Celebrity Cruises Kicks Off New Year with "123 go!"

MIAMI, Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The countdown to the New Year may be over, but the countdown to an exceptional modern luxury vacation is just beginning. Celebrity Cruises today launched "123 go!" – the brand's biggest promotion to-date, featuring three powerful offers allowing consumers to select what they value most in a Celebrity vacation.

The three exceptional options include:

• Free "Classic Beverage Package" for two, allowing guests to pair Celebrity's delectable cuisine with their favorite beverages – representing a value of up to $616 for two guests, based on a 7-night sailing, and including coverage of beverage gratuities; or,
• Free gratuities, allowing vacationers to fully relax, knowing tips for Celebrity's expert staff are covered – representing a value of up to $210 per stateroom based on a 7-night sailing and includes coverage of stateroom, waiter, assistant waiter and head waiter gratuities; or,
• An onboard credit of up to $300 per stateroom, depending on the selected itinerary length, and available for guests to apply to shore excursions, specialty dining, wine tastings, spa treatments, boutique items, or any other onboard purchase.

And, if a Celebrity vacation in Europe wasn't already enticing enough, guests booking a cruise on one of the line's five modern luxury ships in the region have the opportunity to select two of the three special options.

Celebrity's "123 go!" offers are valid for oceanview stateroom and higher bookings on all ships (with the exception of Celebrity Xpedition), and all sailings from February 2013 through April 2014 – with nearly 450 sailings to choose from – providing the cruise is booked between January 7 through January 27, 2013.

"To complement our incredible new promotion in a fun and engaging way, we've also introduced an interactive online program called, 'Experience it,' which – like our '123 go!' offer –puts consumers front and center," said Celebrity's Vice President of Marketing Lisa Kauffman. "The video invites them to see and select where they want to go from among Celebrity's sailings in all continents, then to click on what they want to do onboard, whether it's relaxing in the AquaSpa or playing in the fitness center; enjoying a cooking class or cocktails; indulging in a culinary journey at Qsine or open-air barbecuing at The Lawn Club Grill."

Celebrity partnered with Blue State Digital (BSD) to create "Experience it," which can be viewed here:  http://experiencecelebrity.com/.

"Whether we're working with a political candidate, a cultural institution, or a global brand, we always strive to put the consumer relationship first," said Will Begeny, Vice President of Strategy for BSD. "When we partnered with Celebrity Cruises to help reach a growing audience of smart, online-savvy consumers in the luxury travel space, we knew we needed to think about the shopping experience from their point of view. How can we make travel planning more fun? Through our interactive online experience, we're able to show them exactly how a Celebrity vacation can meet their individual interests, culminating with the option to choose exactly how they want to save, rather than offering everyone the same 'big deal.'"

Celebrity also partnered with BSD to create a corresponding campaign exclusively for travel agents.

"Through the 'Celebrity Commitment,' our genuine pledge to our travel partners, we're constantly seeking new opportunities to help them drive business, and this campaign is a powerful outgrowth of that commitment," said Celebrity's Senior Vice President of Sales Dondra Ritzenthaler. "We're giving our travel partners the opportunity to create their own branded, personalized web pages, anchored by the same interactive video featured in our consumer campaign. They can share the pages on their own social media channels to draw customers to their offices, their websites or to connect by phone. And all this is paired with a sweepstakes exclusively for the trade, with several easy ways to enter."

Travel partners can enter the "Celebrity Wave Sweepstakes" from January 7 through March 31, 2013, through five separate ways:

• Each time a travel agent books a stateroom on any Celebrity itinerary departing between January 14, 2013 and April 30, 2014, he or she automatically earns an entry.
• Agents who are randomly called by a Celebrity executive to participate in a "mystery shopper" phone survey during the sweepstakes period and who mention Celebrity Cruises in answer to the survey question posed will earn a $100 gift card and one sweepstakes entry.
• Agents who prominently display Celebrity Cruises on their Facebook page can earn one sweepstakes entry (limit of one entry per agent per day during sweepstakes period).
• A travel agent also may submit his/her name, company name and address in writing, by mail, once daily, if sent to: Celebrity Wave Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 25309, Rochester, NY, 14625-0309.

A total of 12 grand prize Celebrity Cruises vacations will be awarded through the sweepstakes, with winners drawn at random on or about April 8, 2013. To see the full rules and regulations of the sweepstakes, visit http://experiencecelebrity.com/pages/wave-promo-rules-and-regulations.

About Celebrity Cruises:

Celebrity Cruises' iconic "X" is the mark of modern luxury, with its cool, contemporary design and warm spaces; dining experiences where the design of the venues is as important as the cuisine; and the amazing service that only Celebrity can offer, all created to provide an unmatchable experience for vacationers' precious time. In addition to cruise vacations visiting all continents, Celebrity also presents immersive cruisetour experiences in Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Europe and South America. With a fleet of 11 ships, Celebrity is one of the fastest-growing major cruise lines, and one of five brands operated by global cruise vacation company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL). For more information, dial 1-800-437-3111, visit www.celebritycruises.com, or call your travel agent. Follow the brand socially at www.facebook.com/celebritycruises.

SOURCE Celebrity Cruises