ATHENS – Celestyal, the award-winning, number one choice for travelers to the Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean, is delighted to announce that its CEO, Chris Theophilides, has been named Cruise Personality of the Year at the 2022 Seatrade Cruise Awards which took place September 16 in Malaga, Spain, during Seatrade Cruise Med.

The Seatrade Cruise Personality of the Year award is for an individual who has gone above and beyond in their particular sector or industry, representing the best in their field and embodying the values that Seatrade represents.

According to Mary Bond, group director of Seatrade Cruise, Chris Theophilides is a worthy winner of the award due to his resilience and strong leadership, which has enabled Celestyal to become a champion for mid-sized vessel cruising and deliver authentic experiences amplifying its Greek roots.

She highlighted his particular strengths in strategic planning and attracting funding, which allowed Celestyal to secure investment, part of which has been earmarked for fleet renewal. In a normal operating year, Celestyal contributes over €100m into the local Greek economy, while at the same time actively focusing on sustainable tourism. An example is the cruise line’s new intimate, immersive and hands-on Authentic Encounters shore excursion program, which provides unique, off-the-beaten path experiences for small groups of guests in order to protect the character of the places that Celestyal visits.

Commenting on the award, Chris Theophilides said: “At a time when the entire cruise industry’s perseverance was being tested, it is especially humbling to be awarded the Seatrade Cruise Personality of the Year award for 2022. Our industry is fortunate to have an extraordinary plethora of exceptional professionals across all levels. To have worked amongst them in our quest to provide stewardship in rough seas was a privilege and to be recognized and singled out is a tremendous honor. As with all successes in life, today’s recognition is a team achievement in large part a result of the hard work of a great group of colleagues at Celestyal, and I am grateful to them for their unwavering passion and dedication.”

More information about Celestyal is available online: https://celestyal.com/us/.