Two hundred lucky agents plus a guest will be invited to join the inaugural sailing of the brand new ship, which is now due to launch ahead of schedule at the end of March.

The two-night sailing will be exclusively agents, trade and media partners, who will get the chance to test out the innovative new ship, part of Celebrity Cruises’ Edge-class series.

To bag their spot on Celebrity Apex’s inaugural cruise, agents will need to make as many bookings as possible between 1 August and 18 November 2019 and register them on Celebrity Central. The higher the number of bookings, the more chance they have of winning. Agents can check-in on their progress via the online leader board in Celebrity Rewards.

To help them secure sales, Celebrity Cruises will be issuing a new selling guide available on Celebrity Central from 29 August. Monthly competitions in the lead up to the ship launch will also give agents the chance to win Celebrity Apex branded prizes.

Claire Stirrup, Celebrity Cruises’ UK and Ireland director of sales, said:

“Our agent partners helped us set the bar incredibly high with the launch of Celebrity Edge and we are confident we can exceed that success with Celebrity Apex.

“None of it would be possible without the ongoing incredible support from our trusted agent partners and what better way to say thank you than by giving 200 of them the chance to join us onboard our brand new ship next year.”

Celebrity Cruises has also announced a four-night preview sailing on Celebrity Apex, sailing out of the ship’s launch port of Southampton. This will depart on 1 April 2020 and will call at Bruges and Amsterdam, with a full day and night in the Dutch capital before returning to Southampton.

For the mini season in Spring 2020, Celebrity Apex will now offer six cruises to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, before homeporting in Rome and Barcelona for the rest of the summer.

For more information about Celebrity Cruises, agents can visit celebritycentral.co.uk.