Celestyal expands fleet to three vessels with acquisition of AIDAaura

Celestyal has acquired AIDAaura from Carnival Corporation’s German cruise brand AIDA Cruises, amid what it describes as major demand for cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean.

 Celestyal Cruises will send AIDAaura for a major refit and refurbishment and then re-launch her as the Celestyal Discovery, according to a statement.

Celestyal Discovery will be the second cruise ship bought by the Greek cruise line this year after the acquisition of Holland America Line’s Ryndam, which has been renamed Celestyal Journey.

“Given strong market and business conditions, we are thrilled to have expedited the renewal of our fleet to welcome the Celestyal Discovery into the Celestyal family,” said Chris Theophilides, CEO, CelestyalCruises.

“Celestyal Discovery joins the Celestyal Journey to undergo an extensive refurbishment programme over the winter period, signifying further our intent to keep delighting our customers,” he added. 

“As a confident challenger brand, our team is excited to continue to make waves across the industry next season, with a refreshed fleet, brand, network, and a renewed sense of direction.”

AIDAaura is 20 years old and one of the older vessels in the AIDA fleet, but Celestyal says the ship will be given a new lease on life through a “multimillion-euro” refit ahead of a 2024 programme beginning in March.

The renamed Celestyal Discovery will feature 633 staterooms and a passenger capacity of 1,266 guests. 

The ship will feature a number of Celestyal favourites, such as the Grillseekers speciality restaurant, Greek Deli and a Fig and Honey gelato and juice bar, as well as the Sozo wellness retreat.

There will also be “surprise additions” with further details regarding the onboard itineraries, which the cruise line said will be announced “in due course”.

The ship will take over Celestyal Olympia’s 2024 programme with her Eastern Med itineraries featuring a range of special launch offers.

Guests booked due to sail on Celestyal Olympia’s itineraries will be contacted by Celestyal and rebooked on Celestyal Discovery sailings, according to the cruise line.

Celestyal Cruises’ acquisition of AIDAaura comes amid major disruption to Eastern Mediterranean cruise itineraries as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict. 

The cruise line this month announced that it was cancelling all port calls in Israel through the rest of the year, with expectations that further calls in early 2024 will also be cancelled.

Despite the conflict and uncertainty, demand for cruises in the region have not been impacted, with all major cruise lines reporting a red hot market on the back on demand from key cruise markets including the UK and European Union countries.