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Here’s what cruisers chose as the best ships for 2019

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The winners of Cruise Critic’s reader favorites were announced Wednesday, anointing four ships of varying sizes in the best overall category.

The Best Cruises Overall awards went to Celebrity Cruises’ Equinox, in the large-ship category; Oceania Cruises’ Riviera, in the midsize category; Viking Cruises’ Sun, in the medium-small category; and Silversea Cruises’ Galápagos, in the small-ship category.

Winners were chosen based on consumer reviews and ratings during the last year.

Although some of these ships are less accessible to Southern California cruisers — Equinox and Riviera, for instance, are sailing in the Caribbean — some winners sail from San Pedro, making departures simple and decreasing the overall cost of a cruise.

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Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess, for example, sails regularly from the World Cruise Center, based in San Pedro. Coral Princess was a winner in the Cruise Critic contest, scoring a best for its shore excursions (midsize category) and another award for its fitness and recreation programs. Upcoming voyages for the ship include itineraries along the California coast with rates that start as low as $299 per person, based on double occupancy.

Celebrity Eclipse, which won the award for best service (large-ship category) will sail from the Port of Los Angeles three times during the upcoming year. The fall itineraries include Hawaii, the Pacific Coast and Chile. Rates start at $1,209 per person, double occupancy.

Other highlights of the overall poll include big-ship winners Celebrity Cruises with five first-place wins and Royal Caribbean International with three wins.

In the midsize category, Oceania Cruises received three top awards and MSC’s Sinfonia won two awards for best entertainment and value for money spent.

Viking Ocean Cruises swept the small-midsize category. And in the small-ship category, Silversea’s Silver Galápagos took top honors in four categories and Paul Gauguin Cruises also won four top awards.

travel@latimes.com

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@latimestravel

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