The event, held at The Londoner Hotel in Leicester Square on Tuesday (15 March), welcomed around 60 of the line’s top partners and was hosted by Celebrity’s vice-president and managing director EMEA, Jo Rzymowska, and UK and Ireland sales director Claire Stirrup.

During the afternoon, Celebrity honoured several agencies and individuals who its team said “had truly gone above and beyond” to enable a successful return of the travel industry. 

The outstanding achievement award went to Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said for her work with the UK government on the resumption of travel and her efforts amplifying the sector’s voice through her media appearances.

Gemma Antrobus, managing director of Haslemere Travel, was also honoured for “leading the charge” for the luxury travel sector and her support of the cruise industry.

The spotlight was also cast on Clia UK and Ireland managing director, Andy Harmer, for what Celebrity called his “unparalleled contribution” to the restart of the cruise sector. Audley Travel, Cruise.co.uk, ROL Cruise and Stewart Travel also received special recognition awards.

The ceremony took place weeks ahead of the launch of Celebrity’s third Edge-class ship, Celebrity Beyond, in Southampton next month. The line is set to host around 1,000 travel partners onboard Beyond during two two-night launch sailings at the end of April.

After a summer spent in the Mediterranean – one of six Celebrity ships in Europe, including Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Apex – Beyond will reposition to the Caribbean in October. 

Rzymowska said: “It has been a poignant moment to be back together to celebrate and remind each other of the power of partnership.

“Today was about saying a massive thank you to everyone for all they have done not just for us, but for travel overall, as well as recognising the incredible contribution from partners and people across our wonderful industry, after a period of intense hardship.

“Our partners within the trade and across the industry are integral to all that we do. We look forward to coming back together in just six weeks’ time, as we launch Celebrity Beyond to the world in Southampton.”