Meet the woman on a mission to prove cruising is inclusive

As Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises vice-president and managing director EMEA, explains: “The world no longer exists of mum, dad and 2.4 kids – travellers are wonderfully diverse.

"The ‘artificially perfect’ images associated with traditional luxury are gradually being discarded across many sectors.”

With perceptions changing, it opens the debate of how the cruise sector can expand its reach and attract a more diverse client base to enjoy their holidays at sea, and Celebrity Cruises has been at the forefront of driving this change.

“Inclusivity is at the heart of everything we do,” says Rzymowska. “For us, all-inclusive means that we create an environment where all travellers and crew are encouraged to embrace their true selves when they sail with us.”

The proof is in the pudding

“We were one of the first cruise lines to embrace legal same-sex marriages at sea, and each year we host an iconic Pride Party at Sea across our fleet to celebrate our LGBTQ+ guests and crew,” continues Rzymowska.

"On each of our cruises, we host LGBTQ+ welcome parties, hosted by senior officers, as well as regular self-led meet-ups throughout the cruise.

"These are proudly advertised as LGBTQ+ meetups, ensuring full transparency of our support for people from all backgrounds.

"Through investment in training for all our staff, we create a welcoming atmosphere that our LGBTQ+ guests tell their friends about.”

A journey, not a destination

Rzymowska says it’s “so important that LGBTQ+ guests are treated with the same respect as all guests,” adding, “Cruising excels in bringing together communities.

"We have celebrated our LGTBQ+ guests for as long as I remember, and we have built a reputation for embracing all guests.”

Despite the progress made to date and the innovations described, Rzymowska points to research that shows “73 per cent of the LGBTQ+ community feel that the travel industry needs to show more diversity in their marketing materials.”

As such, earlier this year Celebrity launched the All Inclusive Photo Project to “improve the representation of all people who travel, by sharing a completely free, open-source image library full of stunning travel images of diverse changemakers”, explains Rzymowska.

This project will evolve over time, as Rzymowska points out: “It is a journey, not a destination, so there will be more to come in the future. It has taken decades of campaigning to bring equality to the forefront, and there is still work to be done.

"We must all play our part to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion are the norm across the industry.

"It is our collective responsibility to make sure travellers are heard and to make our industry inclusive to the LGBTQ+ community so that everyone can benefit from the enriching experience that travel brings.”