Celestyal Cruises will be sailing to Egypt aboard its new ship Celestyal Journey, taking over the itineraries of Celestyal Crystal when it debuts in September this year.

Celestyal Journey formerly sailed as Ryndam for Holland America Line, before being acquired by Seajets in 2020, and then by the Greek cruise line Celestyal in 2022.

The cruise ship enables Celestyal to offer a more premium experience than the older, smaller ships in its fleet, while not being so large that it cannot access the more intimate cruise ports for which Celestyal is known.

Rendering of Celestyal Journey

“It has always been our mission to renew and rejuvenate our fleet, and we’re thrilled to see this come to fruition with the arrival of the Celestyal Journey,” said Chris Theophilides, CEO, Celestyal Cruises.

“She is already undergoing her extensive refurbishment program and will be deployed in a matter of just a few months,” he added.

Celestyal Journey will sail a 7-night “Idyllic Aegean” itinerary on September 2nd, 2023, switching in October to the “Steps of Paul” itinerary, which will be followed by the 7-night “Three Continents” itinerary exploring Greece, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus and Turkey.

During Christmas and New Year, Celestyal Journey will sail a special 19-night festive cruise with calls in Thessaloniki, Volos, Rhodes and Crete (Greece), Izmir, Kusadasi, Antalya, Istanbul (Turkey), Limassol (Cyprus), Alexandria (Egypt) and Haifa (Israel).

Alexandria, Egypt

The ship will spend both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in port in Israel, giving passengers the opportunity to explore some of the most holy sites in Christendom during the holiday. The voyage can also be split into 8- or 9-night itineraries.

“Celestyal Journey will offer our guests more in the way of premium accommodations with balconies, a greater choice of dining and bar venues, public areas and open decks creating a greater sense of space,” says Theophilides.

“At the same time, the newest member of the Celestyal family continues our tradition of operating intimate, mid-sized vessels, allowing us to take our guests to destinations that larger ships cannot, reinforcing our in-depth regional destination knowledge and genuine, warm Greek hospitality, both of which have consistently been recognized as second to none,” he adds.

Celestyal Journey will accommodate up to 1,260 guests in 630 staterooms, 149 of which feature balconies, while a further 120 are Junior Suites and 28 are Grand Suites.

The ship will offer guests a variety of venues such as specialty and themed restaurants featuring Mediterranean, European and Asian dishes, with cooking demonstration area and an exclusive Chef’s Table venue, in addition to eight bars and lounges.