It was my pleasure to welcome all to the 11th annual Wave Awards at the stunning Dorchester Hotel. This year has seen demand for cruising once again reach new heights, spurred on by a raft of headline-grabbing ship launches, innovative commercial partnerships and the devoted legion of cruise line professionals and travel agent experts, whom we were delighted to celebrate with.

We recognised every corner of the industry in a wide variety of categories, including Best Ocean Cruise Line, Best Ship Launch and Best Homeworking Network, as well as new awards Favourite Ultra Luxury Cruise Line and Favourite Expedition Cruise Line. This year we also honoured an individual with a Special Recognition Award, highlighting someone who has been a pillar of the cruise sector for decades.

Finally, the night wouldn’t have been possible without our panel of cruise and travel expert judges who came together in London earlier this summer to deliberate over our worthy winners. Our thanks go to those who gave up their valuable time to analyse every entry. 

I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our sponsors, who pulled out all the stops to ensure the evening was one to remember.