Conversations With Celebrity

I had the chance to talk to Andy Riley of Pillinger World Travel, independent travel agency and member of the TTNG consortia based in Preston. Andy is a big fan of Celebrity Cruises and tells us all about his own cruise with his family last year onboard Celebrity Apex from Southampton. He shares advice and tips too on how to sell Celebrity and target the ideal customer type.

Back in October 2024, I was lucky enough to escort a group of our Celebrity For Beginners graduates on a a 4 night sailing onboard the beautiful Celebrity Silhouette from Athens to Istanbul. In this episode, I ask them talk about their experience of sailing with Celebrity, and how the Celebrity For Beginners programme has helped them increase their confidence and expertise in selling Celebrity.

We start the new year with an uplifting interview with Charlotte Hallam (UK & Ireland Field Sales Manager) and Nicola McNeish ( UK & Ireland Head of Sales) to get their advice and thoughts on the importance of January and February in the travel business. They also tell us how they started in travel and what their roles entail

Captain Manolis, Vice President of Marine Operations for Celebrity Cruises, is a well-known member of the Celebrity family and has a rich and fascinating history with Celebrity Cruises. In this episode he talks about his time as a Captain at sea (over 20 years), his passion for experiencing destinations all over the world, and how the crew are the key and most important factor in delivering Celebrity's Elevated Hospitality.

Alison Pearson from World of Inclu is our Diversity and Inclusion Champion for 2024. She tells us her truly fascinating and inspiring story, with some real insight into the importance of working with and selling to travellers with mobility and accessibility needs. She also talks about her time sailing onboard Celebrity Beyond and how & why her experience in the Rooftop Garden was truly liberating and unforgettable.

We are off to the Caribbean on this episode with a VIP trip to Perfect Day at Coco Cay !! I interview two travel agent partners and my colleague Matt Alderton whilst onboard Celebrity Reflection, as they tell me all about their experience and highlights of sailing with Celebrity Cruises and visiting Coco Cay, the private Royal Caribbean Group island in the Caribbean as part of a 5 night seminar at sea trip. They share tips and advice and their top takeaways of this incredible experience.

Happy Pride to everyone ! On this episode we are celebrating Pride month, with a lovely chat with Craig Barton from Barrhead Travel, who is the Celebrity Cruises Diversity & Inclusion Champion. He tells us about how he started in travel as well as sailing with his family with Celebrity Cruises, and the fun he had onboard during the Celebrity Edge Pride sailing last year !

We are so excited to share this great interview with our President, Laura Hodges Bethge on this episode of Conversations With Celebrity !! Laura goes into detail about her background and story in travel and with the Royal Caribbean Group, and gives us some insight into her role as President with all of the info you need to understand Celebrity's position in the market as a premium brand - where Nothing Comes Close. Enjoy !

We have another of our fantastic travel partner champions on the programme this month ! Sue Glen from Personal Travel Agents at Your Co-op is our Destinations Champion, and Sue shares her story of how she started in travel, why she loves travel and cruise so much, and magic memories of sailing out of Sydney with Celebrity Cruises.

We hear from another Celebrity Champion, Julie Penman. Julie is our Wellbeing Champion and tells the story of how she has come to love cruise over her 30 years in the travel industry. She is now a big TikTok star known as The Cruise Boss, and she loved her time onboard Celebrity Apex experiencing Aquaclass. Julie has some fantastic tips and ideas on how to target the right customer and increase Celebrity sales

Happy New Year to all of our listeners around the world ! We are starting 2024 with an in-depth chat with Emma Otter, Travel Counsellors and Culinary Champion for Celebrity Cruises. Emma gives us the low-down on her story and background in travel, how she came to win the role of a Champion and why she loves being a foodie !

We close out the year with our very last episode of 2023 focussing on the importance of getting ready for the start of 2024. Claire Stirrup, senior sales director for Celebrity Cruises UK & Ireland, shares her thoughts and advice on how to start the year strong and why the beginning of the year is such an important time in the travel industry. Happy Holidays to you all !

On this episode, we to talk to Giles Hawke, Vice President and Managing Director of Celebrity Cruises (Europe Middle East & Africa) all about his background in travel, his current role leading the EMEA operation and his impressions and thoughts on the unique selling points and market position of Celebrity Cruises.

A great interview with Lourdes Hainlin, Vice President of Partnerships for Forbes Travel Guide. We get the low down on the hard work and dedication needed to earn the much-coveted and illustrious Forbes Travel Guide 4 stars

On this episode, Nicola Graham - Mummy & Founder of Reuben's Retreat - tells us her emotional and uplifting story: how this incredible charity was begun, its amazing growth over the last 11 years, and the importance of the connection to and the support given to this cause by Celebrity Cruises and the travel industry in general. We also hear from some of the UK & Ireland sales team whilst they were volunteering at the Reuben's Retreat headquarters.

A very exciting episode, actually recorded in the awesome state of Alaska. I had an amazing time in early June onboard the beautiful Celebrity Eclipse running a seminar at sea for our top-selling agents from all over Scandinavia. I interview travel partners from Sweden, Denmark and Finland to get their take on experiencing Alaska with Celebrity Cruise - with some great sales tips and inside info ! I also chat to my colleagues Klaus Toth and Alex Frady who also came on this trip, and they share their thoughts and ideas on why Alaska is so special and how to sell unforgettable holidays with Celebrity in this breathtakingly beautiful part of the world.

UK & Ireland Travel agents talk about their experience and enjoyment of sailing onboard the Forbes Travel Guide-rated Celebrity Apex. Back in May 2023 I was lucky enough to run training seminars onboard during a British Isles & Ireland cruise from Amsterdam, and over 80 travel agents attended ! I also grabbed some time with those agents who joined the Travel Weekly Celebrity For Beginners programme, a new initiative in partnership with Travel Weekly to support, educate and excite those in the industry working with Celebrity Cruises who are brand new to travel and to selling cruise.

EXTRA SPECIAL & EXTENDED EPISODE ! The famous & fearless Jo Rzymowska - Vice President & Managing Director of Celebrity Cruises EMEA - gives us an amusing, emotional and truly fascinating interview as she steps down as leader this year for Celebrity. Jo has so much wisdom & advice to share, along with funny anecdotes and great stories as we look back over her years working in the travel industry, cruise industry and for the Royal Caribbean Group for almost 20 years.

Tune into my chat with Pauline Thomson and Drew Bolton, AKA Team Scotland ! They are both sales managers and part of the UK & Ireland sales team, and proud Scots who represent Celebrity Cruises in Scotland and beyond. They are indeed entertaining storytellers, and as well as making me laugh, they share some great tips on how to maximise your sales and grow your Celebrity business.

I am thrilled to be talking to an 'old' friend Julie Sherrington, who is Guest Relations Director, based onboard Celebrity Silhouette this summer. Julie has worked for over 30 years onboard and talks about how she started her career as a hairdresser. She also lets us in on what her job entails, as well as just what it is like to live and work at sea. Celebrity Silhouette will sail from Southampton for the last time this summer, and although we are sad to say goodbye, we cannot wait to welcome her home to the UK.

This episode is dedicated entirely to an in-depth conversation with Keith Lane, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Celebrity Cruises. Keith tells us about his personal and professional background, how he worked hard to become a sales leader, and his current role taking care of our world-class fleet and our amazing crew. This really is an inspiring and motivational chat, and one that you don't want to miss !

Happy February ! On this episode we take a deep dive into understanding the concept of Relaxed Luxury, and how Celebrity stands out as a true luxury brand. I chat to Matt Stuart, the business development manager for Celebrity Cruises, whose role is to grow the businesses of travel partners who specialise in the luxury sector. Matt tells us his story, and shares tips on how to upsell to The Retreat. I also share the recent BIG news about our official rating with Forbes Travel Guide !

A very happy new year to you all and welcome to 2023. We kick off the new year with a very special guest: Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales for the Americas. Dondra tells us her fascinating story, how she came to Celebrity Cruises and her role over the last 20 years based in the USA. Dondra also shares some vital tips and advice on what the concept of Relaxed Luxury really means, and why the Wave period is so important in setting up your business for success for the rest of the year. Thanks for listening ! 

Ending the year with our Xmas edition, Lisa Rose Marketing Director EMEA for Celebrity Cruises talks to us all about her background, her current role, and how to articulate the Celebrity Cruises' brand concept of Relaxed Luxury. Alyce Nelson from the Trade Marketing team also joins us to give an exciting update on the biggest ever cash giveaway for our travel partners as part of our Celebrity Moments incentive programme. I chip in at the end with all you need to know about our incredible Wave offer. Have a merry and peaceful Xmas and a wonderFULL New Year !

In this episode I get to share the experiences and learnings of many trade partners from all over Europe, Middle East and Africa who joined me on our Seminar At Sea learning programme onboard Celebrity Beyond in September 2022. They share their hightlights, favourite areas of the ship and what they learned to help them sell and talk Celebrity when they get back home. And I share some incredibly exciting news about our summer 2024 UK sailings from Southampton ! 

In this episode we fly off to the wild and vast state of Alaska: the Final Frontier of North America. I talk to Brendan Halcomb, Sales & Marketing Manager for Alaska Cruisetours at Celebrity Cruise, to give us some real insight and inspiration when talking and selling Alaska as a perfect cruise destination with Celebrity. 

In this episode we are taking you to the Pacific Ocean to experience the amazing Galapagos Islands ! Susana Romero, Sales & Communications Director for the Celebrity Cruises Galapagos programme, shares her in-depth knowledge and first-hand experience of these incredible islands. She is truly inspirational! We also share how you can promote and book the Galapagos Islands sailings to increase your luxury business.

In episode 12 of the Conversations With Celebrity podcast, we share all of the hightlights of our Europe 2023 sailing programme, with an insight into brand new ports of call and exciting new overnight destinations !  We also chat to Andy Harmer OBE, Managing Director of Cruise Lines International Association for UK & Ireland. Andy tells us how he got into travel, and how CLIA works hard to support and promote the cruise industry.  

Broadcasting LIVE from our stunning and brand new 3rd Edge series ship, Celebrity Beyond ! During her pre-inaugural sailing events, I got the chance to talk to many of our travel partners all about their impressions and experience of this ground-breaking and game changing ship. I also catch up with Pete Ryan and Leigh Thomson from the UK & Ireland sales team to get their perspective and thoughts about Celebrity Cruises and how we have taken Edge series to yet another incredible and innovative level.

In this episode we talk to Rachel Pagonis, Chief Officer of Celebrity Beyond ! We managed to get a live interview whilst she was onboard, so that Rachel tells us all about this incredible new 3rd Edge series ship. We also talk about her background, her favourite ports of call, the highlights of Celebrity Beyond, and the importance of equality and diversity in the maritime and cruise industry.

We have a fantastic interview this month with Lisa Lehr, VP of Entertainment for Celebrity Cruises ! Lisa gives us the lowdown on all of the exciting entertainment programming onboard our soon-to-sail 3rd Edge series ship Celebrity Beyond, which will include brand new custom productions and shows. Plus we give you an update on the Spring Sale...enjoy !

This month we are chatting to Kathy Barbrooke, Guests & Trade Services Director Celebrity Cruises. She tells us all about her background, her fascinating role with Celebrity and all about her favourite family holiday 

We start the new year with Emma Rigby & Jonny Peat (Business Development team) who tell us all about New Luxury and why & how Celebrity Cruises is a major player in luxury travel. I also bring you the latest news on our Asia and Galapagos sailings for 2023 & 2024!

We end the year with a great interview with Lorenzo Davidoiu, Associate Vice President for Service Excellence, as well as getting ready for 2022 with the low-down on our exciting new year campaign...!

We talk about the brand new sailings for 2023 in Alaska, Europe, Australia and the US.  Cornelius Gallagher, Vice President of Food & Beverage Operations tells us all about his passion for food and the new culinary developments of Celebrity Beyond, coming in April 2022.

In this episode we talk about our return to service with our beautiful ships back on the water after a long time away. We also have a great interview with Gemma Antrobus, MD of Haslemere Travel as well as telling you how you can make money whilst you sleep !

Someday is here ! the revolutionised Celebrity Silhouette has returned to the UK & we are so excited !

This month's episode is dedicated to the recently-revealed Celebrity Beyond, our 3rd Edge Series ship that defies imagination and shatters all expectations!

Conversations with Celebrity is a dedicated podcast series for all UK and Ireland travel agents who work with Celebrity Cruises. Tune in to our monthly episodes to be inspired and educated through our latest news, in-depth interviews, expert advice and selling tips. Join the New Luxury conversation with Celebrity Cruises.