WELCOME TO 2025 !

Captain Manolis, Senior Vice President of Global 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 , 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.

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

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