Celebrity Cruises has hailed “record-breaking” trade engagement as booking levels “come back” following a dip in consumer confidence after the outbreak of the war in Iran

Claire Stirrup, managing director for the UK and EMEA, told Cruise Trade News demand is returning as the trade reports strong bookings for 2026 and 2027.

“Customer demand is coming back,” she said. “Trade partners are saying they are still servicing existing bookings but they are also seeing a lot of demand for this summer and beyond. People still want to go on holiday.”

Stirrup was speaking in Lisbon on the first night of the line’s megafam which will see more than 200 UK and Irish agents take a three-night Celebrity Apex sailing from the Portuguese capital to Southampton.

The ship will then begin its summer season of ex-UK departures, a popular option for British travellers, Stirrup added.

“Our customers have always loved sailing out of Southampton and it’s great as there is no hassle with airports; they can just get on board and enjoy one of our beautiful itineraries,” she said.

“We also wanted to give as many agents the chance to come on board as possible in a year where we have committed our biggest ever investment in the trade. There is so much happening in the industry right now with loads of ship launches and new brands so we wanted to say thank you to our partners.”

Nicola McNiesh, Celebrity Cruises sales director for the UK and Ireland, praised the performance of UK agents this year, highlighting a surge in social media engagement.

“We have had record-breaking trade engagement across our socials in recent months, with thousands of agents entering our online competitions,” she said.

“We are working really hard to have fun with the trade and they are so passionate about our product so we want to nurture that and continue to engage with them.”

Stirrup noted the changing landscape of agents since the pandemic, with a rise in the number of homeworkers, saying the line has had to adapt to ensure it can engage with all its trade partners.

“The trade has changed over the years and there are so many more homeworkers now,” she said. “We want to communicate and engage with everyone so we need to be on as many forums and channels as possible to reach them, meaning we need to offer ship visits for those who can come on board but create just as much content for those who can’t.”

“It is about being available to all agents, however they need us.”