Seatrade Cruise Awards
The cruise business recognising its ports, products and people.
Sell Award-Winning CruisesThe Seatrade Cruise Awards are the cruise business recognising itself: ports, destinations, suppliers and people, judged by an industry panel and presented at one of Seatrade’s cruise events.
What the Seatrade Cruise Awards Recognise
Seatrade, part of Informa Markets, organises some of the industry’s main cruise conferences and publishes Seatrade Cruise News. Its awards program lists categories including:
Port of the Year
A cruise port recognised for its facilities, service or development.
Destination of the Year
A place that has stood out for cruise visitors and lines.
Innovative Shorex of the Year
A shore excursion that does something new.
Expedition Cruise Initiative of the Year
Work in the fast-growing expedition sector.
Product of the Year
A product or service built for the cruise industry.
Sustainability Initiative of the Year
Environmental and community work in cruising.
Personality and Outstanding Achievement
Awards for individuals in the business.
Categories can change between editions; the Seatrade Cruise Awards site has the current list, entry rules and dates.
The 2026 Edition
The 2026 Seatrade Cruise Awards marked the program’s 20th edition and were presented during Seatrade Cruise Med in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The Government of Gibraltar, announcing that Gibraltar had been shortlisted for Destination of the Year, gave the ceremony date as 16 September 2026 (Gibraltar government release). Winners are listed on Seatrade’s own site.
The process runs in stages: companies and organisations enter, a shortlist of finalists is published, and an independent panel of industry figures chooses the winners.
Why Agents Should Pay Attention
- Port and destination winners are often places investing in cruise visitors — useful context when a client asks about a new port of call.
- Shore excursion awards point to experiences worth recommending; port guides such as Caribbean Cruise Ports and Europe Port Excursions cover what is available ashore.
- Product and sustainability awards show where the industry is heading, which helps when clients ask about environmental questions.
Seatrade Cruise News also reports industry figures; its summary of CLIA’s 2025 passenger numbers is an example. Our sister site Cruise Industry Daily explains how to follow that kind of news.
How Organisations Enter
Unlike reader polls, the Seatrade Cruise Awards depend on entries. Ports, destinations, shore excursion companies and suppliers submit their work in a category before the published deadline — for 2026, Seatrade set a 31 July entry deadline — and the shortlist that follows is itself news in the trade press. For an agent, that shortlist is a free briefing on which ports and experiences are investing in cruise visitors this year, and a good source of talking points when a client asks what is new ashore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who chooses the Seatrade Cruise Awards winners?
Seatrade describes an independent panel of industry judges choosing winners from shortlisted entries.
Do cruise lines win Seatrade Cruise Awards?
The program focuses on ports, destinations, shore excursions, products, sustainability initiatives and people across the cruise business rather than ranking cruise lines against each other.
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