Following positive feedback from exhibitors and visitors to the inaugural Telegraph Cruise Show earlier this month, it has been confirmed that it will return to London’s ExCel next year from 16 to 18 January 2015.

Running alongside the London Boat Show once again, the show will continue to focus on attracting those who are new to the cruise market through celebrity appearances, interactive masterclasses, impartial advice and talks from renowned travel experts.

Kieron Summerhayes, Show Director, Telegraph Cruise Show, said:
“The whole idea of creating this show was to allow visitors to experience elements of a cruise holiday and to provide specialist information on the types of cruises on offer. We received an overwhelming response to the show, and are delighted with the results from our first year. The show successfully dispelled many of the common myths that surround the cruise industry and we also sought to make it more accessible for those who have not cruised before. We have high hopes for next year’s event and we already have one or two surprises up our sleeves.”

Angela Grinsell, CRM Executive, P&O Cruises, comments:
“Our experience at The Telegraph Cruise Show was very valuable and worthwhile. There was an excellent blend of interactive sessions and advice from cruise experts which in turn generated a quality audience, many of whom were new to cruising.”

Lol Nichols, General Sales Manager for Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines, comments:
“We had a very successful show in terms of bookings – on Sunday we continued taking bookings right up to the end. There were lots of new to cruise and new to Fred enquiries so the marketing has clearly worked and the enquiries were of a high quality/standard.”

Over 85% of the UK cruise line market exhibited at the 2014 show including Royal Caribbean International, Holland America Line, Cunard and Noble Caledonia, offering visitors a wealth of information and knowledge all under one roof. Official industry body, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) also had a stand at the event offering impartial advice to visitors.

Penny Guy, PR Director, CLIA UK & Ireland comments:
“A record 1.79 million British holidaymakers took a cruise in 2013. This is an increase of more than 21% in the last five years - despite continued economic pressure on consumer spending.

“The Telegraph Cruise Show presented the perfect opportunity to talk to the growing number of potential new to cruise customers. We set up new to cruise one-to-one advice sessions, to help customers decide what type of holiday experience they would like from an ocean or a river cruise, and the sessions were fully booked across the three days of the show.”

Visitors were able to meet with celebrities and cruise fans including former Wish You Were Here presenter, Judith Chalmers and Olympic gold medallist, Sally Gunnell, as well as attend cooking demonstrations from the ‘Godfather of British cooking’, Marco Pierre-White.  Other activities at the show included mini golf and giant connect four for children, performances from a variety of acts on the entertainment stage and Q&A sessions with Telegraph travel experts.

Judith Chalmers, TV travel personality, comments:
“I really enjoyed working with the Telegraph Cruise Show. There was so much enthusiasm from the exhibitors and visitors, many of whom I had the pleasure of meeting. It was all there to be discovered and it was really good to be part of it.”