Celebrity Cruises news update – January 7, 2010
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Celebrity Cruises news update – January 7, 2010
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2011-01-10
• New GAP points policy
• Celebrity Silhouette specialty dining open for booking
• Gold Star award goes to “We Make People Happy”
• New year introduces new ways to help people make the most of their vacation time
NEW YEAR STARTS WITH ENHANCED GROUP PROGRAM
Based on feedback from its travel partners, Celebrity Cruises is modifying its group program to offer additional value and options.
Celebrity’s Group Amenities Plus, or “GAP,” program is evolving to offer amenities reflective of the Celebrity experience, such as wine appreciation and martini tasting seminars, but it is also expanding to offer more points for more group bookings. For example, the onboard credit option previously went only as high as $100 per stateroom; it now extends to $150 per stateroom. A new 90-minute internet usage package is available for five GAP points, as are various levels of Celebrity’s popular soda and non-alcoholic beverage packages, which range from five to 12 GAP points per person, based on the length of the cruise.
Celebrity is also offering a change in its groups advertising policy, where publicizing group rates are concerned. In the past, travel agents could not advertise group pricing in newspaper, television or radio advertisements, but effective immediately, agents can now list group pricing in the same places where they list individual rates.
These changes follow the updated group deposit guidelines that Celebrity introduced last July. Two new options for holding inventory were introduced: for 16 or fewer staterooms, no intial deposit is required, and for 17-50 staterooms, a $50 (USD) initial deposit is required. In both cases, travel agents can hold group inventory until 120 days to sailing for cruises of 8 nights or less in length, and until 150 days to sailing for cruises of 9 nights or more in length.
CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS OPEN FOR PRE-CRUISE BOOKING
Travelers looking to sink their teeth into Celebrity’s latest culinary news – the introduction of new restaurants on its forthcoming Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Reflection – can now be some of the first to lock in their dining reservations. All four specialty restaurants on Celebrity Silhouette, including the new Lawn Club Grill, which will celebrate guests’ passion for grilling, are now open for booking advance reservations. Guests can also book reservations for the Italian-steakhouse-inspired Tuscan Grille, elegant French-inspired Murano and the “uniquely unordinary” Qsine.
Travel agents and guests are invited to visit www.celebritycruises.com to book.
In addition to pre-cruise reservations for specialty dining, Celebrity also offers pre-cruise booking of beverage packages, shore excursions, spa treatments and Celebrity Select main dining seating arrangements.
GOLD STAR AWARD MAKES AGENTS HAPPY
In late December, Celebrity Cruises awarded Delray Beach-based We Make People Happy a Celebrity Gold Star Agency Award. This award is part of the Celebrity Five Star Academy; it recognizes travel agencies of 35 agents or more that have 100% of their agents graduate from Celebrity Five Star Academy.
Celebrity Five Star Academy, a comprehensive, online training program that immerses travel agents in the nuances of the Celebrity vacation experience, is a requirement for all agents who work at We Make People Happy. The agency’s founders, Uf Turkel and Don Walker, believe that education is a necessary component to providing outstanding service to customers.
NEW YEAR, NEW WAYS TO SAVE
Destination-focused booking promotion aims to help consumers enjoy precious vacation time
Premium vacation brand Celebrity Cruises has kicked off a “New Year, New Cruise” booking promotion aimed at helping vacationers to make the most of their time off. Each week this month, Celebrity is offering up to $150 in stateroom credit, for select cruises in particular destinations.
The savings will be issued in the form of a shipboard credit. Offered to help vacationers make the most of their time onboard, the credit can be used for spa treatments, specialty dining, shopping, shore excursions and more. The promotion is intended to offer guests an added opportunity to enjoy Celebrity’s line-up of onboard experiences as well as to get to know the destinations on the itinerary through shore excursions.
This week (through January 9), guests booking 2011 Australia/New Zealand, Panama Canal and Hawaii sailings are eligible for onboard credit. From January 10 through January 16, 2011, guests who book Caribbean cruises sailing from March through December 2011 are eligible for onboard credit. Europe and Transatlantic cruises departing from April through November of 2011 are the focus of the onboard credit offer for those guests booking cruises from January 17 through January 23, 2011, and from January 24 through January 30, guests who book Alaska sailings taking place from May through September of 2011, will be eligible for onboard credit.
The shipboard credit earned during the promotion is valid only during the cruise booked during the promotion. The offer is valid only for new, individual bookings, and bookings within a group that are named and deposited within the booking window, paid partially or in full. Incentive contracted groups and charters are not eligible. The amount of onboard credit offered is based on stateroom category and sailing length; for example, select sailings of seven nights, such as those on Celebrity’s award-winning Solstice Class ships, will offer vacationers onboard credit in the amount of $50 per stateroom for inside and oceanview staterooms; $100 per stateroom for standard verandas; and $150 per stateroom for Concierge Class, AquaClass and suites.
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