I WON!!!

As a lot of you will know, I was recently shortlisted as one of seven top UK Cruise Agents. I only found this out after numerous calls from Cruise Intl that I didn’t pay much attention to as I thought they were trying to sell me a magazine subscription!

I eventually called them back after a message was left with one of my colleagues to be told my lovely customers had been nominating me and I’d been shortlisted!

Then the voting began and so many of you kindly voted for me. I then had the invite to the awards ceremony which was to be held at The Ritz in London on 12th September. I ‘ummed’ and ‘ahhed’ about going as I thought there was no way I’d win (I was up against some fantastic competition), it was London (a pain to get to and not much fun to navigate when pregnant!) but eventually, Dave convinced me to go saying he’d drive, we’d park and get the underground. So off we went.

We arrived at The Ritz and were greeted with Champagne (water for me and Dave) and teeny, tiny sandwiches and macaroons. Very nice!

Then the ceremony began. There were lots of categories and the winners can be found at the bottom of this post.

We were towards the back of the room – I was quite happy there, taking it all in and minding my own business.

Then came the category for best cruise agent. ‘Highly commended’ was announced and then everything was a blur. Oz Clarke announced ‘And the winner is….Louise Thompson from Cruise.co.uk’. Dave said he’ll never forget my face when my name was called and I was immediately overwhelmed with emotion. Almost 20 years I’ve done this for and this was by far the highlight of my career so far!  I went and collected my award in a daze, the photographer took pictures and then I wandered back to Dave. What had just happened??

I spent the rest of the afternoon saying to Dave ‘I won. I can’t believe I won.’

I still can’t believe I won. And I have to thank you all for this – I couldn’t and wouldn’t have done it without you. Thank you so much!

And here it is!!

I think it’ll take a while to sink in but I’m so grateful for every single vote 🙂

Lx

Contact me [email protected]

Here are the other winners from the night:

Best Blogger

Gary Bembridge, Tips for Travellers – Winner

Danielle Fear, Cruise Miss – Highly Commended

Dave Monk, Shipmonk

Best Escorted & Specialist Tour Operator

Titan – Winner

Riviera Travel – Highly Commended

Kuoni

Planet Cruise

Saga Cruises

Viking Cruises

Best UK Port

Southampton – Winner

Liverpool – Highly Commended

Dover

Edinburgh

Portsmouth

Best Value for Money

Thomson Cruises – Winner

Saga Cruises – Highly Commended

MSC Cruises

P&O Cruises

Princess Cruises

Royal Caribbean International

Best Boutique Cruise Line

Azamara Club Cruises – Winner

Silversea – Highly Commended

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

Oceania Cruises

Ponant

Seabourn

SeaDream Yacht Club

Viking Cruises

Best for Adventure

Silversea – Winner

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises – Highly Commended

Celebrity Cruises

Hurtigruten

One Ocean Expeditions

RMS St Helena

Best for First-Time Cruisers

Princess Cruises – Winner

P&O Cruises – Highly Commended

Carnival Cruise Line

Celebrity Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line

Royal Caribbean International

Thomson Cruises

Best New Ship

AmaKristina

Silver Muse – Winner

Seabourn Encore – Highly Commended

S.S. Joie de Vivre

Viking Sky

Best Destination (Europe)

Dubrovnik – Winner

Norway – Highly Commended

Barcelona

Greece

Rome

Best Destination (World)

New Zealand – Winner

Barbados – Highly Commended

The Falkand Islands

Hawaii

Jamaica

Singapore

Sydney

Best Product or Service

Ultimate Balcony Dining by Princess Cruises – Winner

VIP Home Departure Service by Titan – Highly Commended

AzAmazing Evenings by Azamara Club Cruises

Jet Set Sail by Celebrity Cruises

MSC Yacht Club by MSC Cruises

Best for Enrichment

Saga Cruises – Winner

Holland America Line – Highly Commended

Azamara Club Cruises

Cunard

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

Silversea

Viking Cruises

Voyages to Antiquity

Best for Wellbeing

Holland America Line – Winner

Oceania Cruises – Highly Commended

Norwegian Cruise Line

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Viking Cruises

Best for Food

Oceania Cruises – Winner

Viking Cruises – Highly Commended

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line

Princess Cruises

P&O Cruises

Royal Caribbean International

Silversea

Best for Onboard Entertainment

Norwegian Cruise Line – Winner

Disney Cruise Line – Highly Commended

Princess Cruises

P&O Cruises

Royal Caribbean International

Best for Onboard Activities

Royal Caribbean International – Winner

Norwegian Cruise Line – Highly Commended

Disney Cruise Line

Princess Cruises

P&O Cruises

Best for Families

Disney Cruise Line – Winner

Royal Caribbean International – Highly Commended

Carnival Cruise Line

Princess Cruises

P&O Cruises

Best Cruise Agent

Louise Thompson, Cruise.co.uk – Winner

Jane Chadwick, Go Cruise with Jane – Highly Commended

Carole Sandler, Go Cruise

Cruise Agent Lifetime Achievement Award

Giles Hawke, CEO, Cosmos Tours and Cruises and Avalon Waterways UK ­– Winner

Michael Wilson, Managing Director, Bolsover Cruise Club – Highly Commended

Amanda Middler, Silversea

Outstanding Contribution to the Cruise Industry

Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, Chairman, Silversea

Best Luxury River Cruise Line

Viking River Cruises – Winner

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection – Highly Commended

Ama Waterways

Avalon Waterways

Scenic

Best Luxury Cruise Line

Seabourn – Winner

Regent Seven Seas Cruises – Highly Commended

Celebrity Cruises

Oceania Cruises

Silversea

Viking Cruises

Best River Cruise Line

Viking River Cruises ­– Winner

Riviera Travel – Highly Commended

Avalon Waterways

Emerald Waterways

Scenic

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection

Best Cruise Line

Princess Cruises – Winner

P&O Cruises – Highly Commended

Celebrity Cruises

Cunard

Norwegian Cruise Line

Oceania Cruises

Royal Caribbean International

Saga Cruises

Silversea

Viking Cruises