Celebrity Cruises is offering agents a final chance to be among the first passengers to sail on incoming Edge-series ship, Celebrity Beyond.

In the newly-announced Race to Beyond competition, any agent who makes a Celebrity booking for 2022 this month will be automatically entered into the weekly prize draw. A 2022 European sailing booking counts as two entries.

Five winners will be announced each week on Celebrity Cruises’ UK & Ireland Agent Facebook page throughout this month.

The 20 agent winners and their chosen guest will join one of two trade sailings on April 23 or April 25 out of Southampton on Celebrity Beyond (pictured) and receive a limited-edition Celebrity Beyond suitcase.

Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises’ vice president and managing director, EMEA, said: “This is going to be our first ship launching out of Southampton for quite a long time. It shows our commitment to this marketplace.

“Agents are going to have the opportunity to experience all the wonderful 29 restaurants and bars, the incredible Celebrity entertainment and a host of guests on board.”

She said the sailings are an opportunity for agents to meet one another after almost two years of Covid restrictions.

“Let’s face it, there have been so few opportunities for the travel partners to get together over the last couple of years,” Rzymowska said. “We know that they’re really excited about it.

“We are going to be running this cruise just as we would a revenue cruise so they’re going to experience all of our great cuisine, hospitality, entertainment and most importantly the opportunity to mix and mingle and network with one another.”

The 3,260-passenger vessel’s inaugural voyage departs from Southampton on April 27. The line is also running a separate competition where top-selling agents can win a place in one of 100 cabins on Beyond before the sailing on April 27.

Agents can track their progress on the weekly leader boards on the Celebrity Rewards site until February 28 when the competition finishes.

Rzymowska said more than 1,000 UK agents will experience Beyond across the two showcase sailings on April 23 and April 25.