After acquiring and refurbishing two new ships, Celestyal Cruises plans to sail to new destinations and transition to year-round sailing (Celestyal has been sailing from March to December).
The Greek line's expansion includes passing through regions impacted by geopolitical conflict. The line is planning to sail in the Persian Gulf in November, visiting four countries and six new ports of call.
Repositioning to the Persian Gulf requires passage through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea, where shipping vessels have been dogged by attacks from Houthi militants in Yemen.
Noting interest from North Americans to visit the Persian Gulf, the line plans to sail the 1,260-passenger Celestyal Journey to the region. The ship, which joined the line in September after a refurbishment, is scheduled to sail a seven-night Desert Days itinerary on Nov. 9 from Doha, Qatar, with calls in Bahrain, Dubai, Khasab (Oman), Sir Bani Yas Island and Abu Dhabi. The line plans to sail the itinerary through Jan. 18, 2025, and return the following winter.
The Celestyal Discovery, which joins the fleet in March, is expected to restart the line's Three Continents cruise from November 2025 through March 2026 with calls in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt. However, it is unclear when Israel will be safe for cruising as fighting continues in Gaza.
From April to October 2025, the Celestyal Journey is expected to operate three itineraries. The Heavenly Adriatic itinerary will depart from Greece and visit Montenegro, Croatia and Italy and include maiden calls at Kefalonia, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Bari and Katakolo. The Summer Heavenly Adriatic itinerary will also visit Montenegro, Croatia, Italy and Greece with a maiden call in Venice. The Idyllic Aegean itinerary will sail the Greek isles and Turkey in 2025. The Discovery will sail three- and four-night Iconic Aegean cruises from March until November.
The itinerary announcement comes after the line announced plans to swap out its two 1980s-era ships and replace them with a pair of younger vessels.
The line is building up its North America trade team with four new hires, bringing its total trade team to 11 members.