Celestyal aims for further growth in Gulf cruise market with major deals campaign

Celestyal Cruises has unveiled its ‘Live Your Vacation Dream’ campaign, offering up to 50% savings on Arabian Gulf cruises for 2025 through 2027, along exclusive perks for early bookings, as it seeks to consolidate its market position in the region.

Coinciding with the launch of Celestyal Cruises maiden season in the region, with Celestyal Journey cruising roundtrip from Doha, Qatar and Dubai, UAE, the campaign invites travelers to take advantage of exceptional offers available for bookings made before February 28th, 2025.

Guests can avail savings of up to 50% on Celestyal’s extensive 2025, 2026, and early 2027 cruise itineraries, including cruises from Doha and Abu Dhabi. Select voyages also feature an added perk—a bonus credit of up to $100 per person preloaded onto the innovative CelestyalPay system.

Launched earlier this year, CelestyalPay is a prepaid onboard food and beverage system designed for non-inclusive purchases. Guests can either load funds onto their account during the cruise or opt for a pre-sailing top-up to unlock bonus credits, enhancing their onboard experience.

With discounts of up to 50%, Celestyal’s 2025–2027 itineraries offer an array of options, ranging from short escapes to week-long adventures across the Arabian Gulf. The cruise line will be returning Celestyal Journey to the region next year, while a second ship, Celestyal Discovery, will also be deployed to the UAE.

Sailing round-trip from Abu Dhabi, and featuring stops in Doha, Khalifa Bin Salman (Bahrain), and Dubai, the three night ‘Iconic Arabia’ cruise starts at $359 per person, while the four-night version, also round-trip from Abu Dhabi, visiting Fujairah, Muscat, and Khasab, starts at $459 per person.

The seven-night ‘Desert Days’ cruise, sailing round-trip from Doha, visits Dubai, Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and Khalifa Bin Salman (Bahrain), with prices starting at $739 per person.

A seven-night ‘Desert Days’ cruise also sails roundtrip from Dubai and offers Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Khalifa Bin Salman (Bahrain), and Doha as destinations, with prices starting at $739.

The deployment of Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey comes amid a push by Celestyal Cruises to establish itself in the Middle East cruise market, and reflects intensifying competition in the regional cruise sector.

MSC Cruises, the current market leader in the region, is deploying its brand new ship MSC Euribia to Dubai for the 2024/25 season, while Resorts World Cruises is entering the Middle East market for the first time, with itineraries specifically targeting the local source market.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian cruise start-up AROYA launched in December, becoming the first homegrown cruise brand in the Arab world, and the first cruise line ever to exclusively target regional passengers.