Celebrity Cruises Travel Agent Appreciation Awards

Yesterday marked the 10^th Anniversary of Celebrity Cruises’ Travel Agent Appreciation Awards, the premium cruise line’s hotly anticipated annual event celebrating travel partners and awarding them for their exceptional efforts in supporting the business over the previous 12 months.

The awards, held this year at the impressive Aqua Shard venue at The Shard, saw more than 120 people come together and a total of 15 awards presented to key industry figures, celebrating their commitment to not only Celebrity Cruises, but the wider cruise industry too.

Celebrity Cruises’ Vice President & Managing Director EMEA, Giles Hawke and Senior Sales Director, EMEA, Claire Stirrup took to the stage to host the awards, noting that the line is set for another record-breaking year, with the fifth vessel in the brand’s award-winning Edge Series, Celebrity Xcel sailing her maiden voyage in November. Among the other landmark moments discussed for 2025, the Celebrity Cruises team promised its biggest ship visit programme to-date, which will see even more agents gaining first-hand experiences onboard Celebrity ships.

The full list of Celebrity Cruises 2025 Travel Agent Appreciation Awards winners include:

• Trailfinders – commended for their unwavering support and exemplary performance, resulting in another record-breaking year.
• Barrhead Travel Retail – noted for their strategic vision and commitment to Celebrity Cruises air allocations, making travel seamless for their customers.
• Love It Book It – recognised for their constant improvement year after year, creative TV marketing, and support in the Caribbean.
• InteleTravel – The team has been recognised as rising stars, doubling business, smashing targets.
• Cruise365 – called out for their for focus on Fly Med and Ex-UK products, along with a comprehensive approach to communication & marketing.
• Click & Go – earned recognition for achieving double-digit growth, thanks to extensive product knowledge and an integrated marketing approach.
• Travel Counsellors – recognised for their outstanding onboard sales, and truly commendable promotion of ‘future cruise’ benefits.
• The Advantage Travel Partnership – commended for a strong focus on training, product knowledge, and providing the right tools and support, empowering their members to succeed.
• Gold Medal – celebrated for introducing Celebrity to even more agents and guests and for their seamless collaboration.
• Imagine Cruising – applauded for their unique Cruise & Stay experiences, creativity, and dedication to offering unparalleled travel experiences
• Iglu Cruise – honoured for their innovative approach and pursuit of quality.
• Stewart Travel – recognised for taking advantage of every opportunity offered, showcasing incredible passion and determination.
• Hays – recognised for doubling guest numbers for in-house tour operations, leading in Retreat volume, achieving triple-digit growth in long-haul products, and launching successful hosted groups.
• Dave Mills – scooped an individual award for showing passion, dedication, and ability to turn creative ideas into successful executions.
• Sandra Corkin – recognised following 40 incredible years in business for her work in growing the partnership with Celebrity Cruises and for setting a benchmark for leadership and vision excellence in the industry.

As well as honouring the amazing work of Celebrity Cruises’ travel partners during 2024, the awards event gave agents the chance to meet with the wider Celebrity Cruises UK & Ireland sales team, including new Regional Sales Managers, Sharon Wilson, who brings her more than 20 years’ experience in the industry to the mix and Peter Bentman, who joins the team following a role with Travel Counsellors.

Travel partners are being supported throughout Wave, with the popular Celebrity Moments campaign live until 3rd March offering a total prize pot of £50,000 for high performing agents, alongside £10 earnings in Celebrity Rewards for every sale made, irrespective of stateroom category or value. For their clients, Celebrity Cruises is offering savings up to 35% on cruise fares, up to £200 savings on airfares as well as the ease of flexible bookings, with the opportunity to change ship and sail date once, completely free of charge.

Winners pictured – Left to Right:

• Caroline Donaldson (Barrhead)
• Tricia Handley Hughes (Intele Travel)
• Anthony Blackmore (Cruise 365)
• Dave Mills (Iglu)
• Paul Hackett (Click & Go)
• Nicki Tempest-Mitchell (Barrhead)
• Sarah Szyszkiewicz (Trailfinders)
• John Sullivan (Advantage) – front
• Jonny Peat (Advantage) – back
• Jacqueline Dobson (Barrhead)
• David Gooch (Iglu)
• Claire Boylan (Stewart Travel)
• Kirsten Fox (Iglu) – front
• Adrian James (Gold Medal) – back
• Rhiannon Kilbride (Stewart Travel) – front
• Daniel Radnor (Love It Book It) – back
• Sandra Corkin (Oasis) – front
• Sam Bulmer (Love It Book It) – back

Winners not pictured:

• Janet Whittingham & Alex Gavalda (Travel Counsellors)
• Danny Leffers & Becky Williams (Imagine)
• Catriona Parsons & Hannah Taylor (Hays)