Celestyal Welcomes its Newest Ship the Celestyal Experience

Thursday, 27 August 2020Friday, 28 August 2020 Liam P. Cusack 3 Day Cruises, 4 Day Cruises, 5 Day Cruises, 7 Day Cruises, All Inclusive, Athens, Carnival Corporation, Celestyal Cruises, Celestyal Experience, Celestyal Olympia, Celetyal Crystal, Chris Theophilides, Costa Cruises, Costa neoRomantica, Costa Romantica, Eastern Mediterranean, Fincantieri, Greece, Greek Cruises, Greek Easter, Greek Isles, Piraeus, Shore Excursions

The ***Celestyal Experience***, Celestyal’s newest ship, a wonderful addition to this Greek-Based Cruise Line. Credit; Celestyal Cruises

Celestyal Experience is a fantastic addition which will make a great product even better.

UPDATED AUGUST 27, 2020 – PIRAEUS, GREECE: Celestyal Cruises, a leader in Greek & Eastern Mediterranean cruises, named their newly acquired ship the Celestyal Experience. The ship was renamed on August 21, in the port of Piraeus. Their newest ship was purchased from Costa Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, it was formerly named the Costa neoRomantica. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The Celestyal Experience will join fleetmates Celestyal Crystal and Celestyal Olympia.

Celestyal Cruises, like most of the cruise industry has paused operations due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. While it may not seem like an opportune time to purchase a new ship Celestyal’s CEO, Chris Theophilides is confidant this is the right decision and in line with their plans for the future. Indeed, it would seem that Celestyal had been considering this purchase for some time.

Theophilides explained, “As part of our growth strategy and fleet rejuvenation program we have been actively pursuing the acquisition of vessels for some time now. We had identified the excellent fit this particular mid-size vessel has with our vision of the Celestyal guest experience prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and are pleased to have reached an agreement to acquire the vessel despite the current turbulence affecting the wider hospitality industry.”

The ship was built in 1993 at Italy’s Fincantieri Shipyard in Marghera as the Costa Romantica. In November 2011,underwent a total refurbishment. Two new half decks were added, as well as 111 new cabins, 120 cabins and suites with a balcony and several new amenities including bars and lounges. These renovations increased of the ship from 53,000 to 56,769 tons. The length increased to 220.6 m (723 ft 9 in). Following these renovations the ship was renamed the Costa neoRomantica.

The former *Costa neo-Romantica* will soon have Greek flair as the new *Celestyal Experience.* Photo Credit: Flickr

The ship is known for its unique Italian & Mediterranean design and has been well-loved by its mostly European and, more recently, Asian passengers.

Celestyal Cruises is a leader in Greek and Eastern Mediterranean cruises. I’ve had the opportunity to sail with them previously and am completely charmed by their product. As a Greek-based cruise line they are experts in highlighting the wonders of the region, and since they offer these cruises all year round, passengers can experience the ports and islands throughout the year for some unique opportunities. For example Celestyal’s guests can experience Easter in Greece, an experience other cruise lines do not offer. Seasonal cruise lines can’t even begin to compete with Celestyal. Celestyal’s itineraries are varied in length, including overnight port calls, making it a very flexible product. They offer 3, 4, 5, and 7-night port intensive cruises, one itinerary visiting three continents, which I would love to experience.

Making Celestyal even more attractive is that they offer an all-inclusive product with beverages, gratuities, and a wide selection of land tours included in the base fare.

I look forward to seeing how Celestyal instills its personality and Greek flavor to the Celestyal Experience.

When world travel returns, Celestyal will be well-positioned to provide travelers an exciting and unique product. Indications are that there will be a boon in travel and, with this purchase, Celestyal will be ready for the future.

“We remain extremely optimistic about the future of cruising as evidenced by this investment in our fleet and see this acquisition as the path forward not only for Celestyal Cruises, but towards helping to accelerate the overall rebound in the cruise and tourism industries,” said Theophilides, CEO.

We will continue to update this story so please check back for further details regarding the Celestyal Experience, its itineraries, innovations, and new-to Celestyal onboard guest experiences, as they are announced.