Celestyal Journey Departs On Maiden Aegean Voyage

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This weekend saw the new North Star of the Celestyal fleet, Celestyal Journey, set sail on her maiden voyage around the Aegean, cruising in the expert hands of industry veteran, captain Angelos Vassilakos.

Departing from Piraeus, Athens on Saturday, September 02, Celestyal Journey’s first guests are now enjoying her inaugural seven-night “Idyllic Aegean” itinerary continuing the company’s ethos of truly immersing guests deep into the destination culture, visiting Thessaloniki, Kusadasi, Heraklion (Crete), Santorini, Mykonos, and Milos.

Celestyal’s CEO, Chris Theophilides said, “On September second, we successfully launched a new direction to our Celestyal product offering, as we celebrated our newest ship, Celestyal Journey, taking to the seas. It’s an extremely exciting time for us at Celestyal as we continue our investment into the fleet, with this occasion marking the start of a new chapter in the company’s vision to offer a new premium stay-in-style experience.”

To celebrate Journey’s inaugural voyage and to showcase the substantially increased premium balcony capacity onboard, Celestyal is extending its special promotion of a complimentary suite upgrade on all Journey bookings* made by October 31, for travel for the rest of the year. This includes their award winning seven-night, ‘Three Continents’ itinerary which commences on the new ship from October 21, and the special 11-, 18- and 19-night festive sailings departing in December (on December 16 for the 11- and 19-night sailing, and December 09 for the 18-night sailing, respectively).

Detailed information regarding The Celestyal Journey’s itineraries can be found on celestyal.com and more information on the current special offers can be found here.

About Celestyal

Celestyal has fast built an award-winning reputation and recognition as the number one choice for travellers to the Greek Islands and East Mediterranean thanks to its regional expertise and exceptional hospitality. The company operates two vessels, each one intimate enough to provide guests with a genuine and highly personalised experience.

The foundation of the company’s philosophy is built on a unique Greek heritage which combines outstanding hospitality with genuine cultural destination immersion and provides authentic, lifetime experiences both onboard and onshore.

Celestyal Journey Itineraries

Celestyal’s newest ship set sail on September 2, 2023, taking over the Celestyal Crystal’s program, initially on its popular seven-night “Idyllic Aegean” itinerary visiting Athens, Thessaloniki, Kusadasi, Heraklion (Crete), Santorini. Mykonos and Milos.

Following the inaugural Idyllic Aegean sailings commencing September 2, the Celestyal Journey will continue in October with the unique “Steps of Paul” itinerary calling on Athens, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Istanbul, Dikili, Kusadasi and Patmos followed by the award winning seven-night “Three Continents” itinerary, visiting Greece, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, and Turkey.  There will also be two exclusive holiday sailings. The 11-night, special Christmas voyage calling on Thessaloniki, Izmir, Crete, Antalya, Limassol, with two days in Alexandria and an overnight visit in Haifa(Israel) to spend both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the Holy Land. This can be combined with the New Year’s eight-night departure visiting Heraklion, Rhodes, Kusadasi, overnighting in Istanbul before calling Volos.

Awards

Since 2014, Celestyal has received top honors in the Tourism Awards, one of the largest and most prestigious awards programs within the Greek tourism industry. These include one Platinum, 15 Gold, 10 Silver and nine Bronze awards covering Guest Experience Excellence, Solo Travel, CSR Initiatives, Contribution to National Economy, FAM and Press Trips, Communication Campaign and Multichannel Marketing Campaign.

In December 2022, Celestyal won a Bronze Award at the British Travel Awards in the ‘‘Best Operator for Mini Cruises’’ category and was named one of the top ocean cruise lines for ‘’Best Service’’ at the annual Cruise Critic Editors’ Picks Awards 2022, an award also received in 2018 and 2019. Ιn 2019 and 2020, Celestyal was recognized for its overall contribution and commitment to the development of the cruise industry in the Eastern Mediterranean region at the MedCruise Awards.

Corporate Responsibility

Celestyal is deeply committed to sustainability and ethical business practices. The company actively supports the local communities in the destinations it visits, particularly in the field of education. Additionally, Celestyal supports cultural NGOs to promote youth entrepreneurship, marine student development and child welfare.