Readers Choice 2015: Travel Weekly

Travel Weekly's Readers Choice 2015

Best of the best: Winners of our 13th annual Readers Choice Awards, honoring industry suppliers who led the way in products and services during the year.

Nominees and the award recipients were chosen in two rounds of voting by Travel Weekly readers. The open-ballot phase of voting was conducted over the summer; readers were asked to write in the names of companies they believed were outstanding in any of 74 categories. The leading vote recipients were identified as finalists, and voting on the finalists took place through November.

Here, peruse information about the winners, a slideshow of images from the gala dinner held at the Conrad New York and descriptions of the finalists in each category.

Recognition

2015 Readers Choice Awards winners

During a black-tie gala dinner and ceremony at the Conrad New York on Dec. 15, Travel Weekly honored the best of the best in airlines, car rentals, hospitality, rail tours, GDSs, agent education, tour operators, cruising, destinations and theme parks. Pictured here, Alex Pinelo, Andy Stuart and Nathan Hickman of Norwegian Cruise Line.
Photo Credit: Andrei Jackamets/Andrei Jackamets Photography

Bruce Shulman of Travel Weekly and Mandy Chomat of Karisma Hotels & Resorts.

Vicki Freed and Joanne Schimelman of Royal Caribbean International.

Anthony Viciana of Princess and Cunard, Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald and John Chernesky of Princess and Cunard.

Celebrity Cruises' Dondra Ritzenthaler and Travel Weekly's Arnie Weissmann.

Dario Flota of the Riviera Maya tourism board.

Kristen Shovlin and Chuck Imhof of Delta Air Lines.

Virgin Atlantic's Chris Rossi and Travel Weekly's Arnie Weissmann.

Helen Coiro and Tom Coiro of Direct Line Cruises.

Kevin Froemming of Playa Hotels & Resorts, Jack Richards and Kimberly Daley of Pleasant Holidays and Suzanne Aresco of AAA Allied Group.

Marett Taylor and Shawn Johnson of Abercrombie & Kent.

Pam Wright of Hertz, Bruce Beckham of Tourism Cares and Carolyn Cauceglia of Amadeus.

Arnold Donald of Carnival Corp., center, with Bob Sullivan, left, and Jay Nelson of Travel Weekly.

Maureen Barrett and Lynn Clark of Disney Destinations.

Bill Smith of Virtuoso, kneeling, with (from left) Dondra Ritzenthaler of Celebrity Cruises, Vicki Freed of Royal Caribbean International, Alex Sharpe of the Signature Travel Network, Lara Leibman of Frosch, Paula Hayes of Globus and Tracy Sedlak of Club Med.

From left: Viking Cruises' Erik De La Cruz, Rob Huffman, Michele Saegesser, Michael Weldon and Eric Molina. Viking won in three cruise categories.

Clockwise from bottom left: Vicky Garcia, Corey Ratley, Michael Consoli and Carol Alexander of Cruise Planners with Crystal Cruises' Edie Rodriguez.

Attendees give Susan Tanzman a standing ovation as she accepts her Lifetime Achievement Award.

Robert Rechtermann, general manager of the Conrad New York.

Lindsay Pearlman of Ensemble with Geraldine Ree and Matthew Eichhorst of Expedia CruiseShipCenters.

Derek Hydon of MaCher and Courtney Iannuccilli and Dan Sullivan of Collette.

Andy Stuart of Norwegian Cruise Line with Laurie and Jeff Tolkin of World Travel Holdings.

Kimberly Wilson Wetty and Valerie Wilson of Valerie Wilson Travel and Vicki Freed of Royal Caribbean International.

Robyn Basso of the Hawaii Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Sebastian Maureschal and Susan Granger of Sandals.

Deirdre Copjec and Laura Roth of Sabre with Travel Weekly's Bob Sullivan.

Cynthia Perry of Marriott International.

Chris Austin of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which won in three hotel categories (Asia, Hawaii/South Pacific and Sales & Service) as well as for Travel Agent Educational Program.

Kirk Neal of Carnival Cruise Line, Mike Julius of Carnival Cruise Line, Doug Seagle of Seabourn, Eva Jenner of Holland America Line, John Chernesky of Princess and Cunard, Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald, Charles Dunwoody of Holland America Line, Adolfo Perez of Carnival Cruise Line, Janet Wygert of Carnival Cruise Line, Tara Russell of Fathom and Anthony Viciana of Princess and Cunard.

Brad Tolkin of World Travel Holdings with Adolfo Perez and Mike Julius of Carnival Cruise Line.

Flanked by Bruce Shulman, left, and Arnie Weissmann of Travel Weekly are Lifetime Achievement Award winners John Noel (2007), Susan Tanzman (2015), Brian Stack (2015), Kathy Sudeikis (2005) and Valerie Wilson (2012).

Travel Weekly's Jamie Biesiada, Terry Dale and Richard Barry of the USTOA and Travel Weekly's Rebecca Tobin.

Mike Rea of Tourism Cares and Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg of Valerie Wilson Travel.

Scott Nisbet and Paula Hayes of the Globus Family of Brands.

Sandy Babin, Tim Mullen and Jacqueline Kuehnel of Apple Vacations.

Travel Weekly's Arnie Weissmann, center, with Kimberly Daley and Jack Richards of Pleasant Holidays.

John Caldwell, Loredana Costantino, Gina Cardelli Morales and Steve Diggelmann of Delta Vacations.

Brian Stack, managing director of CIE Tours International, was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards gala. This award pays tribute to individuals whose efforts have led to extraordinary results within an organization and who have also made significant contributions to the industry as a whole.

Of her Lifetime Achievement Award, Susan Tanzman, president and owner of Martin's Travel and Tours, said: ''It is truly an honor to be recognized by your peers for the 45 years I have devoted to fighting on behalf of the agency community and the consumer.''

Tourism Cares held a pre-gala reception at the Conrad New York for its Travel Philanthropy Awards. From left: Derek Hydon, president of MaCher; Toni Neubauer, president of Myths and Mountains; John Noel, president of Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection; Sven Lindblad, CEO of Lindblad Expeditions; Carolyn Cauceglia, vice president of strategic sales for Amadeus; and Brad Finkle, president of TripMate.

Airlines (10)

American Airlines

British Airways

Delta Air Lines

Emirates

JetBlue Airways

Lufthansa

Singapore Airlines

Southwest Airlines

United Airlines

Virgin America

Car rental (8)

Alamo Rent a Car

Auto Europe

Avis Rent a Car

Budget Rent a Car

Enterprise Rent-a-Car

Europcar

Hertz

National Car Rental

Destinations: Caribbean (6)

Aruba

Barbados

Dominican Republic

Jamaica

St. Lucia

Turks & Caicos

Destinations: Central/South America (6)

Argentina

Belize

Brazil

Costa Rica

Panama

Peru

Cruise lines (23)

AmaWaterways

Avalon Waterways

Azamara Club Cruises

Carnival Cruise Line

Celebrity Cruises

Crystal Cruises

Cunard Line

Disney Cruise Line

Holland America Line

MSC Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line

Oceania Cruises

Paul Gauguin Cruises

Princess Cruises

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Royal Caribbean International

Scenic

Seabourn Cruise Line

Silversea Cruises

Tauck

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection

Viking River Cruises

Windstar Cruises

Cruise ships (22)

Allure of the Seas

AmaSonata

Anthem of the Seas

Avalon Tapestry II

Azamara Quest

Celebrity Reflection

Crystal Symphony

Marina

MSC Divina

Nieuw Amsterdam

Norwegian Getaway

Quantum of the Seas

Queen Mary 2

Regal Princess

Savor

Seabourn Odyssey

Seven Seas Voyager

Silver Spirit

S.S. Catherine

S.S. Maria Theresa

Viking Longship Tor

Viking Star

Destinations: Africa (6)

Botswana

Egypt

Kenya

Morocco

South Africa

Tanzania

Destinations: Asia/Pacific (6)

Australia

China

Japan

New Zealand

Tahiti

Thailand

Destinations: Canada (6)

Banff

Montreal

Ottawa

Quebec City

Toronto

Vancouver

Destinations: Europe (6)

England

France

Germany

Ireland

Italy

Spain

Destinations: Hawaiian Islands (5)

Hawaii (The Big Island)

Kauai

Lanai

Maui

Oahu

Hotels (33)

Hard Rock Hotels

AMResorts

Best Western

Comfort Inn

Crowne Plaza

Fairfield Inn

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Hampton Inn

Hilton Worldwide

Holiday Inn

Hotel Indigo

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and Hyatt/Playa Resorts

Iberostar Hotels & Resorts

InterContinental Hotels Group

Karisma Hotels & Resorts

Kimpton Hotels

Mandarin Hotel Group

Marriott International

Outrigger Hotels

Palace Resorts

Relais & Chateaux

Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts

Riu Hotels & Resorts

Sandals Resorts

Secrets Resorts and Spas

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

W Hotels Worldwide

Waldorf Astoria

Westin Hotels & Resorts

Zoetry Wellness & Spa

Destinations: Mexico (5)

Cabo San Lucas

Cancun

Cozumel

Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit

Riviera Maya

Destinations: Ski (6)

Aspen

Jackson Hole

Park City

St. Moritz

Vail

Whistler

Destinations: U.S. Cities (6)

Las Vegas

Miami

New Orleans

New York

Orlando

San Francisco

Destinations: U.S. States (6)

California

Colorado

Florida

Hawaii

Nevada

New York

Rail vacations (5)

Amtrak Vacations/Yankee Holidays

Belmond

Rail Europe

Rocky Mountaineer

Via Rail Canada

GDSs (4)

Amadeus

Apollo/Galileo

Sabre

Worldspan

Resorts worldwide (6)

Fairmont Kea Lani

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai

Grand Wailea

One & Only Palmilla

Ritz-Carlton, Naples

St. Regis Bora Bora

Ski resorts (6)

Fairmont Chateau Whistler

Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole

Park Hyatt Bever Creek Resort and Spa

St. Regis Aspen Resort

Val Thorens Sensations

Westin Snowmass Resort

Theme parks (6)

Busch Gardens

Disneyland

SeaWorld

Six Flags

Universal Studios

Walt Disney World

Tour operators (27)

Abercrombie & Kent

Adventures by Disney

African Travel

Apple Vacations

Big Five Tours & Expeditions

Blue Sky Tours

CIE Tours

Classic Vacations

Collette

Delta Vacations

Funjet Vacations

G Adventures

Globus

Gogo Vacations

Goway

Insight Vacations

Intrepid Travel

Journese

Micato Safaris

Pacific Delight Tours

Pleasant Holidays

Rocky Mountaineer

Tauck

Trafalgar

Travel Impressions

Wendy Wu Tours

Yankee Holidays

Travel agent educational program (6)

Five Star Academy

MLT University

NCL University

OneSource Academy

SPG Pro

Viking Travel Agent Academy

Travel agent loyalty program (6)