Celestyal has launched a new trade portal, The Celestyal Compass, to support travel agents during the upcoming wave period. The portal, which went live globally on Dec. 10, includes a learning platform called Celestyal Campus. The platform offers training modules covering brand overview, onboard life, itinerary information, shore excursions and sales growth strategies. Agents can earn stars by completing modules, leading to exclusive benefits from Celestyal.
“The launch of ‘The Celestyal Compass’ is a milestone moment in both our digital and trade strategy,” said Tim Locke, Director of E-commerce at Celestyal, in a press statement. “It includes everything that agent partners—who we are calling our ‘Celestyal Navigators’—need to learn about our ships and the onboard experience, itineraries and much more, all at their fingertips in an easy-to-use platform. And, by launching in time for wave, we’re giving agents the best possible chance of boosting their sales during this key time of year.”
The Celestyal Compass
The Celestyal Compass is a centralized resource for marketing assets and information on current offers and campaigns. Of note: As an incentive, the first 250 agents who sign up and complete the Celestyal Campus modules by Jan. 3, 2025, will receive a $25 Amazon voucher.
In addition to the trade portal, Celestyal has revamped the consumer-facing website designed to enhance the customer experience and streamline booking. Key features include a “frictionless booking system” and “personalized customer journeys,” which improve site navigation and allow users to explore areas of interest more thoroughly.
The website’s homepage guides visitors through the Celestyal destination hub, taking them to detailed itineraries for a more efficient booking experience. An improved itinerary search tool delivers tailored results based on your clients’ preferences. The site also introduces an AI-powered CelestyalPay option, allowing them to plan their pre-purchased specialty food and drinks tab based on predicted consumption, with the potential to receive bonus amounts from the cruise line.
“As a challenger brand, we’ve made some bold moves in recent times, and our new trade portal and website are no different,” said Lee Haslett, Chief Commercial Officer at Celestyal, in a press statement. “They represent the next chapter in our digital strategy, as we look to supercharge our online offering. The website features an intuitive experience that is rich in storytelling to allow our guests to immerse themselves in our itineraries from the very start.”
Enhanced destination content has been added to inspire and inform users throughout the journey-planning process. The website’s design is mobile-first for optimal performance across all devices.
Wave Season Promo
Celestyal’s Live Your Vacation Dream campaign, running through Feb. 28, 2025, offers travel advisors a way to boost sales with significant discounts and incentives across the cruise line’s 2025, 2026 and early 2027 itineraries.
The campaign features savings of up to 50 percent on various sailings. Select cruises include a bonus credit of up to 100 euros per person, pre-loaded onto each guest’s CelestyalPay account. CelestyalPay, introduced earlier this year, is a prepaid tab for non-complimentary food and beverage purchases onboard. Guests can add charges as they go or preload funds before sailing to receive additional bonus credit from the cruise line.
Travel advisors can earn extra commission during this promotion: Celestyal offers a $50 bonus for selling select 3- and 4-night cruises and up to $100 for select 7-night cruises. This incentive applies to 19 sailings, including six Arabian Gulf Desert Days departures and 13 Greek and Mediterranean voyages.
The discounts apply to over 60 itineraries, ranging from three to seven nights and covering destinations in the Greek Isles, Adriatic and Arabian Gulf.
Among the itineraries:
- A 3-night Iconic Greek Islands cruise, round-trip from Athens, visiting Mykonos, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Patmos and Santorini, starting at $389 per person.
- A 4-night Iconic Greek Islands cruise, also round-trip from Athens, with stops in Mykonos, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Patmos, Rhodes and Santorini, priced from $509 per person.
- A 7-night Heavenly Greece, Italy & Croatia cruise, departing from Athens and calling at Kefalonia, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Venice or Bari, Corfu and Katakolo. Prices for this itinerary begin at $769 per person.
- The Idyllic Greece 7-night cruise, sailing round-trip from Athens, includes visits to Kusadasi (Ephesus), Thessaloniki or Rhodes, Crete, Santorini, Mykonos and Milos. It starts at $769 per person.
- Celestyal offers a 7-night Desert Days cruise for clients interested in the Arabian Gulf. This itinerary sails round-trip from Doha, with stops in Dubai, Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi and Khalifa Bin Salman (Bahrain). Alternative departures from Dubai and Abu Dhabi are available. Prices start at $739 per person.
Celestyal has also introduced a Sell Three, Sail Free offer for advisors, providing an additional incentive to promote these itineraries to clients.
For more information, visit celestyalcompass.com.
