Northern Ireland Travel News were pleased to be in attendance yesterday (15 March) at Celebrity Cruises’ Travel Agent Appreciation Awards in London.
Celebrity Cruises celebrated its incredible agent and industry partner community as a thank you for its hard work and commitment following what has been a particularly challenging time, Taking a different approach this year, Celebrity Cruises further highlighted several agent partners and individuals who have truly gone above and beyond to enable the successful return of the entire travel industry.
Held on Tuesday 15th March 2022 at The Londoner Hotel in Leicester Square, over 60 travel partners attended the luxury event which recognised businesses and individuals, to underline their role within travel over the past two years.
Outstanding achievement awards went to Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO, Advantage Travel Group for her work with the UK government on the resumption of the industry as well as amplifying its voice through the media, Gemma Antrobus, Managing Director of Haslemere Travel who led the charge for the luxury sector and lent incredible support to the cruise industry overall, andAndy Harmer, Managing Director of CLIA UK & Ireland, who was called out for his unparalleled contribution to the restart of the entire cruise sector. The event was hosted by Jo Rzymowska, Vice President & Managing Director, EMEA and Claire Stirrup, Sales Director, UK & Ireland.
Jo Rzymowska, Vice President ; Managing Director, EMEA, for Celebrity Cruises stated “It has been a poignant moment to be back together to celebrate and remind each other of the power of partnership. Today was about saying a massive thank you to everyone for all they have done not just for us, but for travel overall, as well as recognising the incredible contribution from partners and people across our wonderful industry, after a period of intense hardship. Our partners within the trade and across the industry are integral to all that we do. We look forward to coming back together in just six weeks’ time, as we launch Celebrity Beyond to the world in Southampton.”
Special recognition went to:
● Audley Travel
● Cruise.co.uk
● ROL Cruise
● Stewart Travel
● Julia Lo Bue-Said (Advantage)
● Gemma Antrobus (Haslemere Travel)
● Andy Harmer (CLIA UK and Ireland)
Celebrity Cruises successfully returned to service in 2021, welcoming up to 70% of its magnificent fleet back to waters around the world, including the newly revolutionised Celebrity Silhouette, and Celebrity Apex’s long-awaited debut.
Looking forward, Celebrity Beyond – the third in Celebrity’s award-winning Edge-Series ships – will be sailing her maiden voyage from Southampton in April, in a strong vote of confidence for the UK market. After a summer spent in the Mediterranean, Beyond will head to the Caribbean in October. Plus, Celebrity Cruises continues to trailblaze the industry, having just announced that they have grown their female bridge team from 3% to 32% in seven years, compared to the industry average of just 2%.
Celebrity Cruises continues to support travel partners through a suite of sales and marketing toolkits, packed with applicable sailing guides, social-ready content, digital banners and training modules, all hosted on Celebrity Central, to help agents maximise their sales. What’s more, Celebrity Cruises will be welcoming over 1,000 travel partners onboard Celebrity Beyond on her launch sailing in six weeks’ time.
