Celestyal to Add More Cabins to Celestyal Discovery, Overhauls Fare Structure and Removes Drinks Packages
(November 13, 2024) – Celestyal has confirmed it will add 47 cabins to its newest ship, Celestyal Discovery, increasing the ship’s capacity to 1,300.
The new rooms will include two Grand Horizon Suites, 30 newly designed Junior Dream Suites and 15 interior Cosmos Cabins. All the work will be carried out during the ship’s scheduled maintenance and should be completed by April 2025.
In addition the line has replaced both its fare categories with a single fare called Celestyal One and will end all drinks packages to be replaced by a new pre-paid concept called CelestyalPay.
“We’re going to invest a significant amount in Celestyal Discovery,” said Lee Haslett, Celestyal’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“We’re going to add another 47 cabins, which will increase capacity by 7%. We’re adding new suite concepts including two Grand Horizon Suites, 30 new Junior Dream Suites and 15 Cosmo Cabins.”
The Grand Horizon Suites will have wrap-around balconies and be situated above the Bridge, with designs influenced by Celestyal’s homeport destinations. The Junior suites will all have balconies and the Cosmo Cabins will be Insides.
The line is losing an outdoor spa area on Deck 11 to add the extra cabins, all of which will be completed by April 2025.
Celestyal also confirmed it will be taking out all the bathtubs in Celestyal Journey’s suites and adding walk-in showers.
It is also replacing the carpets in the suites and adding a new café/bar, Café Nation, which is already on Celestyal Experience.
Celestyal Journey is currently sailing empty on a 34-day journey down the coast of West Africa and past the Cape of Good Hope, ahead of its winter season in the Gulf.
Celestyal to Introduce New Fare Structure and End Drinks Packages
Celestyal One will include Wi-Fi, non-specialty coffee, tea, water and juice from 6am-10pm, unlimited soft drinks in the main restaurants with meals, port fees, taxes, and tips.
Celestyal will also replace all drinks packages with a prepaid food and beverage wallet – a bit like Virgin Voyages’ Bar Tab – called CelestyalPay, which will be used onboard for specialty dining and non-included drinks.
“Customer feedback from our guest satisfaction forms and from our social channels is people like what we are doing but two areas kept coming up – the drinks packages and the fare structure,” said Haslett.
“So we decided to simplify both and will introduce one fare structure – Celestyal One and replace the drinks packages with CelestyalPay.”
Passengers can either pay as they go or preload prior to the cruise and get a top-up bonus credit from the cruise line of between 15%-25%.
Unlike most lines, CelestyalPay is per cabin, not per person, meaning guests can decide how much overall they wish to spend, rather than be bound by a non-transferable drinks package.
The amount you add is not refundable at the end of the cruise, should you not spend what you pre-paid, confirmed the line’s Business Development Manager, Janet Parton.
However, she confirmed Celestyal will be launching an AI tool to help passengers make bookings – and work out how much they might spend onboard, so they can predict how much they should prepay.
Celestyal has also added the Greek Deli and Pizza Oven to complimentary dining on both ships.
The changes will take effect on all bookings from 11 December 2024 for cruises departing from 21 March 2025.
Greek Cruise Line Celestyal Announces Major Expansion: New Arabian Gulf Cruises and Year-round Sailings
Greek-owned cruise line Celestyal has announced the biggest expansion in its history with an all-new programme of global sailings in the Arabian Gulf, starting this November. It has also revealed it will start sailing throughout the year from 2025.
The two-ship line has built a reputation on its cultural heritage and port intensive sailings focusing on Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, including mini-cruises.
It is undergoing a €2.5m investment which includes a rebrand that has seen the line change its name from Celestyal Cruises to simply Celestyal. This follows the recent introduction of a new tour brand, Celestyal Holidays, offering land-based packages alongside cruises.
Celestyal Journey Will Homeport in Doha From November 2024
Starting on November 9, 2024, the 1,260-passenger Celestyal Journey, which joined the line last September, will visit four new countries and six new ports of call in the Arabian Gulf. The seven-night "Desert Days" itinerary will set sail on November 9, from Doha, Qatar, and call for the first time at Bahrain, Dubai, Khasab (Oman), Sir Bani Yas Island and Abu Dhabi. The itinerary will run through to January, 2025, and then return as a permanent feature for the winter season.
Celestyal, which previously sailed from March to December on Greece and Mediterranean, sailings will now operate year-round.
The winter programme, running November to April from Doha on Celestyal Journey, will feature the "Desert Days" itinerary and three-, four-, five- and seven-night sailings. The 1,266-passenger Celestyal Discovery, which joins the fleet this spring, will sail on the "Three Continents" itinerary from November to March 2025, visiting Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, and Egypt.
The move is a bid to attract more British passengers, who currently make up “low single digits” on sailings, according to Anna Gregori, VP, Brand & Customer Journey:
"We knew from our customers and trade partners that there was a demand for a year-round operation from Celestyal and specifically this area of the world for winter sun.
"Our core will always be the Greek islands and Mediterranean, but in order to grow as a business, we need to develop our brand on a global stage.
“Our extension to the Persian Gulf is based on a few main factors - demand, particularly from the UK (they are the second largest volume of visitors to the Persian Gulf, based on research from the local tourist boards), and the ability to offer something new to this market.”
Celestyal Will Continue to Operate its “Core” Programme in the Greek Islands
Celestyal's original 'core' programme, from April to October, will see Celestyal Journey operating three itineraries. These are the "Heavenly Adriatic", taking in Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, and Italy, with maiden calls at Kefalonia, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Bari and Katakolo; the "Summer Heavenly Adriatic", visiting the same countries with maiden calls at Venice, and the "Idyllic Aegean" voyage visiting the Greek Isles and Turkey from 2025. Celestyal Discovery will sail on three and four-night "Iconic Aegean" cruises from March to November.
Lee Haslett, Chief Commercial Officer at Celestyal said: "We come into 2024 with a completely refreshed fleet, seven new countries and 12 new global ports, on top of our much-loved Greece and Eastern Mediterranean cruise programme.
“We are finding our sea legs on a more global stage. We know we do the Greek islands and Mediterranean like no other, but we have heard from our customers that they want more destinations, bigger itineraries, and a chance to discover more with Celestyal. The Persian Gulf cruises deliver this, with a homeport in Doha, stops at marquee destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, and Abu Dhabi, as well as more bespoke gems in Oman and the island of Sir Bani Yas. We are starting the year strong and intend to keep growing and delighting our customers across 2024."
Celestyal Confirms its Essential “Greekness” Will Stay – Despite the Changes
For Celestyal fans who love the line for its "Greek-ness" -- including friendly local crew members, authentic cuisine and sometimes idiosyncratic entertainment -- that sets it apart from larger mainstream cruise lines, the big question is whether the expansion will change the unique Celestyal character that attracts passengers in the first place? The line says not.
Explaining the thinking behind the rebrand, Anna Gregori said: “We’re not afraid to go out as a travel brand and push ourselves as a travel brand.
“I’m new to cruise, I come from an airline and a travel background, but certainly what struck me was that barrier to entry with cruise, probably like no other for our audience.
“So a part of that feeds into that slight change.”
As a result there will be much fewer views of the ships portrayed in advertising and much less blue colouring, with more emphasis on “emotion”.
She added: “We know that we are cruise, we know that we are a heritage company and we have the confidence to do that.”
Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery replaced the line's previous ships, Celestyal Olympia and Celestyal Crystal. Celestyal Journey was constructed in 1993 and first sailed for Holland America Line as the Ryndam and Celestyal Discovery was built in 2003 for the German cruise line Aida Cruises. Both vessels underwent extensive refurbishments after being acquired by Celestyal.
The new cruise itineraries are now on sale.