Thirty-one years at sea, under four names
This hull left the Fincantieri yard at Monfalcone in 1994, and she spent
most of her life elsewhere. She was the Ryndam at Holland
America for twenty-one years, from 1994 to 2015. Then Pacific Aria at P&O
Cruises Australia from 2015 to 2020, and Aegean Goddess at Seajets from 2020 to
2023. She has carried her present name since 2023 and made her first cruise for
this line in September of that year.
Fifty-five thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven gross tons, two hundred
and twenty metres by thirty-two, twelve decks, six hundred and thirty cabins,
one thousand two hundred and fifty-eight guests at double occupancy and up to
one thousand five hundred and twelve, five hundred and fifty-eight crew. Three
refits since: Singapore in 2018, the Palumbo yard in Malta in 2023, Dubai in
2025.
The fleet's long format
She sails from Piraeus, the port of Athens, on crossings of six to fifteen
days, most often seven or eight. One hundred and sixty-three departure dates
appear on this page: thirty-five in 2026, one hundred and twenty in 2027 and
eight in 2028. No line appears twice, which is not that common in our
catalogue.
Stuck in the Persian Gulf, from 28 February into the spring
It needs telling, because it happened five months ago and nothing here said
it. On 28 February 2026 hostilities broke out in the region and the Strait of
Hormuz closed to international shipping. Six cruise ships found themselves
trapped in the Gulf. Two of them were this fleet's only two ships: this one at
Doha, Qatar, the other elsewhere in the Gulf.
The cancelled cruises: the 7, 9, 14 and 16 March departures, the 4 April one, a fourteen-night crossing, then the whole month of April. Guests with air tickets, booked time off and
hotel nights had to redo the lot.
This ship transited the Strait of Hormuz on 18 April 2026, in close coordination
with the authorities of the region. Both ships reached the Mediterranean for
the summer season as planned.
And what followed matters as much as the episode: the line
cancelled its entire 2026-27 winter season in the Persian Gulf and replaced it
with the Mediterranean. That is why you will see no Gulf itinerary on this
page, and it is not an oversight.
What is included, and what is not
This formula, which the line calls Celestyal One, has one feature no other
in our catalogue shares.
Included: breakfast, lunch and dinner, filter coffee, tea,
water, juice, soft drinks with meals in the main restaurants, basic Wi-Fi,
onboard activities and shows, gratuities and port
taxes.
Not included: alcohol, speciality restaurants, shore
excursions and flights. The line offers to prepay them before departure.
Port taxes in the fare is the point to remember. At almost every line they
are added at the moment of payment and inflate a bill you thought you knew.
Here they are inside it, and gratuities too. When you compare two quotes, that
is where the gap widens or closes.
The trade-off is worth naming honestly: alcohol is not in the fare, unlike
Explora or Regent. A guest who has a glass of wine with every dinner should
factor that in.
The number of wheelchair-accessible cabins is published by no
source from this supplier. We check it at booking, cabin by cabin, rather than
quote a figure.
A word on the itinerary labels
You will see titles on this page that mix two languages: "7 Night Idyllic
Grèce Croisière", "4 Night Iconic Îles grecques Croisière". That is not a slip
of ours, it is the supplier's data feed arriving half translated. Across the
four hundred and twenty-five departures of the two ships, two hundred and
twenty-five labels are in that state.
We flag it rather than pretend otherwise, and the fix has been requested.
The dates, the durations and the ports are correct.
Elsewhere, if you want something different
The Celestyal Discovery does the short
formats, three to five days, and sails from Lavrion.
The ms Volendam gives an idea of what this hull was in her Ryndam
days. The Wind Surf sails the same Greek islands on a far smaller
scale. The line fields only two ships.
Booking from Quebec
The line was founded in Cyprus in 1986 as Louis Cruise Lines. An investment
fund has held the majority since 2021, the founding group keeps the rest, and
the offices are now in Europe.
One point we owe you in honesty: we did not obtain the current
ticket contract. We will therefore say neither that it carries an
arbitration clause nor that it does not, nor what deadlines it sets for claims.
Ask for it before paying and read it, or have your advisor do it with you. The
Gulf episode makes the question less theoretical than it sounds.
Nothing establishes a Quebec licence for the carrier. Your protection comes
from here: Voyages AquaTerra holds a licence from the Office de la protection
du consommateur, your payments pass through a trust account, and your departure
is covered by the compensation fund for travel agency customers.