Celebrity Eclipse is already top seller in fleet

Celebrity Eclipse has become the best-booked ship in Celebrity Cruises' fleet even though the ship does not sail until April 2010.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of sister ship Celebrity Equinox, Royal Caribbean Cruises vice-president and managing director UK and Ireland Robin Shaw attributed the strong sales to trade marketing that has positioned Eclipse as offering something new from Southampton next year.

Celebrity Eclipse will be based in Southampton all next summer, offering the line's first ex-UK cruises targeted at the UK market.

Shaw said hosting 5,000 agents on Celebrity Equinox over the past eight days while the ship has been in Southampton has also helped to reinforce for them how good Eclipse will be.

Equinox was named on Wednesday by Walk the Walk breast cancer charity founder Nina Barough, and will be sailing an eight-night no-fly Norwegian fjords cruise on July 31, before relocating to Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, where it will be based for the rest of the summer.

Shaw said: "Celebrity Cruises has not got as much awareness in the UK as I would like, so this opportunity to showcase Celebrity Equinox a few months before Celebrity Eclipse arrives in the UK has come at a perfect time.

"This is the longest inaugural I have known, but we wanted to maximise the opportunity. There is no substitute for getting agents and consumers on to see the ship."

As well as hosting 5,000 agents on Equinox, including 1,000 of Thomas Cook's top performers and almost the same number of TUI Travel branch managers, some 1,200 consumers saw the ship on a one-night cruise on Saturday.

Royal Caribbean associate vice-president and general manager UK and Ireland Jo Rzymowska said only a handful of those 5,000 agents have been on a Celebrity ship before.

She said: "The brand is unknown among the multiples, but now several thousand who did not know us have been on a Celebrity ship, and have gone away with an understanding of what Celebrity is about, and who to sell it to.

"This event has been the best investment. I am already being alerted to bookings made by TUI Travel and Thomas Cook agents as a result of them being on board."

Celebrity has launched a 100-day booking incentive, giving all agents who have been on Equinox the chance to win a place at the launch of Celebrity Eclipse next year. Those agents who make the most bookings each day will be entered into a draw, with one name to be selected each day.

Shaw said he expects Celebrity Eclipse to attract cruise virgins, but also people who have cruised before but maybe not with Celebrity. "People move about between lines, so we will get passengers from P&O Cruises and Cunard. We are offering them a fabulous alternative."