Celestyal Cruises wins five awards at Tourism Awards 2017

Annual Ceremony Celebrates Excellence in Travel & Tourism

Celestyal Cruises, the only home-porting cruise operator in Greece and the preeminent sea cruise line serving Greek destinations and the island of Cuba, announced it won five awards at the Tourism Awards 2017. 

Celestyal won four gold awards:
  • Tourism Season Expanding Initiatives-Greek Tourism Product Enrichment
  • Guest Service Excellence 
  • Gastronomic Tourism 
  • Corporate Identity-Corporate Reputation Management-Branding
The company also won a silver award for Integrated Marketing Campaign.

On Tuesday, 21 March, the glittering Awards Ceremony, held at the Athenaeum InterContinental in Athens Greece, was the beating heart of Greek tourism. For the 4th consecutive year, the Tourism Awards, presented by Boussias Communications, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), rewarded best business practices and the finest organizations in the travel, hospitality and leisure sectors, as well as initiatives that promote innovation and the peerless experience tourists enjoy in Greece. Among the award winners, Celestyal Cruises stood out for its innovative practices and incomparable services with four first-place wins. 

Individual Awards

Tourism Season Expanding Initiatives-Greek Tourism Product Enrichment

Celestyal Cruises won a gold award for the continuous enrichment of its services, particularly for making strategic investments that “open new roads” in the cruise market with the addition of new destinations to its itineraries that only its midsize vessels can approach. 

Guest Service Excellence

The company was given a gold award for providing authentic Greek hospitality to a diverse aggregate of passengers from more than 140 different countries. Celestyal continues to distinguish itself in Greece and internationally for the meticulous design and execution of its product and for the implementation of its strategy to meet the requirements of a truly international clientele, a successful strategy as evidenced by the overwhelmingly positive responses to its passenger satisfaction questionnaires. 

Gastronomic Tourism

In 2016 Celestyal the company introduced “Stories of Greek Enogastronomy,” a series of themed cruises based on Greek cuisine, local dishes and Greek wines, offering an authentic enogastronomic experience to its passengers. Celestyal distinguished itself from its competition with its holistic promotion of Greek food and wine, which the company highlights on its Aegean cruises. Greek cuisine and wine is one of the pillars of the company’s products, both on board and for many of its experiential shore excursions.

Corporate Identity-Corporate Reputation Management-Branding

Celestyal won its fourth gold award for its 2016 public relations initiatives, which have resulted in progressive international recognition for the ‘diversity and authenticity’ of its cruises, particularly the positive media coverage the company has garnered in Europe, the USA and Canada, as well as recent distinctions from Cruise Critic, the world’s first cruise reviews website.

Integrated Marketing Campaign

Celestyal was presented with a silver award for its integrated “Sea More” campaign, which it launched in seven international capitals. “Sea More” is a 360° concept-umbrella, customizable according to each market and the specific product characteristics promoted therein. 

“I am very proud of these important distinctions the company in a high-prestige institution,” said Kyriakos Anastassiadis, CEO of Celestyal Cruises. “Celestyal Cruises offers authentic experiences in each destination it visits, including popular and ‘undiscovered’ destinations in the Aegean and Cuba. We are delighted to offer high quality and value accommodation to the passengers who choose our cruises. Our tremendous success at Tourism Awards 2017 is a testament to our commitment to excellence and the industry’s best value-for-money cruises.”

Sustainability

Celestyal Cruises is deeply committed to sustainability and ethical business practice. The company supports the local communities in the destinations it visits, particularly in the field of education. Since 2015, more than 1,000 students on the islands of Milos, Patmos and Ios have enjoyed a ‘journey to knowledge’ by attending the Museums Program, an initiative by Celestyal Cruises to bring interactive exhibits from the highly-respected Herakleidon Museum to remote areas so students can learn first-hand about the connection between science, art and mathematics. Celestyal Cruises also supports cultural NGOs and promotes entrepreneurship, marine student development and child welfare. 

ISO Certification

Following the successful ISO 9001/14001 auditing of three of the company’s ships and the company’s office, Celestyal Cruises’ operations are now certified in accordance with ISO 9001/14001 standards. This relates to the entire spectrum of cruise ship management including technical, hotel and crew management. The certifying authority is DNV-GL, which is by far the biggest and most respected classification society in the marine industry.

Awards

In 2017 Celestyal Cruises received four Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards, including first place in the mid-sized category: Best for Value, Best for Entertainment, Best for Shore Excursions and Best for Embarkation – the company also placed in the top 10 for Best Overall Cruise Line. In 2016 Celestyal Cruises won the Editor’s Pick award from Cruise Critic UK in the Best Value for Money (Ocean) category. The company has enjoyed recognition from in such prestigious awards as the Greek Tourism Awards (gold and silver in four categories in 2016), the Efkranti Awards and the HR Community Conference & Awards. Celestyal was also a finalist at the UK’s WAVE Awards.

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