic reviews” is stronger than leading with a trophy. For the selling skills behind that sentence, see Seller of Cruises and Sell and Sail.
Awards and Your Own Business
If you hope to win recognition yourself, the realistic routes are programs that accept entries or nominations from agents — Travel Weekly’s Magellan Awards and CLIA’s regional awards are two covered on this site — and the certifications that show clients you have studied the product.
A last habit worth keeping: file a screenshot or saved copy of the results page next to any marketing that quotes an award, with the date you checked it. If a client or a supplier ever questions the claim, you can show exactly where it came from.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a cruise line’s award on my website?
Describe it accurately in your own words with the program, year and category. Logos and award marks usually have usage rules set by the awarding organisation, so check before using one.
What if a supplier’s brochure lists an award I cannot verify?
Leave it out of your own marketing until you have found it on the awarding organisation’s site.
How long is an award worth mentioning?
While it is the latest result from that program. Once a newer year is published, cite the newer result or say clearly which year you mean.
Network resources for agents and travelers: Be a Travel Agent, Cruise Selling, the Official Cruise Directory, the Official Travel Directory and Best of the USA.
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