Celestyal Cruises is a small cruise line with two ships in their fleet. I recently took my first cruise with them, a seven-night cruise in the Arabian Gulf. You can read my first impressions of that cruise here.
Celestyal Cruises invited me with a small group of journalists so we can experience first hand what they have to offer. By the end of the week I walked away impressed, wanting to come back.
After spending seven nights on Celestyal Journey, here are my personal seven reasons to take a cruise with Celestyal Cruises.
Itineraries
Since the cruise line only has two ships in their fleet, they don’t offer a wide range of itineraries. However, they make up for it with the quality of their itineraries.
The currently offer cruises around Greece/Italy and in the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf). One of the things that I love the most is that you are in port every single day of the cruise. While they do have a sea day here and there, it is not the norm.
For their cruises in Greece, some days you get to visit two ports. You will visit one in the morning, get back on the ship for lunch, and then arrive in a second port in the afternoon.
On their four-night Iconic Greek Islands sailing, you spend one morning visiting Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus) and the island of Patmos in the afternoon/evening. Here’s the itinerary:
- Day 1: Depart from Athens at 1pm, arrive in Mykonos in the evening
- Day 2: Visit Kusadasi and Patmos
- Day 3: Visit Rhodes
- Day 4: Visit Heraklion and Santorini
- Day 5: Arrive back in Athens
Yes, you visit six ports on a four night cruise.
On my seven-night Desert Days sailing, we were in port every single day including two days in Dubai. Cities like Dubai really need more than one day when you’re visiting them on a cruise. I loved every single port on our cruise.
If you’re going halfway around the world to experience and see different cultures, you don’t want to spend a majority of the time on a cruise ship. With Celestyal, you’re always in port every single day so you can make the most of your time in foreign countries.
We visited Bahrain, Dubai, Oman, Sir Bani Yas and Abu Dhabi. It was one of the top 10 itineraries that I’ve sailed on. They are modifying this itinerary for next season to spend more time in ports that guests love.
Celestyal offers some fantastic excursions on this itinerary.
In Dubai, we rode in a 4×4 over the sand dunes before having an incredible dinner under the stars. The next day, we went to the top of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa.
On Sir Bani Yas, we took a safari through the Arabian Wildlife Park before spending the rest of the day enjoying the beach on this “private island style” port. It’s one of the most unique cruise ports I’ve ever been to and one I really want to go back and visit again.
I had several people ask me about safety and how I felt cruising in the Middle East. Throughout the entire trip, I never once felt unsafe. If anyone is on the fence about taking a cruise in this region, go for it. You won’t regret it.
And a little bonus for those who love to get their passports stamped, I racked up eight stamps and a visa sticker in the week I was there.
Crew
On the nearly 100 cruises I’ve taken in my life, the crew on Celestyal Journey was among the best I’ve ever had.
They really made you feel at home and and were so easy to connect with. Many times even as I was just walking by, I would hear a “Hey Ben” as they saw me passing. It happened all around the ship, from room stewards in the hallway to bartenders in different lounges.
The biggest surprise of the trip was when one of the girls who worked at Cafe Nation (coffee shop) got up and started to sing opera in the lounge one night. It was incredible and she had the most beautiful voice. It blew us all away.
Since the cruise line and ships are small, they really are like family.
Smaller Ships
One of the biggest benefits of smaller cruise ships is that they can visit many ports that larger vessels are unable to dock at. You tend to also get better berthing locations compared to mega ships.
Celestyal Discovery is 42,000 gross tons and Celestyal Journey is 55,000 gross tons in size.
Even though Celestyal Journey is 31 years old, you would never know it from walking around the ship. You can tell Celestyal put a lot of money into remodeling the interior of the ship.
One of the things that I really loved that I talked about in my first impressions article was the amount of public spaces the ship had.
Even though the ship was sailing at or near capacity, you couldn’t tell when you were in any of the bars or lounges. The only place that ever felt crowded was the buffet at peak times but it’s that way on pretty much every ship.
Suites
The first few days I stayed in an ocean view cabin on deck 5. I was at the very front of the ship (why I had portholes instead of a large window) and thought it was pretty spacious for standard cabin.
However, Celestyal moved me to a suite for the last four days of the cruise and it was amazing. Not only was the room large, but the balcony (photo posted earlier in this article) was huge. The balcony was bigger than some cabins I’ve had in the past.
The suite had a walk-in closet, decent size bathroom, and plenty of room to stretch out.
The bed was extremely comfortable and suites are definitely the way to go when cruising with Celestyal, although you really can’t go wrong with any cabin.
Passengers
On our cruise, there was a wide range of nationalities on board. I’m a firm believer that this helps enhance the experience when you’re cruising in other parts of the world.
Anyone who has been a reader of Cruise Fever for awhile knows that I’m a big advocate to cruise on a European cruise line when taking a cruise in Europe. This way you get the European experience and culture not only when you’re in port, but while on the ship.
This was also true on Celestyal even though English is the main language spoken on board.
Entertainment
There was a different show every single night of the cruise in the theater (Amphitheatro Show Lounge). They were similar to the 10 song and dance shows that you find on cruise ships, but they had a wider variety than I’ve ever seen.
Once night they incorporated acrobats into the production with several songs from The Greatest Showman. You could tell the guests on board really loved the shows.
There was also a nice variety of live music around the ship at night in the different lounges.
One of the biggest surprises for me is that they had a magic show one night in the lounges/bars. It was a fun time as several of the bartenders did close up magic in a non-formal setting.
It was nice to see such a wide range of entertainment for a small ship and a port intensity itinerary.
Budget Friendly Prices
Prices for cruises on Celestyal start at around $110-120 per person, per night. This includes all port fees and gratuities, drinks during meals, and essential WiFi.
When you combine all of this with the amazing itineraries that they offer, it’s hard to beat.
Celestyal Journey had a premium feel (for a 31 year old ship) but without the premium prices.
Drink prices were also extremely reasonable with cocktails starting at just seven euros.
Before the cruise, I really wasn’t sure what to expect on my upcoming voyage from Celestyal. I went in with an open mind and walked away impressed.
It was one of the top 10 itineraries I’ve taken and an overall great cruise experience.
