Celestyal Cruises is the only home-porting cruise operator in Greece and the preeminent cruise line serving the Greek Islands and the island of Cuba. The company operates five mid-sized ships, each one cosy enough to provide a highly personal service. Every cruise focuses on true cultural immersion, offering an authentic experience of the regions in which the vessels sail.
Founded in the early 1970s as Louis Cruises, today Celestyal Cruises is the preeminent cruise line for the Greek Islands and Turkey. They operate a fleet of five ships, three sailing from the two major ports of Athens, Piraeus and Lavrion, and Limassol. From Piraeus and Lavrion, Celestyal Cruises sails to Chios, Crete, Ios, Kos, Milos, Mykonos, Patmos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Symi and Syros, and to the Turkish ports of Bodrum, Cesme, Istanbul and Kusadasi. In addition to Piraeus and Lavrion, passengers can create their own stay & cruise vacations, with embarkation for three-, four- and seven-day cruises from Kusadasi, Istanbul or Heraklion, Crete. Two of the company’s ships, the “Thomson Spirit" and “Thomson Majesty," are under charter to Thomson Cruises of TUI AG.
In 2011 they became a member of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a worldwide cruise industry alliance that promotes a safe, secure and healthy cruise ship environment. They were named “Passenger Line of the Year" during the annual Lloyds List Greek Shipping Awards in 2010 and has twice been the recipient of the Condé Nast Travelers Choice Award. In 2005, Costakis Loizou, Executive Chairman of Louis Group, was awarded the prestigious European Pioneer Award by the International Society of Hospitality Consultants for making an outstanding contribution to the industry by bringing cruising to a greater number of tourists.
Celestyal Cruises is proud of its Hellenic identity. The Eastern Mediterranean is their home. Their smaller, cosy vessels give you access to a number of harbors inaccessible to larger ships, which means they can bring their passengers to many of the region’s smaller islands, the little jewels of the Aegean. A Celestyal Cruise engages all five senses. They give their passengers the unique opportunity to visit legendary archaeological sites, to enjoy music by authentic Greek musicians and singers, to taste delicious, homemade Greek cuisine, and to sample outstanding Greek wines and spirits. They invite you to inhale the aromas of Greece and Turkey, to travel into the past, to join them onstage for traditional Greek dances…to live “Kalimera" with them.
