A cruise ship has returned to service after receiving a multi-million dollar renovation after being acquired by another cruise line.
Celestyal Cruises purchased the 42,000 gross ship last November from AIDA Cruises. The vessel was renamed Celestyal Discovery during a massive renovation and the ship is now sailing three and four night cruises to the Greek Isles.
The ship’s first passengers are sailing on the “Iconic Aegean” itinerary, with port calls in Mykonos, Greece; Kusadasi, Turkey; Patmos Island, and Santorini, Greece; visiting a total of five ports over the three-night sailing.
From March through to November 2024, Celestyal Discovery will be rotating this three-night itinerary with a four-night “Iconic Aegean” option, featuring an additional day in Rhodes. Cruises start at $279 per person.
All cabins on the ship were refreshed, the livery was painted, and new onboard social spaces were added. The ship now has a new coffee shop, pizza restaurant, and Discovery Lounge.
Celestyal Discovery features two main restaurants – Thalassa and The Taverna, plus Grill Seekers- an additional specialty surf and turf restaurant, and the poolside Greek Deli and Fig & Honey for juice and gelato.
Chris Theophilides, CEO at Celestyal, said, “We were delighted to welcome 1,100 guests onboard our newest ship, Celestyal Discovery, this weekend. We have successfully refreshed our fleet in under a year, staying true to our commitment to invest in our customer experience.
“Celestyal can now offer premium, destination immersive holidays, unmissable both at sea and ashore. It’s an extremely exciting time for us as we continue to expand as a global brand, and we look forward to more developments over the coming year”.
Lee Haslett, chief commercial officer at Celestyal, said, “Having already announced 12 new destinations, a completely refreshed fleet and significantly upgraded customer experience, we are delighted to be setting sail on both our 2024 season and our new global year-round operation. We have spent the past year listening to our valued customers and partners to understand what makes Celestyal so special. We’ve evolved our identity to reflect this and our new fleet, with the new livery, is the now the most visible extension of our brand.”
