Celestyal Journey has returned to service in the Arabian Gulf following a planned refit in Dubai. The 1,260-guest ship is now on a Desert Days cruise itinerary, sailing roundtrip from Doha and calling at Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, with an overnight stay in Dubai Marina, as well as Khasab and Sir Bani Yas Island. The €6.5 million refit saw the ship given a new livery, featuring the signature hull wave and stars of the new brand identity. The ship’s power management system was also updated to improve operational efficiency. Celestyal Journey has a further two Desert Days sailings departing from Doha, on February 22 and March 1, 2025, and three Desert Days sailings from Dubai, on February 17 and 24, 2025. Due to demand, an additional sailing on March 3, 2025 was recently announced. The ship will then reposition to Athens for the start of its Greece and Mediterranean season, and will undergo further maintenance before the start to the season on April 12. Celestyal Journey will sail roundtrip from Athens on the new Heavenly Greece, Italy and Croatia itinerary, calling at Kefalonia, Kotor, Bari, Corfu, and Katakolo with an overnight in Dubrovnik. Celestyal Journey will return to the Arabian Gulf in December 2025, and start the season with an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix cruise, before Celestyal Discovery joins its fleet mate and commences her inaugural season in the region on December 12, 2025. Celestyal Discovery will homeport from Abu Dhabi. Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer at Celestyal, said: “We’re thrilled Celestyal Journey has returned to service, looking and performing better than ever.” “We’ve seen phenomenal demand for our Arabian Gulf itineraries, with our last three Doha-Doha sailings operating at full capacity. Overall, since launching the programme we’re 35% above target for sailed guests, which demonstrates a real desire to explore this region.”

  Celestyal is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion the specialist Greece and Arabian Gulf cruise line is giving away a range of unmissable agent prizes and rewards.   Over 1000 experiences will be on offer to agents across the year, such as cash prizes, cruises and sold-out concert tickets and sporting events. From March 13, Celestyal's 10th brand anniversary, agents can join the first in a series of hosted monthly ‘Celestyal Live’ webinars to hear updates from the line's senior team leaders including brand news and giveaways of the latest incentives to those in attendance.   The experiences will be won each month though booking incentives, as well as being gifted to those who complete training modules on the new travel agent portal, ‘Celestyal Compass’.   Janet Parton, VP Business Development at Celestyal, said: “After a ground-breaking 10 years we want to say a sincere thanks to agents for all their support. We are known for delivering unmissable experiences and to reflect that we are offering 1000 special giveaways and incentives to show our appreciation to our valued trade agents, and launching the monthly ‘Celestyal Live’ sessions with our regional senior leaders across the year.   "We have a history to be proud of and an incredibly exciting future ahead of us. After record trade booking numbers last year, the total refresh of our fleet, a new brand identity, new website and trade portal and the launch of a new region and year-round operations, there has never been a better time to get onboard with us."   The first four-night Celestyal sailing was on the 1,600-guest Celestyal Olympia in 2015, departing from Athens on March 13, 2015, and called round trip to Mykonos, Kusadasi, Patmos, Heraklion and Santorini.   Celestyal’s next Greece and Mediterranean season starts in March and comprises three-, four- and seven-night voyages, sailing roundtrip from Athens and calling at destinations including Mykonos, Patmos, Santorini, Thessaloniki and Kusadasi (Turkey). Itineraries will be served by both of the line’s ships, Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery.   Celestyal’s current campaign, called ‘Live Your Vacation Dream’, is available on new bookings made until February 28, 2025. The campaign features savings of up to 50% across the line’s 2025, 2026 and early 2027 programmes, while select sailings include a bonus credit of up to €100 per person pre-loaded on each guest’s CelestyalPay. Ranging from three to seven nights, destinations include the Greek Isles, Adriatic and Arabian Gulf.   An additional promotion has been made available exclusively to UK trade agents on all bookings made between January 10, and January 31, 2025, whereby for every booking made on the Heavenly Greece, Italy and Croatia cruises, and Arabian Gulf sailings departing in 2025, the agents will receive a £25 Love2Shop voucher*.

Celestyal has launched a new dedicated trade portal to support travel agents over the Wave period. ‘The Celestyal Compass’ will incorporate a new learning platform called ‘Celestyal Campus’. This will include training modules focusing on areas such as an overview of the brand, life onboard, key itinerary information, shore excursions and advice on how to grow sales. The more modules that agents complete the more stars they will earn, resulting in exclusive benefits from Celestyal. To celebrate the launch and encourage agents to sign up, the cruise line is giving away a £20 Amazon voucher to the first 250 agents to complete all modules by January 3, 2025. ‘The Celestyal Compass’, will also be a single reference point for agents to find all marketing assets and information on the latest offers and campaigns. Agents can sign up at CelestyalCompass.com. Additionally, Celestyal has introduced a new consumer-facing website, as part of its plans to boost its digital presence. The new site will offer more resources and improved user navigation. Tim Locke, Director, E-Commerce at Celestyal, said: “The launch of ‘The Celestyal Compass’ is a milestone moment in both our digital and trade strategy. It includes everything that agent partners need to learn about our ships and the onboard experience in an easy-to-use platform.”

Celestyal has marked its first ever visits to Khasab (Oman), Sir Bani Yas Island (UAE) and Abu Dhabi (UAE) with plaque exchange ceremonies. The maiden calls are part of the cruise line’s first ‘Desert Days’ voyage - a seven-night cruise onboard flagship, Celestyal Journey. CEO Chris Theophilides said: “We’re honoured to celebrate these milestone calls to. Our ‘Desert Days’ itineraries have been expertly designed to showcase the wonders of the Arabian Gulf” “With the addition of our second ship, Celestyal Discovery, homeporting in Abu Dhabi next year, we look forward to continuing to highlight the best the region has to offer.” Celestyal’s Arabian Gulf programme sails until March 2025, and will then feature again for a further two winter-sun seasons. Celestyal Discovery will join Celestyal Journey in the region at the end of 2025, sailing three-night long weekend ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruises round-trip from Abu Dhabi. They call at Doha and Sir Bani Yas Island, and a four-night mid-week ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruise sailing roundtrip from Abu Dhabi, calls at Fujairah, Muscat and Khasab.

  Celestyal has confirmed its flagship, Celestyal Journey, has arrived in Doha, Qatar, to start the line’s maiden Arabian Gulf season. The season begins with two specially themed F1 voyages, which will take in the Qatar and Abu Dhabi grand prix events.   32 global agents are being hosted on a five-day F1 themed ‘super fam’ to mark the launch. The fam comprises a three-night land stay, with various local excursions including to the Arabian Travel Market, and two days on Celestyal Journey while she is docked at Doha’s Grand Cruise Terminal. The attendees also had the option to attend the Qatar Grand Prix races and join a speaking session with Formula 1 driver and presenter David Coulthard, and Formula 1 presenter Laura Winter. During the event all of the global agents in attendance were gifted a free ‘Desert Days’ cruise credit so that they could return to experience the full voyage.   In addition, Celestyal hosted an onboard event in partnership with Visit Qatar, Qatar Tourism, Qatar Airways and Mwani Port Authority for local dignitaries, while the ship was docked in port on November 30. They joined for a series of presentations, a ship tour, the traditional plaque exchange ceremony and a celebratory lunch.   Subsequent Celestyal Journey departures will comprise a series of seven-night ‘Desert Days’ itineraries, sailing roundtrip from Doha, up to March 2025. Each cruise features calls to the iconic destinations of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, an overnight stay in Dubai Marina, as well as visits to the lesser-known destinations of Khasab and Sir Bani Yas Island.   Celestyal Journey will sail from Doha for three consecutive years throughout the winter seasons, following a collaboration between Celestyal and Visit Qatar.   The ship features 630 suites and staterooms, seven restaurants, eight bars and lounges, two pools and Jacuzzis, and a deck dedicated to wellness including a spa and fitness area. It underwent a multi-million Euro refurbishment in September 2023, prior to entering the Celestyal fleet. Additional refurbishments were made enroute to Doha, including adding a Café Nation coffee bar, which was introduced on fleet mate Celestyal Discovery in March 2024.   Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer at Celestyal, said: “We’re incredibly excited to see our first ever Arabian Gulf season get under way. I would like to thank our partners at Visit Qatar, Mwani port authority and Qatar Airways for their continued support and warm welcome to the region. We are confident that our special FI themed cruises will ensure we have a roaring start to the season, while the Desert Days itinerary offers the very best of the local region. Whether guests are familiar with the destinations we visit or are sampling them for the first time, there will be a wealth of authentic experiences available to everyone.”   Celestyal Discovery will join Celestyal Journey in the region at the end of 2025. She will sail three-night ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruises roundtrip from Abu Dhabi, calling at Doha, Khalifa Bin Salman (Bahrain) and Dubai Marina, as well as four-night departures calling at Fujairah, Muscat and Kasab.   Chris Theophilides, CEO at Celestyal, said: “We’re delighted to be commencing our season in the Arabian Gulf, with this momentous arrival into Doha. I want to thank our teams and partners who have made this a reality. It marks the significant start of Celestyal’s next chapter, operating a fully refreshed fleet across year-round operations and two regions. We listened to our guests; 86% tell us they want to return after they have spent time with us, and with our new Desert Days itinerary, as well as our additional Iconic Arabia itineraries on Celestyal Discovery from next year, we are expanding the many reasons to try or come back to Celestyal.”   The Desert Days itinerary prices start from £319 per person, representing a 67% saving, and the Iconic Arabia cruises start from £219 per person representing a 57% saving, in the cruise line’s Black Friday sale available until December 3.

  Celestyal has revealed additional investment into its fleet with the latest refit plans for the line’s newest ship, Celestyal Discovery. The designs include the introduction of 47 additional cabins, increasing the ship’s overall capacity to 1,300, a 7.4% uplift.   The new staterooms will include two ‘Grand Horizon Suites’ featuring expansive balconies and a unique position above the bridge. Their design will vary across the season, influenced by Celestyal's homeport destinations. There will also be the addition of 30 newly designed ‘Junior Dream Suites’, a new stateroom category on the ship, and 15 further spacious interior ‘Cosmos Cabins’.   Mirroring the offering of her fleet mate Celestyal Journey, the ‘Smoked Olive’ restaurant will now be available as a dedicated dining space for all suite guests. The refit will also include an extra ‘pop up’ evening restaurant with a bookable private dining area, offering high-end specialty regional cuisine inspired by the destinations on the ship's itinerary.   In recognition of the uplift in premium cabins now available, the cruise line has also announced a significant enhancement to their fleet-wide premium stateroom offering.   Alongside priority check-in, it now includes a host of amenities such as the introduction of a ‘Sail Away’ party for all balcony and suite guests, a pillow menu, daily hosted cocktail hours and exclusive access to the private Ray’s Sundeck and Cabanas area, exclusive to ‘Grand Dream’ and ‘Grand Horizon Suite’ guests. On Celestyal Journey, ‘Grand Suite’ guests also receive complimentary access to the Thermal Spa Suite complete with private jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and relaxation area. Guests in the ‘Stargazer Penthouse Suite’ will also enjoy an in-room ‘bottomless’ mini bar.   Anna Gregori, VP, brand, marketing, communications and customer experience at Celestyal, said: "Following Celestyal Discovery’s extensive refurbishment at the start of 2024, this latest refit reinforces our commitment to constantly evolving our guest experience and offering our guests out-of-this-world value. The addition of new premium staterooms, including our stunning ‘Grand Horizon Suites’ and a wealth of enhanced balcony and suite benefits, provide our guests with even more home comforts and choice as they explore the incredible destinations we visit.”   All additions will be completed on Celestyal Discovery by April 2025, with the new cabins on sale from December 10, 2024. The three-night ‘Iconic Aegean’ cruise departs Athens on November 21, 2025, calling at Mykonos, Kusadasi, Patmos and Santorini with prices starting from £269pp for an interior ‘Cosmos Cabin’, £599pp for a Balcony Cabin and £889pp for a ‘Grand Dream Suite’, in the cruise line’s current promotional offers, valid to November 24, 2024.   Celestyal Discovery underwent a multi-million Euro refurbishment in Athens following her purchase in November 2023. The line invested in the social spaces onboard, along with a complete stateroom refresh and the additions of a new coffee bar, Café Nation, as well as the Pizza Oven eatery and the Discovery Lounge.

  Celestyal has released details of a new destination specific cocktail menu to celebrate the cruise line’s maiden season in the Arabian Gulf.   The menu, which will be available during evening hours on Celestyal Journey, features a range of beverages inspired by the enchanting stories of '1001 Nights' - a collection of Middle Eastern folktales.   A selection of 13 new signature cocktails and mocktails will be on offer from €16, which include:  

• Arabian Jewel – a gin-based cocktail featuring the exotic flavours of the Middle East, with a base of fragrant rosewater and spicy cardamom.
• Desert Mirage – a vibrant cocktail with a blend of passion fruit and White Oak Rum, enhanced with a hint of lime and mint, it offers a balance of tropical sweetness and zesty freshness.
• The Storyteller – a dark and mysterious mocktail offering a mix of fruity flavours including orange, blackberry and lime, combined with Seedlip and sweet syrup.

  Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer at Celestyal, said: “We pride ourselves on our regional specialities, bringing a hint of the destinations we visit to our guests onboard at every opportunity, and this new collection of signature beverages is a perfect reflection of that ethos. Whether it’s savouring a smooth mocktail in Doha, perhaps a classic cocktail in iconic Dubai or discovering a new favourite tipple while docked at the hidden gem of Sir Bani Yas Island, guests can enjoy exciting and authentic flavours across their Arabian Gulf sailing.”   The 1,260-guest Celestyal Journey will spend an inaugural season in the Arabian Gulf from November, offering new itineraries to destinations including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman. Prices start from £399pp for seven-nights sailing round-trip from Doha.   The cocktails will also be available at the Casino Bar on Celestyal Discovery when she joins Celestyal Journey for her maiden Arabian Gulf season from December 2025. Celestyal Discovery will offer the new three and four-night ‘Iconic Arabia’ sailings from Abu Dhabi, with prices starting from £249pp.

  Celestyal has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Visit Qatar. The MOU, signed at World Travel Market in London, signifies a three-year commitment to the region, promoting Qatar as a key destination among Celestyal’s guests and agent partners.   Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer at Celestyal, said: "It's a privilege to sign this agreement with Visit Qatar and we would like to thank them for all their support in bringing this partnership to life. Qatar is an extraordinary destination and an ideal fit for our guests who are seeking immersive, culturally rich experiences. We look forward to working together with our agent partners to showcase everything this unique region offers.”   The event coincided with the announcement of Celestyal and Visit Qatar hosting agents on a super fam in the Arabian Gulf. As well as experiencing Celestyal Journey, agent partners will attend the Qatar Grand Prix and be invited to a speaker event with David Coulthard, who competed in Formula One from 1994 to 2008, winning 13 Grands Prix across 15 seasons.   Celestyal’s inaugural Arabian Gulf season sails from November 2024 until March 2025, and will feature for three years. The 1,260-guest Celestyal Journey is currently on her way to the region ready to launch the seven-day ‘Desert Days’ itinerary sailing roundtrip from Doha, calling at Bahrain, Dubai, Khasab, Sir Bani Yas Island and Abu Dhabi. Prices start at £399.   Celestyal Discovery will join her fleet mate in the region at the end of 2025, sailing three-night long weekend ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruises round-trip from Abu Dhabi, calling at Doha Port, Khalifa Bin Salman port (Bahrain) and Dubai Marina port, and a four-night mid-week ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruise sailing round-trip from Abu Dhabi, calling at Fujairah, Muscat and Kasab. Prices start at £249.

  Formula One racer and TV presenter David Coulthard confirmed as celebrity guest   Celestyal and Visit Qatar have announced they will be hosting 32 global agents on a Qatar super fam in the Arabian Gulf, including tickets to the F1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand prix 2024.   Travelling in late November in partnership with Qatar Airways, agents from across the UK will be joining Janet Parton, VP Business Development in UK, Western Europe and Australia at Celestyal, for a five-night trip to Doha, Qatar, showcasing the very best of the region.   Agents will experience a three-night land stay, which will include an array of exciting excursions in Qatar as well as taking in the Arabian Travel Market before embarking the 1260-guest Celestyal Journey for a further two nights while she is docked at Doha’s Grand Cruise Terminal.   While onboard, guests will be invited to a speaker event with David Coulthard, who competed in Formula One from 1994 to 2008, winning 13 Grands Prix across 15 seasons, racing for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. His subsequent TV commentating career has seen him work for the BBC and Channel 4.   The trip’s finale will see guests attending the Qatar Grand Prix at Lusail International Circuit on December 1, with Grandstand ticket access.   Janet Parton said: “As Celestyal Journey is making her way to Doha, we’re starting to rev up for our inaugural season in the Arabian Gulf with this adrenaline-fueled agent fam trip. Together with Visit Qatar and Qatar Airways, we’ve put together one of the most thrilling fam trip offers in the market. Not only will we showcase the stunning Arabian Gulf and our beautiful Celestyal Journey, but our agent partners are in for some pedal-to-the-metal F1 excitement which we’re sure will leave them racing to share with clients.”   Celestyal’s ‘Desert Days’ cruises, will debut for the first time in November this year, sailing onboard Celestyal Journey. The seven-night itinerary departs roundtrip from either Doha (Qatar) or Dubai (UAE), and calls at Bahrain, Khasab (Oman), Sir Bani Yas Island (UAE) and Abu Dhabi (UAE). Prices start from £399pp.

Celestyal has introduced a new travel agent tool, which highlights the earning opportunities available to agents when pre-booking onboard extras. The new guide, at Celestyal’s trade portal, outlines how agents earn commissions across drink packages, shore excursions and fare upgrades when booked pre-departure. The additional commissions apply across the line’s 1260-guest ships, Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery. Janet Parton, VP business development, said: “We’re one of a few cruise lines who offer such rich earning opportunities on pre-departure extras, and we wanted to shout about it.” Travel agents can earn full commission across our extensive shore excursion programme and broad range of drink packages.” To download the guide, click here. 

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Celestyal is the latest cruise line to offer travel agents a CLIA Cruise Week incentive. Agents can bag a £20 shopping voucher for every booking made during CLIA Cruise Week, from September 16 - 22, 2024. The extra earning opportunity is available to all agents and applies to Celestyal’s full 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027 programmes. To claim the voucher, agents need to register their booking by emailing the trade support team at tradesupport@celestyal.com. Janet Parton, VP business development, UK, Europe & Australia at Celestyal, said: “We’re huge advocates of CLIA and the great work they do to highlight cruising with our agent partners.” “To support their efforts and thank the agent community, we’re excited to offer this incentive available across our full year-round deployment.” Over 120 sailings included in the incentive feature in Celestyal’s ‘Heavenly Autumn Sailings’ campaign offering savings of up to 50% across the 2025 - 2027 programme. These sail the Greek Islands, Adriatic and Arabian Gulf. Available until October 31, the offer also includes reductions of up to 60% on third and fourth guests sharing a cabin. Prices for the seven-night ‘Heavenly Adriatic’ cruise, sailing round-trip from Athens, start from £649pp, while a three-night long weekend ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruise round-trip from Abu Dhabi, starts from £299pp. 

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Small ship line Celestyal has launched an autumn savings campaign, available for new bookings made until October 31, 2024. The campaign features headline savings of up to 50% across the line’s 2025, 2026 and early 2027 programmes. The offer also includes reductions of up to 60% on third and fourth guests sharing a cabin. Savings are available on more than 120 itineraries across the 2025 - 2027 programme, ranging from three to seven nights, on Greek Isles, Adriatic and Arabian Gulf cruises, including:   A three-night, long weekend ‘Iconic Aegean’ cruise, sailing round-trip from Athens, calling at Mykonos, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Patmos and Santorini, now from £349pp. A seven-night ‘Heavenly Adriatic’ cruise, sailing round-trip from Athens and calling at Kefalonia, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Venice or Bari, Corfu and Katakolo, now from £649pp. A three-night long weekend ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruise sailing round-trip from Abu Dhabi, calling at Doha, Khalifa Bin Salman (Bahrain) and Dubai, now from £299pp. A seven-night ‘Desert Days’ cruise sailing round-trip from Doha, calling at Dubai, Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi and Khalifa Bin Salman (Bahrain) now from £469pp. Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer, said: “Our new ‘Heavenly autumn sailings’ campaign offers some fantastic savings across our full year-round programme.” 

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