Greece-based line Celestyal is to start offering cruises in the Middle East from November, senior executives announced today.
New addition Celestyal Journey will be based in Doha, Qatar, and sail to Bahrain, Dubai, Khasab in Oman, Abu Dhabi and the island of Sir Bani Yas. The seven-night ‘Desert Daze’ cruises will start from as little as £469pp, excluding flights.
The line is also introducing a second newcomer, Celestyal Discovery, to the fleet in 2024 as part of a drive to attract new customers.
‘We had to grow our business outside the Greek islands,’ said chief commercial officer Lee Haslett. ‘We believe we can do the Middle East very differently from our rivals. We will have a flavour of Greek hospitality in UAE style.’
With the winter itineraries in the Persian Gulf, Celestyal will operate year-round from 2025 instead of just from March to December, vice president Anna Gregori added. ‘We’re going to be unmissable. We’ve been apologetically small in the past.’
CEO Chris Theophilides stressed it was important to the line to replace its previous fleet of Celestyal Olympia and Celestyal Crystal with two similar small ships. It was also essential to keep its Greek identity, he added.
Asked about ambitions for 2028, he answered: ‘Will we be a two-vessel brand then? Absolutely not. But let’s take one thing at a time. The next 12 to 18 months will be very exciting for us. We’ll be making further announcements as well.
‘This is a key turning point for this brand. We’ll look back to 2024 as being this moment in time that allowed us to break out of that mould of focussing on the Greek islands. We love the Greek islands, they will remain a core part of our business going forward, but we’re breaking out.’
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