Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is celebrating after winning two top honours at the 2014 UK Cruisers’ Choice Awards, run by the Cruise Critic online cruise community and based entirely on the views of cruise guests.

The Ipswich-basec company’s 929-guest cruise ship Braemar was recognised as the Best Small Ship for Embarkation, with a score of 4.7 out of a total of 5, and its 804-guest vessel Black Watch was named Best Small Ship for Shore Excursions, with a rating of 4.4 out of 5.

Both Braemar and Black Watch were also named in the top five Best Small Ships Overall, being rated number four and five respectively.

Fred. Olsen also achieved two top-five placements in the Mid-Ship category with its 1,350-guest flagship Balmoral, for Fitness (five) and Shore Excursions (four), and eleven top five placements in the Small Ships category, including: Cabins (Braemar, five); Dining (Braemar, three, Black Watch, four, and Boudicca, five); Entertainment (Black Watch, two); Fitness (Boudicca, three, and Black Watch, five); Public Rooms (Braemar, five); Service (Black Watch, five); and Value for Money (Braemar, four, and Black Watch, five).

Adam Coulter, UK editor at Cruise Critic, said: “Winning a Cruisers’ Choice Award is a fantastic accolade for cruise lines, particularly as they’re based entirely on review ratings submitted by cruisers over the course of the past year, rather than votes.

“These awards offer a great insight into British consumers’ first-hand experiences and feedback of the cruises they have been on.”

Nathan Philpot, sales and marketing director at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, added: “It is important to us that we always try to offer the very best small-ship cruise experience that there is, and we are very proud that our efforts have been recognised by Cruise Critic and its members in this significant way.

“At Fred. Olsen, we believe that your holiday starts from the very moment that you arrive with us at the cruise terminal, which is why the embarkation process is so key, with a warm Fred. Olsen welcome and excellent ‘service with a smile’.

“We also put a lot of thought into creating new, exciting and tailored shore excursions for our guests, especially on our smallest, most traditional ship, Black Watch, which has the highest repeat rate of guests across our fleet, with sometimes up to 60% returning Fred. Olsen cruisers.”