Carnival Cruise Line has taken the top honors in the 2023 Cruise Hive Awards as the Best Booking Experience, edging out Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and other major cruise lines for the ease of booking and making it simple for guests to plan their next cruise vacation.
Carnival Cruise Line Wins Best Booking Experience
Carnival Cruise Line, the world’s most popular cruise line, has won the 2023 Cruise Hive Award for Best Booking Experience, bringing in 31.03% of the total vote with nine cruise lines competing for the honor.
This means that the majority of guests who have booked cruises – whether or not they have set sail yet – have chosen Carnival Cruise Line above all others as an easier, more complete, and more satisfying experience when making plans for an oceangoing getaway, whether it is for a quick weekend jaunt or a once-in-a-lifetime specialty sailing.
Despite some hiccups Carnival Cruise Line had after upgrading its booking systems in September, it is clear that travelers appreciate the ease of making their reservations on Carnival’s website, which also has options for adding onboard packages, booking shore excursions, and making other pre-cruise purchases right from the comfort of one’s computer, tablet, or phone.
This reader-driven award speaks well for Carnival Cruise Line’s ease of booking, making it a simple process for millions of cruise guests each year to smoothly book a cruise vacation.
The annual Cruise Hive Awards opened on October 1 and closed on Friday, December 22, with all valid votes tabulated to select the winners in each of eight award categories. The awards have been an annual feature since 2014, and offer real, cruise fan insights into different cruise lines and experiences so everyone can plan their best cruise vacation.
How Other Cruise Lines Compare
Nine other cruise lines were up for the honor of Best Booking Experience, and Royal Caribbean International came in at a relatively close second place with 22.84% of the votes. Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line were relatively close together as third and fourth place, with 10.34% and 9.99% of the votes, respectively.
The category was rounded out with Holland America Line (5.60%), MSC Cruises (4.74%), Disney Cruise Line (4.67%), and Virgin Voyages (3.74%).
Some cruise lines, while they may have exemplary booking systems, may have scored fewer votes because they simply aren’t as large or as popular as Carnival Cruise Line, which now features 26 ships in its fleet with the addition of Carnival Jubilee, now sailing her inaugural cruise from Galveston, Texas.
A New Award Category
Cruise Hive has offered reader-driven awards since 2014, with changes and adaptations along the way to take notice of the best aspects of cruising that travelers enjoy the most.
The first year for this new award category, Best Booking Experience includes all aspects of making cruise vacation reservations, including how easy a cruise line’s website is to navigate and find ships, itineraries, and sailing dates. How clear promotions and prices are, add-on options, and cruise line communication about the booking could all be considered for this award.
A second new category has also debuted for the 2023 awards – Best Cruise Line for Service and Crew. Results in all eight categories will be revealed in the coming days as a way to celebrate all the great fun and memorable sailings of 2023 – stay tuned for more winner announcements, including Best Cruise Ship Feature, Best Cruise Line Private Island/Destination, Best US Cruise Homeport, and more.
Want to see how other years compare? Check out the full results from 2014 though 2022 in the Cruise Hive Awards!
