Celestyal Cruises
Fodor’s Expert Review
Specializing in the Eastern Mediterranean since launching in 1986, Greek-owned Celestyal Cruises offers three, four, and seven-night cruises, primarily to the Greek Isles and Turkey. All sailings begin and end in Athens. The Celestyal fleet consists of only two ships, both acquired in 2023. Celestyal Discovery replaces the retiring Celestyal Olympia in March 2024, and Celestyal Journey joined Celestyal in September 2023, replacing the retiring Celestyal Crystal. Neither are new ships though. Both Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery are modest, older vessels that have been retired from other cruise lines and given multimillion-dollar refurbishments before joining the Celestyal fleet.Read More
In addition to sailing the Greek Isles, Celestyal also offers a popular seven and 14-night Three Continent cruise, where passengers can experience Europe, Asia and Africa all in one week, by embarking in Athens, then stopping in ports in Egypt, Turkey and Israel. In 2024 Celestyal unveils the new “Heavenly Adriatic” itinerary which will visit three countries that are new to Celestyal— Croatia, Montenegro and Italy.
You won’t find high-adrenaline onboard attractions like zip-lines, water slides and climbing walls. Instead, Celestyal offers a casual, relaxing way to island hop through the Mediterranean in comfort at a great value. On Celestyal cruises, the focus is always on the destination, not the ship. Celestyal’s smaller size fleet, with just over 1,250 passengers, can visit ports larger ships cannot. Itineraries rarely include a sea day. Port calls are typically long, with most starting at 7:30 or 8 in the morning and ending at 7 or 8 in the evening. In party-loving ports like Mykonos and Santorini, passengers may not need to be back on-board until 2 a.m. When visiting Egypt and Israel on Celestyal’s Three Continent cruise (currently on pause due to regional conflict), the ship stays in port overnight. On shorter Greek sailings, you may visit more than one port a day.
Since the focus is on the destination, the menu of daily on-board activities is somewhat thin. Though Celestyal may be lacking in over-the-top ship amenities and activities, it spoils passengers by stopping in unique ports and curating top-notch excursions with knowledgeable guides. Unique to Celestyal is an $80 excursion credit, included for every passenger.
Celestyal cruises are ideal for mature passengers who value a chance to immerse themselves in Greek culture and history. After a day spent exploring the ancient ruins of coastal Turkey’s Ephesus or the beaches of Santorini, Celestyal’s two ships provide a welcome home base, with great hospitality, dining, a Greek band that plays throughout the evening and a nightly live cabaret-style show. You’ll find many of the typical amenities you would on bigger ships, including two main dining rooms, a buffet, a number of bars, pool and hot tubs, a spa and fitness center—but they’re all just a bit more modest than the larger, newer ships.
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What to Expect on Board
Celestyal’s two ships offer a main dining room that always includes a Greek specialty entrée, lamb souvlaki or mousakka, and baklava for dessert, as well as a daily vegetarian entree.
As with most cruise lines, for an added fee, specialty menus and specialty restaurants offering everything from Greek to Asian cuisine, as well as grilled steak and seafood, are available. Celestyal Journey also features an exclusive Chef’s Table venue with a cooking demonstration area, a great choice for celebrating a special occasion.
As with many cruise lines, the buffet restaurants onboard Celestyal ships can get crowded, especially at lunch. There’s a salad bar which includes one type of soup and a selection of bread. Hot dishes include hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled chicken, grilled fish, and a beef dish. The buffet restaurant also includes a dessert table. For breakfast, the buffet restaurant offers Greek yogurt and assorted dried fruits, alongside egg choices. There’s also the standard European selections of fresh breads, cold cuts, and cheese. Suite guests avoid the breakfast and lunchtime crowds by having exclusive access to the specialty dinner restaurants which are used as buffet restaurants for suite guests during breakfast and lunch.
The complimentary pool deck dining area also serves a limited menu for breakfast and lunch. There’s a daily omelette station for breakfast and a rotating selection at lunch—pasta bar one day, hamburgers and hot dogs another, other days it might be crepes or paninis.
Casual fare like burgers and pizza are offered throughout the day poolside, but unlike most cruise lines, it’s at an extra cost. A burger costs ten euros, pizza is twelve euros. Also offered poolside are Instagram-worthy ice-cream concoctions, which are included with the premium plus drink package, but otherwise cost extra. Unlike many cruises, there’s no 24-hour pizza parlor. Instead, servers walk around the bar areas at night with platters of complimentary snacks, items like chicken wings, mini hot dogs, and fried fare. During the day, servers walk around offering trays of pastries and muffins.
Room service is available for a fee. A continental breakfast can be delivered to your room between 6:00 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. Snacks, sandwiches and pizza can be delivered 24 hours a day.
One meal not to be missed is the poolside BBQ accompanied by live music, held once on each cruise. A spectacle of carving stations, grilled meats, salads, towers of shrimp and eye-popping dessert tables make for an indulgent and lively dining experience under the stars.
Being smaller ships, entertainment onboard is more limited.
There’s one big show in the main theatre every evening, with two seating times. The theatre feels like a lounge, with comfortable chairs set up around cocktail tables for easy access to your drink. The musical productions are cabaret-style shows with singers, dancers and aerial acrobatics. One evening’s performance will likely honor Greek mythology, while others may include an homage to the Swedish band Abba or a medley of popular show tunes.
Both ships have a Greek band playing traditional Greek songs throughout the late afternoon and into the evening. Ship staff perform modern pop tunes and lead a nightly dance party, while also assisting with nightly karaoke.
Because so much time is spent in port, there are fewer activities onboard than most cruise lines. Activities start in the late afternoon and include things like arts and crafts, dance lessons, mythology trivia or Greek cooking demonstrations.
Both Celestyal ships have a small casino with a few slot machines and game tables.
Most Celestyal passengers get their exercise walking and sightseeing in port each day, but the ships do have free fitness centers for those who want to work out on equipment.
In addition, Celestyal Journey has a basketball and tennis court. There are no fitness classes onboard.
Celestyal’s fleet also has spas offering a menu of massages, facials, and other treatments. Service in the spa, as elsewhere on the ship, is friendly and professional. Both ships have saunas and steam rooms.
Each ship has an onboard salon with a full menu of services, including manicures, pedicures, hair styling and a variety of other services.
Celestyal Journey has two pools, one with a retractable roof, allowing for swimming in any weather. Celestyal Discovery has one pool on Deck 10. Note the pools are not heated, which is not a major issue in the summer, but makes swimming unappealing any other time of year. For those who love to soak in hot water, Celestyal Journey has two hot tubs and Celestyal Discovery has three.
Key cruising tips
Your Shipmates
Celestyal appeals to well-traveled, active couples and groups who enjoy destination-rich itineraries, a good value, and a laid-back atmosphere. Although English is the official language onboard, the clientele comes from all over the world and announcements are repeated in multiple languages. Most passengers are in their 30s to 70s, with very few children onboard. The crew sets the friendly tone and guests follow suit.
Dress Code
In keeping with Celestyal’s relaxed style, the dress code is equally laid-back. At the complimentary restaurants, casual attire of nicer shorts and polo shirts at dinner would be fine, but no bathing suits or pool cover-ups at dinner. Formal attire is not necessary, but dress pants and collared shirts would be expected at the specialty restaurants for dinner.
On seven-night cruises Celestyal hosts a Gala Night and the Captain’s Cocktail where more formal attire would be welcomed: a cocktail dress or nice pants for the ladies, jacket for the men.
For Greek night during your cruise, passengers are invited to wear blue and white, the colors of the Greek flag.
Junior Cruisers
While children are welcome on all sailings, Celestyal does not offer activities for them. Celestyal is best suited for older teens who are interested in history and culture. Celestyal would not be a good fit for families with younger children. Unlike most larger cruise lines, Celestyal does not offer a kids club where young children can be left while parents go to dinner, enjoy the evening’s entertainment or explore a port.
Service
Service aboard Celestyal is pleasant and attentive, from the waitstaff to the room stewards to the guest information desk.
Tipping
Celestyal includes all tips/gratuities within the cruise fare. At no point during your cruise will you feel pressured to leave an additional tip.
Past Passengers
Celestyal does not have a loyalty program, but says it’s in the process of introducing one. Currently, past guests are provided with additional amenities in their cabin, which might include items like fresh flowers, a sweets platter or bottle of wine.