Grand Circle Cruise Line Named "World's Best River Cruise Line" In Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards—For 5th Time

 Grand Circle Cruise Line, the leader in small ship and river

 cruising worldwide, has been named the #1 "World's Best River Cruise Line" in Condé Nast Traveler's

 2016 Readers' Choice Awards with a score of 93.55—the highest score of any cruise line in all size

 categories.  This is the fifth year in a row that Grand Circle Cruise Line has taken the top spot and

 the 12^th year it has been included as a top cruise line.  Condé Nast Traveler's 2016 Readers' Choice

 Awards were announced on line today and will be featured in the magazine's November issue.

"We are very pleased to be named the world's best river cruise line for five consecutive years and

 thankful to our travelers for sharing their experiences of us," said Chairman and CEO Alan E. Lewis. 

 "Such recognition confirms that we are giving travelers what they want—expert, local guides to

 share their homelands; culturally-rich experiences that connect travelers to local people, cultures,

 and ways of life; trip customization; and exceptional value for everyone, including solo travelers."

More than 800,000 travelers have sailed with Grand Circle Cruise Line since 1998, including more

 than 225,000 solo travelers.  Today, more than 30% of Grand Circle Small Ship and River Ship

 travelers are solo—attracted by Grand Circle's comprehensive program that includes free or

 reduced Single Supplements, free Single Supplements on all pre-and post-trip extension

 options, a Best Price Guarantee, and more.

Established in 1998 with a single river ship, Grand Circle Cruise Line's fleet today consists of

 five Small Ships, including three, 50-passenger ships (Athena, Artemis and Arethusa); the

 98-passenger Corinthian; and the 88-passenger Clio; more than a dozen River Ships; and

 exclusive charters.  For 2017, the cruise line will offer more than two dozen Small Ship and

 River itineraries worldwide, including three new, 50-passenger Small Ship Cruises along the

 Italian Coast and Malta (Sicily to Malta; Rome to Valleta, and Venice, Puglia and Malta).

A record number of more than 300,000 travelers participated in Condé Nast Traveler's 29^th

 Annual Readers' Choice Awards, which ranks the best hotels, resorts, cities, islands, airlines,

 and cruise lines in the world.  In the ship category, readers cast votes for 500 cruise ships, rating

 their experiences based on the ships' activities/facilities, cabins, crew/service, design/layout,

 food/dining, itineraries/schedule, and shore excursions.  

For more information about Grand Circle's River and Small Ship Cruises and Cruise Tour itineraries,

 please visit Grand Circle Cruise Line.  To view a video of what it's like to travel solo with Grand

 Circle, please click Grand Circle Solo. 

About Grand Circle Cruise LineEstablished in 1998, Grand Circle Cruise Line offers more than a dozen Small Ship itineraries to

 Antarctica, Panama, the Dalmatian Coast, Greece and its islands, Italy; Iberia, the Adriatic, Malta

 and beyond and 10 European River Cruises and Cruise Tours.  The cruise line is a division of

 Grand Circle Corporation, which also includes Overseas Adventure Travel (est. 1978) and Grand

 Circle Travel (est. 1958).  In 1992, Grand Circle owners Alan and Harriet Lewis established Grand

 Circle Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting communities in which Grand Circle works 

and travels, totaling more than 300 humanitarian, cultural, and educational endeavors worldwide,

 including 100 schools, in 50 countries.  The Foundation is an entity of the Lewis Family

 Foundation, which has pledged or donated more than $164 million since 1981.

The 10 Most Praised Upscale River Cruise Ships In 2015

Consumer Reviews Disclose Best River Cruise Ships for Discerning Travelers - AMA Waterways the River Category Leader

For those refined travelers who select and critique the River Cruise sector, even those ships have variable rankings.

CruiseCompete has reviews from thousands of cruise travelers, who provide insight into cruise lines, ships, amenities, service, dining and the destinations the lines visit. This information is particularly helpful to cruise consumers when choosing their next River Cruise vacation. Read the actual ship reviews on CruiseCompete.

CruiseCompete has tabulated the ratings given to River cruise ships in its reviews, and the results are below for the River category, which shows AmaWaterways as the category leader:

Line	Ship	Rating
AmaWaterways	AmaLotus	5
Scenic Cruises	Scenic Ruby	5
Viking Cruises	Viking Aegir	4.8
AmaWaterways	AmaLyra	4.71
AmaWaterways	AmaPrima	6.62
Scenic Cruises	Scenic Crystal	4.62
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises	River Duchess	4.62
AmaWaterways	AmaCerto	4.56
Avalon Waterways	Avalon Expression	4.56
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises	River Baroness	4.56

Read full reviews of these ships, and others, here.

Want to know more about the worldwide ports these ships visit? Read port reviews here.

The River cruise lines provide a unique experience because passengers sail directly into the heart of every destination and dock in the middle of town, then walk right off the ship and move easily into whatever city or town they are visiting. You spend less time getting there, and more time being there.

To see what’s included on the River lines, please click here.

CruiseCompete member-agents are the most well-educated, forward-thinking and trusted cruise specialists in the industry. If you’d like more information or assistance planning your vacation, please visit us at http://www.cruisecompete.com/, or http://www.cruisecompete.com/group_cruises/.

Grand Circle Cruise Line Named "World's Best River Cruise Line" in Conde Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards For 4th Year

 Grand Circle Cruise Line,  the leader in small ship and

 river cruising worldwide, has been named the #1 "World's Best River Cruise Line" in Conde Nast

 Traveler's 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. This is the fourth year in a row that Grand Circle Cruise

 Line has taken the top spot and the 11^th year it has been included as a top cruise line. 

 This year, Grand Circle Cruise Linereceived an overall excellence rating of 92.572, the highest 

score of any cruise line in all categories.  Conde Nast Traveler's 2015 Readers' Choice Awards

 were announced on line today and will be featured in the magazine's November issue, on 

newsstands October 28, 2015.

"We are delighted to be named the world's best river cruise line for the fourth year and to be 

among the top cruise lines for so many years," said Grand Circle Cruise Line CEO Michael Dowd. 

 "We design our itineraries to bring travelers off our ships and into homes, markets, schools and

 communities so that travelers can meet locals and experience their way of life firsthand," said Dowd.

  "Our ships are not fancy, but they offer something that clearly appeals: expert, local guides, stellar

 nautical and hospitality crews, and onshore itineraries that engage travelers with local people,

 communities, and cultures. We are honored to be recognized by Conde Nast Traveler and appreciate

 our travelers for sharing their experiences of us."

Established in 1998 with a single river cruise ship, Grand Circle Cruise Line's fleet now includes 20

 river ships and small ships, including 15 privately-owned river ships, three, 4-star plus 50-passenger

 ships that operate in the Mediterranean (Athena, Artemis and Arethusa), the 98-passenger

 Corinthian, the 88-passenger Clio (formerly Tera Moana) and exclusive charters.  For 2016 Grand

 Circle Cruise Line will offer more than 30 cruise and cruise tour itineraries throughout Europe, the 

Mediterranean, Antarctica, Panama, and beyond. 

More than 719,000 travelers have sailed with Grand Circle Cruise Line since its beginnings, 

including 216,000 solo travelers.  This year, 40,000 people will travel with Grand Circle Cruise

 Line, including more than 13,000 solo travelers, who are attracted by Grand Circle's comprehensive

 solo-friendly programs, which include free or reduced Single Supplements, free Single Supplements 

on all pre-and post-trip extension options, a free roommate matching service, a complimentary online

 travel companion program, and best price and lowest price guarantees.

A record number of more than 128,000 travelers participated in Conde Nast Traveler's 28^th annual 

Readers' Choice Awards, which ranks the best hotels, resorts, cities, islands, airlines, and cruise

 lines in the world.   In the river ship category, readers rated their experiences based on the ships' 

activities/facilities, cabins, crew/service, design/layout, food/dining, itineraries/schedule, and

 shore excursions.   

For more information about Grand Circle Cruise Line, please visit Grand Circle Cruise Line or

 view their video about the Grand Circle Cruise Line experience.

About Grand Circle Cruise LineEstablished in 1998, Grand Circle Cruise Line offers 16 River Cruises throughout Europe, as well

 as 14 Small Ship Cruise Tours to destinations like Antarctica, Panama, Europe, the Dalmatian 

Coast, Greece and its islands, the Aegean, the Adriatic, and beyond.  Grand Circle Cruise Line

 is a division of Grand Circle Corporation, which is also comprised of Overseas Adventure Travel

 (est. 1978) and Grand Circle Travel (est. 1958).  Grand Circle has more than 40 offices worldwide

 and approximately 3,500 associates, guides, and crew serving more than 110,000 travelers per year.

  In 1992, Grand Circle owners Alan and Harriet Lewis established Grand Circle Foundation, a

 nonprofit organization supporting communities in which Grand Circle works with and travels to,

 including some 300 humanitarian, cultural, and educational endeavors worldwide, including 100

 schools in 50 countries.  Grand Circle Foundation is an entity of the Lewis Family Foundation, 

which has pledged or donated more than $144 million since 1981.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151021/279339