Launching today, Celebrity Cruises is announcing the cruise industry’s first Travel Professional Appreciation Season as a unique way of saying ‘thank you’ to travel partners.

A special 'thank you' video message will be sent directly from the officers and crew onboard a different Celebrity ship every week during the 10-week season, from July 14 through Sept. 15, 2014. Plus, Celebrity is introducing the “Book It Onboard Sweepstakes” as part of the season, giving away a $500 gift card each week.

To enter the sweepstakes, partners who booked clients on a sailing simply need to direct those guests to visit the Future Cruise Vacations teams onboard Celebrity ships*, and when they book a future vacation while onboard that cruise, the travel agent will automatically be entered to win. This entry is an added perk to the credit and commission travel partners automatically receive for each booking.  The odds of winning the weekly prize increase with each onboard booking, and the winner will be announced during the video message, which will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and www.celebrityonboardcruisesales.com

“The appreciation season is our way of saying a huge thank you to our loyal partners” said Dondra Ritzenthaler, SVP, Sales, Trade Support and Service, Celebrity Cruises. “Travel professionals can visit our social channels every Monday to watch the special message for them from our officers and crew and see the winners of the highest amount of agency bookings made onboard.”

Grant Van Ulbrich, Director, Onboard Cruise Sales, Celebrity Cruises, added: “We are always looking for ways to demonstrate our sincere appreciation to our partners for booking their guests on our beautiful ships, so we created a special season just for them. We would like to wish all our travel partners a happy Travel Professional Appreciation Season.”

For more information about Celebrity’s Travel Professional Appreciation Season, visit www.celebrityonboardcruisesales.com.