we let our son experiment with a regular cup first. we got little plastic tumblers from target at low cost. we put a little water in it and just let him try to use it. he liked to blow bubbles into water. :o)
after that, we tried offering a few different kinds of sippy cups. he ended up liking the born-free one and we switched to ones without a stopper pretty soon after.
also, have you tried straw cups?
lastly, let the baby experiment with cups when they are not hungry or thirsty. you don't want them to be frustrated and learning about a new way to feed or drink. sounds counter-intuitive, but we found keeping it fun and interesting was very useful.
we got rid of bottles around 10-11 mos except for a morning bottle. we were completely bottle free around 13 mos.