Every year guests on board Princes Cruises ships enjoy countless performances by a variety of guest entertainers, including magicians, tribute bands, comedians and other specialty acts. This coming April, however, one performer will have the honour of being crowned the Entertainer of the Year.

Passengers on board Ruby Princess who embark on the Entertainer of the Year cruise on the 8th April next year will be able to vote to help choose their favourite entertainer. The company’s Facebook fans will also get the opportunity to assist by choosing one of the five finalists.

The executive vice president of Princess Cruises, Jan Swartz, said “Because of the remarkable calibre of the more than 2,000 guest entertainers who perform on our ships, we’ve created this award to recognise the impressive level of talent we showcase at sea.”

She added that as far as comedians alone are concerned, Princess presents as many as 5,000 live comedy shows every year – so it’s going to take an exceptional artist to win the award.

To narrow things down a little bit, the company’s entertainment department will choose four finalists before the start of the cruise. Their choice will be based on audience response, passenger surveys and Facebook nominations.

The selection of finalists will be finalised by January. After that Princess will post video clips of every act on its Facebook page, as well on YouTube, so fans can vote for their favourite entertainers.