Celebrity Cruises and MGM establish cross-marketing venture

Celebrity Cruises and MGM Resorts International announced an agreement to give loyalty club members at each company access to some of the other company’s products.

Celebrity Captain’s Club members will gain benefits and special access to MGM concerts, events, entertainment venues and restaurants. MGM’s M Life Platinum and NOIR members will be eligible for complimentary cruises.

Celebrity CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said the cross promotion would add another incentive to the package of benefits comprising Captain’s Club membership and serve as an introduction to the brand for MGM Resorts loyalists.

Captain’s Club members will get quarterly offers and M Life benefits for each tier, including room discounts, pre-sale access to tickets for concerts and championship fights, exclusive seating at shows and events, priority reservations, special hotel check-in areas and VIP services.

As part of the arrangement, M Life members can earn M Life Tier Credits for onboard slot play on Celebrity ships.

In Las Vegas, MGM operates several resorts, including the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, the Mirage, MGM Grand and Circus Circus.

Celebrity to add overnight port stays on long Caribbean cruises

Celebrity Cruises said it will add an overnight stay to the itinerary of Caribbean cruises of 10 days or longer, starting in January 2016. The decision affects 43 cruises, said Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of sales, trade support and services.

Ritzenthaler stressed that overnights are typically a feature of cruises outside the Caribbean, so Celebrity is breaking ground with the move.

“This gives us the ability to say we have more overnights in the Caribbean than any cruise line in the industry,” Ritzenthaler said. “While overnights have been a trend in the marketplace in Europe and in Asia, there really hasn’t been a movement and we believe we are a leader in this initiative.”

The destinations where overnights are planned include Aruba, Barbados, Cartagena, Cozumel, Curacao and St. Maarten. Ritzenthaler said they are among the highest-rated destinations in the Caribbean by guests.

“Consumer and trade research indicates this is something they desire,” Ritzenthaler said.

Of Celebrity’s 10 ships, five are scheduled to be in the Caribbean in the first quarter of 2016, but not all do itineraries of 10 days or longer.

Celebrity has been selling the 2016 Caribbean winter season since the fall of 2014 and cruises have been booking well, Ritzenthaler said. Now booked guests will get the bonus of an overnight stay. “This will be a really wonderful gift for these folks,” she said. “This will be something that will be a really nice opportunity for them. We think it will be a differentiator.”

Celebrity Introduces “World Class Bar”

by: cruiseindustrynews.com

Celebrity Cruises has introduced what it calls the world’s first permanent World Class Bar. According to the cruise line, the bar space onboard Celebrity Eclipse provides “interactive and luxurious” drinks experiences created by world class-certified mixologists.

Celebrity said it is renowned for its highly skilled and engaging bartenders, and partnering with a premium drinks company provides the cruise lines’ mixologists with exclusive menus that feature cutting-edge cocktails, promising to deliver the ultimate high-end drinks experience for vacationers. The World Class Bar debuted on the Celebrity Eclipse and will soon be followed by bars onboard Celebrity’s four remaining Solstice Class ships.

“Our award-winning culinary program gives guests the opportunity to indulge in new tastes and experiences during their vacation, and the World Class Bar will do this by offering the very best of mixology, custom-created craft cocktails and expert bartenders,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises. “World Class is at the forefront of contemporary cocktail culture, which is a perfect fit for Celebrity as we continue to bring modern luxury to affluent vacationers.”