Celebrity Cruises has drawn up a comprehensive “Edge U Cation” training plan for its new Edge-class ship and has advised agents to “watch this space” regarding ship visits.

Celebrity Edge – the first of five ships in the class – will launch in December 2018, offering two Caribbean itineraries. Sister ship Celebrity Beyond will launch in 2020 followed by further new ships in 2021 and 2022, and an additional fifth vessel later on.

The line has its own full-time brand training manager, Leon Hand (pictured above), whose role it is to train agents and staff. Celebrity has also appointed a second trainer, Emma Rigby, who had been working as a Captain’s Club host on Celebrity Eclipse.

Celebrity Edge will be the main area of focus for training in the coming weeks and months and Hand has created an area on the Cruising for Excellence site (cruisingforexcellence.co.uk) called the Edge Hub, which will click through to a number of mini modules. The first is due to go live at the end of March.

To help with training, Celebrity has invested in a new technology, Prezi, which Hand said would transform webinars into “animated experiences”.

He will create 10, 20 and 30-minute versions of the Edge presentation and deliver official webinars on March 17 and March 20. There will also be shorter, follow-up “vodcasts” as more developments are announced.

“They’re open to anyone from any agency that sells Celebrity,” said Hand.

He records his vodcasts, which agents can access any time on the Cruising Power site or Celebrity’s YouTube channel. All content is also posted on the Celebrity Travel Agents Facebook page.

Additionally, on Monday, Celebrity began mailing out point-of-sale assets, selling guides and e-shots.

Asked about the possibility of ship visits for agents, Claire Stirrup, sales director, UK and Ireland for Celebrity Cruises, said: “Watch this space. We feel so passionate about letting our trade partners touch and feel and see our hardware that as soon as it comes within our reach, we will be putting as many of the trade on it as we can.”

Celebrity Edge sales have launched with the “all-inclusive and more” offer of free Classic drinks packages – although guests staying in Edge suites will receive packages anyway.

Edge will also be included in the Celebrity Rewards programme.