NEWS ROUND-UP
Saga reveals its seven Super Star ambassadors
Over-50s operator Saga has named the seven travel agents who will be its first Saga Stars ambassadors. Each Saga Super Star will join
a two-night trade event on board Saga ship Spirit of Adventure before its inaugural cruise and take a Saga holiday worth £1,000. They will also have support for
marketing, events and visits from Saga’s trade team, and join a VIP Christmas lunch in December. The Saga Stars are Rachel
Jones, Miles Morgan Travel; Ian Le-Fevre, Travel Counsellors; Suzi Anderson, Acomb Travel; Poppy Outram, Bolsover Cruise Club; Vikki Lomas, Prestbury Travel; Ian Warren, GoCruise & Travel; and Amber Bellinger, ROL Cruise. All entrants completed a Saga
Experts programme and impressed judges by promoting Saga and acting as an ambassador for the brand within their own businesses. Iain Powell, Saga’s head of trade
sales, said: “Their knowledge and enthusiasm for our fabulous over-50s holidays is really important to our business and we look forward to continuing our fun and productive working relationships in the future.”
Celebrity to run EMEA operation from the UK
Harry Kemble
Celebrity Cruises’ Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operation is to be run from the UK as part of parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises’ ongoing restructure. The cruise group’s EMEA team
for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara was previously spread over several sites across the region. The team reported into Stuart
Leven, Royal Caribbean Cruises’ vice-president for the EMEA region and managing director, who is overseeing the company restructure, announced in November, that could see non-sales departments at Royal Caribbean International and Azamara move to the US. Jo Rzymowska takes on an
expanded role. Previously managing director and vice-president of Celebrity Cruises for the UK, Ireland and Asia, she will now oversee the entire EMEA region. Rzymowska said the shake-up
would not take any resources away from the UK and Ireland team. The company’s Asia region will now
be managed by its Australia and New Zealand office. The changes were announced
Viking plans two expedition ships for 2022 launch
Viking has confirmed its entry into the expedition cruise sector with two ships that will enter service in 2022. Viking Octantis will start sailing
12 23 JANUARY 2020
Jo Rzymowska at the awards. Inset: Reshma Saujani, of Girls Who Code, will be godmother of Celebrity Apex
It’s been an
incredible year but we couldn’t have done it without the dedication shown by our agents
at Celebrity’s Agent Appreciation Awards in central London last week at which Trailfinders was named top- performing high street agency and top agency in the Republic of Ireland.
Iglu.com (top cruise specialist),
World Travel Holdings (top cruise specialist for growth) and The Travel Network Group (top consortia)
were among the award winners. Claire Stirrup, Celebrity’s director
of sales for the UK and Ireland, said: “It’s been an incredible year for Celebrity Cruises…but we really couldn’t have done it without the incredible dedication and passion
shown by our agents.” ● Celebrity Cruises has announced that the founder and chief executive of international non-profit tech organisation Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani, will be godmother of incoming ship Celebrity Apex. The ship will be launched in the UK in April, the first to do so for more than a decade.
How Viking’s expedition ships will look
in January 2022 to Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes. Viking Polaris is to operate in Antarctica and the Arctic from August 2022. The 378-passenger polar-class
vessels will feature two mini submarines that can each carry six people. Viking has introduced more than
60 river cruise vessels and six ocean cruise ships in the last eight years to
create a 79-strong fleet. The company aims to launch seven river vessels this year and has six more ocean ships on order, with options for four more. These options could bring its total ocean fleet to 16 ships by 2027. The godmothers of the new
expedition ships will be explorers Liv Arnesen, the first woman to ski solo to the South Pole, and Ann Bancroft, the first woman to ski to both poles.
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURES: Steve Dunlop; Adrian Kinloch
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