In an era of jumbo cruise ships, where “bigger” is often seen as “better,” smaller cruise ships continue to attract an elite crowd of knowledgeable cruise lovers who are well aware that the best in service and entertainment will not necessarily be found onboard the biggest cruise liners.

For really off-the-beaten-track cruise locations, world class service and unique entertainment, ships such as Fred Olsen’s Black Watch is often very hard to beat.

The company’s guest ship with a passenger capacity of only 804 recently proved the truth of this statement by winning the Best for Entertainment award in the small ships category of a well-known UK cruise competition.

It received an impressive rating of 4.3 out of 5 for its onboard entertainment programme and with that walked away with the prestigious award in the Small Ships category.

The awards were based entirely on the opinions of cruisers. Those who took part consistently expressed the opinion that the staff of Black Watch “went the extra mile” when it came to entertaining passengers on board the ship.

The Sales and Marketing Director of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, Nathan Philpot, was delighted with the news and thanked everyone who voted for the cruise line.

He said: “This important accolade, voted for by genuine cruisers, builds upon our award of ‘Best Live Performance’ for the world-renowned OperaBabes in the ‘Cruise International Awards 2011,’ which were also voted for by cruise fans.”

Philpot added that Fred Olsen regularly attracted world class performers such as the Osmonds and Boney M to its cruise ships – and “guests clearly appreciate the efforts.”