I have always been a lover of all things Greek and so I found myself married to a Greek man, eating a lot of Greek food and spending a lot of time in Greece. I still do not tire from eating Greek cuisine or continuing to explore new parts of the country and its ancient history! So when I was offered the opportunity to sail onboard a Celestyal Cruise from Athens for 3 nights around the Greek islands, I jumped at the chance.

Celestyal Cruises are a Cypriot owned cruise line, that are basing their ships out of Athens in order to promote and offer the most authentic Greek experience found in the cruising industry.

I sailed on the Celestyal Olympia for 3 nights/4 days with an itinerary starting in Athens and taking in Mykonos, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Patmos, Crete & Santorini. We definitely had a taste of true Greece during our cruise, with plenty of time in each port to visit the most important tourist attractions, or simply spend time shopping or enjoying a frappe’ (traditional greek cold coffee) overlooking the Caldera view in Santorini.

For me, the most exciting part of the cruise was the destinations, especially the tour of Ephesus, the ancient Greek relics located in Kusadasi, Turkey, with an amphitheatre built for seating 25,000 people! Patmos was the other highlight for me, as it holds so much history from biblical times and you can visit the Monastery of St John the Theologian and the Cave of Apocalypse where he is believed to have been inspired to write the Book of Revelations. Other itineraries offered by Celestyal cruises also include some of the lesser visited Greek islands such as Syros, Kos, Ios, Samos & Milos if you have already visited some of the more well-known islands such as Santorini, Mykonos and Crete!

Even though the overall concept onboard is ‘Greek’, it is not in-your-face, so to speak, as there are a variety of international clients onboard, and therefore there are alternative cuisine & entertainment options, as well as most Celestyal crew speaking up to 5 languages!

Booking a Celestyal cruise through Century Travel will also include the ‘blue all inclusive drinks package’ and a complimentary tour to Ephesus and on some of the longer 7 nights also the tour of Izmir in Cesme, Turkey is included in the price!

If I had to describe my cruise experience in 1 sentence, I would say Celestyal Cruises offer a value for money, authentic Greek experience merged into a relaxed, casual cruise holiday.

To find out more or book a Celestyal Cruise for this summer come and see Zoe or Helen, both have experienced Celestyal Cruises.