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Celestyal Cruises Review: An All-Inclusive Mediterranean Cruise

Benjamin Juster

Of all the cruises in Europe, it’s been a dream bucket list item for us to sail the Mediterranean. Our dreams finally came true when we decided to join a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean with Celestyal Cruises. We’re going to break down our entire experience in this Celestyal Cruises review so that you can know what to expect if you plan on joining their all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise for yourself.

This was only our second cruise, but it certainly left an impression. If you want to cruise the Mediterranean in luxury, we can definitely recommend Celestyal Cruises.

Our experience on this small cruise ship through the Greek Islands was one we will never forget. Beyond exploring the Greek islands of Crete, Santorini, and Volos, we got to cruise to Turkey, a destination we’d been dreaming to visit for ages, and enjoyed a jam-packed Turkey itinerary. We also had the chance to cruise from Istanbul to Greece, enjoying a day at sea to take full advantage of the amenities offered onboard.

What We Will Discuss in this Post

In this Celestyal Cruises review, I’ll break down the Celestyal experience, including their Greek cruise tours, the Celestyal Crystal ship, and their Mediterranean cruise stops.

I will also describe each of the Mediterranean cruise ports, so you have all the info you need in case you plan on doing independent travel.

Finally, I’ll go into detail a bit about the value of their all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise, and the best time for Mediterranean cruises. Now let’s get on with it, shall we?

 

Read on to learn more about why we recommend Celestyal Cruises for your luxury small ship cruises of the Greek islands and beyond!

 

Celestyal Cruises Review

Celestyal Cruises is a reputable Mediterranean cruise company rated highly on Cruise Critic.

We had an amazing time experiencing the all-inclusive Mediterranean cruises offered by Celestyal, and want to dive deep to offer you a Celestyal Cruise review to help you plan your journey. If you want to plan a trip to Greece, we highly recommend considering a Greek cruise with them.

We’ve experienced one other cruise before, but to be honest, nothing compares to the luxury, comfort, service, and ease of navigating these small ship Mediterranean cruises with Celestyal. Because the Celestyal Cruise ships are smaller than others we’ve been on, we found it to be far easier to explore and feel at home on.

 

Celestyal Experience

Celestyal prides itself on being the top choice for Greek island small ship cruises.

I’ll now dive into everything that went into making the Celestyal experience so special and memorable, including iconic Mediterranean cruise stops, top-notch tours (and tour guides), superior service, delicious food, a legendary drinks package, fun on-board entertainment, and a seamless travel and international border experience as easy as swiping a card.

Greek Cruise Tours

The excursions provided on the Celestyal Crystal were one of the standouts of the Celestyal experience for us. The Greek cruise tours with Celestyal took us to unforgettable destinations like Santorini and Istanbul.

We went on excursions in every port on our 8 night New Year’s cruise with the Celestyal Crystal. Thanks to the excursions, we were able to visit electrifying places like the Hagia Sophia and Ephesus—places that literally spoke to our souls. This part of the world is so rich with history, culture, and so on, and getting the chance to dive in head first and experience some of its wonders is such an amazing opportunity.

The tour guides were all outstanding. They were personable, knowledgeable, friendly, and funny, able to muster laughs from us even when we were tired in the morning. Most importantly, they provided loads of valuable insights into the history and local life of each destination.

Transportation was also well organized and disembarking from and embarking on the ship from the tours was a breeze.

 

Superior Service

The service with Celestyal was everything we’d hoped for on a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean. All the staff was professional and courteous, and there were several crew members who absolutely went above and beyond in making us feel welcomed and taken care of.

We’d love to give a shoutout Dastan, Irene, and Aziza—there were many, many amazing employees, but these wonderful humans in particular just made us light up with joy every time we saw them. They went above and beyond and provided a standout experience. I feel terrible because I just know there were even more people on the ship that made our experience amazing too, but at least I can shed some love on these wonderful individuals!

 

Impeccable Food & Drinks Package

 Eating on a cruise is one of the best darn parts of cruising, and Celestyal Cruises serves up some mighty yummy tastes of the region on their all-inclusive cruises in the Mediterranean.

For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you can choose to dine in a buffet or in one of the sit-down service dining areas.

The food, in a word, was AMAZING. I’m talking the juiciest lobster I’ve possibly ever had, fish and shrimp and steak, traditional Greek options, desserts to satisfy  any sweet tooth, so many international options (the Asian food was GLORIOUS) and so much more.

We LOVED that we could choose from Indian biryani, Greek gyros, and even pho! Who knew that you could ever get pho on a cruise, which was honestly such a heavenly treat.

 

BBQ Night

Towards the end of the cruise, the crew put on a special BBQ night on the pool deck. Definitely don’t miss this if you’re on a Celestyal cruise!

The BBQ night was a ton of fun, with delicious seafood, grilled meats, and other goodies. The deck was decorated with a festive atmosphere and even ice sculptures!

This isn’t even all the dining that Celestyal offers on its cruises, though. There’s also the speciality, reservation-only restaurant in a private dining room.

 

The Greek Table Experience

The Greek Table Experience by renowned chef Diane Kochilas offers cruisers an elevated Greek dining experience. We had been looking forward to the specialty Greek dinner the whole cruise, and it did not disappoint! 

The six course meal we had at the specialty restaurant was absolutely our top dining experience on the cruise. 

Everything we tasted was delicious, but our standout was the lobster with ouzo-scented rice — it was probably the most delicate and tender lobster we’ve ever had! We also really loved the Cretan octopus carpaccio, with a bright splash of orange-ouzo vinaigrette and crisped fennel. 

This experience does have an additional cost, but we think it is totally worth it if you’re looking for truly divine cuisine.

Drinks Package 

WE GOTTA TALK ABOUT THESE DRINKS.

This all inclusive cruise in the Mediterranean won us over from the beginning with its inclusive drinks package!

Every cruise with Celestyal is totally all-inclusive for many drinks, both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety. I mean we’ve never seen anything like this included on a cruise!

The “basic” drinks package that is included with every cruise fare is mind-blowingly extensive — it includes 47 different drinks. This includes water (hot/cold coffee and tea, sodas, juices, draft beer, wine, a choice of liquors, and Mai Tai / Bloody Mary cocktails. Looks like a pretty good list to us!

But if you want to take it even further, we recommend upgrading to the premium drinks package.

Premium Drinks Package

We had the premium all-inclusive drinks package, so we had our choice of everything offered with the inclusive package, and them some. A WHOLE LOTTA SOME.

We were spoiled for choice with over 100 drink choices, ranging from premium liquors and wine, to smoothies and milkshakes. Yes, PLEASE.

We fell head over heels in love with Celestyal’s inclusive drink package. Having never cruised with an all-you-can-drink package, we had a blast treating ourselves to whatever drink we fancied, because it was already included for us. Such. A. Treat.

 

Exciting Entertainment

There is a variety of entertainment available day and night on Celestyal cruises. 

Some of the entertainment offered onboard includes:

Port Charges & Gratuities Included

As an all inclusive cruise in the Mediterranean, all port charges & gratuities are included in your fare, so you don’t have to worry about any surprise charges at the end of your cruise.

 

Celestyal Crystal Ship

The ship we were on for our cruise was the Celestyal Crystal. Here’s a Celestyal Crystal review for important details about the ship.

The Celestyal Crystal ship is rated the highest of any of Celestyal Cruises ships on Cruise Critic. According to Cruise Critic, the Crystal spends more time in port than most mainstream cruise lines, offering top-notch shore excursions, which we absolutely love.

Though it’s a full-featured cruise ship, the Crystal is smaller than other international cruise ships. Its smaller size made it really easy to navigate as we cruised the Mediterranean. We never got lost or struggled to find places.

Our room on the Celestyal Crystal was very comfortable, including a private balcony. Needless to say, we WENT GAGA FOR our private balcony when we first saw it.

On small ship Mediterranean cruises, there’s definitely a quieter and less crowded atmosphere.

We loved the Crystal’s smaller size. The experience on a smaller cruise ship is certainly more intimate — the crew is smaller, so we always saw familiar faces, and they would often greet us by name. To us, it felt like another touch of luxury on this Mediterranean cruise.

 

 

Small Ship Greek Island Cruise

With Celestyal, you can sail the Mediterranean in a smaller cruise ship. Celestyal’s cruise ships are smaller than other cruise lines, making it possible to dock at ports that larger ships cannot.

Celestyal Crystal Deck Plan

Here’s a description of the Celestyal Crystal deck plan for an idea of the ship’s layout.

There are 9 decks accessible to guests (Decks 2-10), with the remaining decks accessible only to crew. 

Staterooms are between Decks 2 and 7.

Deck 5: Shore excursions, Agora marketplace, reception, Olympus restaurant, Thalassa outdoor bar, jacuzzi

Deck 8: Muses & Eros lounges, casino, Kids Corner, conference area, library, Amalthia restaurant

Deck 9: Beauty center, massage room, sauna, gym, Helios bar, swimming pool, Leda & Aura dining rooms

Deck 10: Horizons lounge & bar, roof deck

 

An All-Inclusive Mediterranean Cruise

Celestyal offers many different all-inclusive Mediterranean cruises from Athens to explore various parts of the Mediterranean.

While there are many reasons we loved our Celestyal Crystal cruise, one of our absolute favorite parts is that it was all inclusive! 

We’d never been on any all-inclusive Mediterranean cruises before. So for us, it felt like such a treat to be able to enjoy the best of everything the Celestyal Crystal cruise had to offer. With everything included, there’s absolutely no FOMO here —you can try everything to your heart’s content! 

Mediterranean Cruise Stops

When I have a glance at the Celestyal Cruise website, every single cruise they offer triggers my wanderlust. Their all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise stops are amaaaaazing.

Our Celestyal experience in particular took off from Athens and stopped at Crete, Santorini, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Volos, and finally, Piraeus.

I’ll dive a bit into our experience at each of these Mediterranean cruise stops now.

 

Crete

Heraklion, Crete was the first stop on our itinerary.

Crete, the largest island in Greece, is a popular stop with many small ship cruises to the Greek islands, and we sure could see why. We arrived on beautiful day, and even though it was the middle of winter, the sky a clear blue, the sun shining blissfully, and the water an electric blue.

We took an excursion to the ruins of the Minoan Palace of Knossos, included for everyone on the cruise, which just further enhances the value and integrity of Celestyal’s all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise experience.

 

Palace of Knossos

Knossos is one of the most important Bronze Age sites in Greece, with a history dating back over 3500 years. It’s home to the oldest existing throne in the world, and beautiful frescoes depicting sacred bulls and the daily life of the Minoans.

Thanks to our knowledgeable guide, we were able to get some insight into the history of the site and how it was reconstructed.

After the tour, we spent some time walking around Heraklion’s gorgeous harbor. Don’t miss the Venetian Koules Fortress, a beautiful stone fort in the harbor dating back to the 16th century.

 

Santorini

Our next stop was Santorini. This was one of our most-anticipated stops on our Celestyal cruise, and it did not disappoint!

We took an excursion that took us to the villages of Megalochori and Oia. Megalochori was traditionally the largest village on the island, and is a good place to get a feel for local life on Santorini.

Oia is where you’ll find the most famous view of Santorini with the three blue domes perched on the edge of the caldera.

Santorini is understandably one of the most popular destinations for Greek island cruises in small ships. But since we visited in winter, we were able to marvel at the stunning views without dealing with the crowds that are present other times of the year.

The tour took us back to Fira, which is the main town above the port. We used the rest of the day to explore the villages in between Fira and Oia, taking photos to our heart’s content and feasting our eyes on the INCREDIBLE views.

We took the cable car down to the port just after sunset and took a tender boat back to the ship. The tenders run about every half an hour or so.

We left Santorini that night, setting off on the next leg on our cruise to Turkey.

Kusadasi

The first stop on our cruise to Turkey was Kusadasi. It’s a popular resort city due its beautiful coastline and the numerous beaches in Kusadasi.

We went on an excursion included for all cruisers that took us to the ruins of Ephesus, which are not too far from Kusadasi. This excursion was one of the two that was included for every cruiser on this all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise!

The excursion took us by bus from the Kusadasi cruise port straight to the stunning Greco-Roman ruins of Ephesus.

 

Ephesus

Ephesus was one of the most important ancient Greek cities in Asia Minor, and today is home to some exceptional well-preserved ruins like the Library of Celsus.

As in Knossos, our knowledgeable guide shared many valuable tidbits with us. Thanks to him, we learned that we were walking on original marble pavestones that were two thousand years old.

On the way back from Ephesus to Kusadasi, we were taken to a fascinating rug-making demonstration. There, we had the chance to see silk worm cocoons transformed into silk threads and knotted into immaculate silk rugs. We got to have some Turkish drinks and lunch at the rug shop, and then it was time to continue our bus ride from Ephesus to Kusadasi.

Leaving right away from the Kusadasi cruise port, it was time for our cruise to Istanbul. I loved hearing the beautiful calls to prayer as we were leaving —one of the benefits of cruises from Kusadasi, I guess!

We celebrated our cruise to Istanbul with some sundowner drinks at the outdoor Thalassa bar, eagerly anticipating the next day.

 

Istanbul

We spent 2 days in Istanbul, and they were truly a highlight of our cruise!

We were in love with Istanbul from the first glimpses of Istanbul’s cultural gems as we pulled up to the Istanbul cruise port. The views of the Hagia Sophia and the dozens of Ottoman mosques lining the Bosphorus strait stunned us in the golden morning light.

We went off an excursion to the Istanbul Spice Market and later a Bosphorus boat cruise in Istanbul.

Istanbul is a vibrant, bustling city with a rich and layered history. You immediately get a sense of that the moment you leave the Istanbul cruise ship terminal, passing right by a beautiful Ottoman-era mosque.

We had fun checking out the spice market, with its delicious samples of Turkish delight and other treats.

 

Boat Cruise in Istanbul

Next, it was time for our boat cruise around Istanbul. We hopped on a smaller boat to explore the Bosphorous Strait, taking in the gorgeous scenery as our tour guide told us about the city. We got the chance to wave hello to our Celestyal Crystal cruise ship at the Istanbul cruise ship terminal, as we took in incredible views up and down the Bosphorus strait.

There are over 3000 mosques in the city, and we probably saw at least 300 of them on our boat tour in Istanbul. The tour boat docked on the Asian side of the city for a few minutes, giving us an opportunity to stand on two continents within a matter of minutes.

On the boat trip in Istanbul, we could tell that it’s a really huge city, and we barely scraped the surface of it. We’d love to come again and delve deeper into its secrets.

Time to head back to the cruise port in Istanbul for New Year’s Eve!

New Year’s Eve in Istanbul

We watched an INCREDIBLE sunset from our cruise in Istanbul on top of the Crystal’s deck. Watching the fiery sun sink behind a silhouetted backdrop of the towers of Istanbul’s mosques is something we’ll NEVER forget.

We celebrated the New Year by making heavy use of Celestyal’s inclusive drinks package, and views of some fireworks from the top deck.

Celestyal Cruises made our New Years very special, serving a particularly memorable dinner of lobster and steak (accompanied by a hilarious display of the crew in wigs, as well as party hats and kazoo at each table setting). We also had live music and delicious tapas served at night.

 

Embarking on Our Byzantine Legacy Tour

Starting New Year’s Day bright and early, we headed out on a full-day excursion to Istanbul’s old city, in the heart of ancient Constantinople.

 

With so many things to do in Sultanhamet, Istanbul, it’s no surprise our tour would begin there. This historic district of Istanbul is known as the Old City, and once was the illustrious capital of the Byzantine Empire.

 

We started in Sultanahmet Square, the former Hippodrome of Constantinople. The square has a history of two millennia, and proudly sports an ancient Egyptian obelisk.

 

We were fortunate to visit the Blue Mosque, even though it was largely covered up for renovations. Next stop was Hagia Sophia, which greeted us with an incredibly long line.

 

The wait to get into Hagia Sophia is so worth it! The moment we entered, we were immediately struck by its immensity and grandeur. It was the largest church and building in the world for almost 1000 years, then a mosque, then a museum, and now a mosque again.

 

Leaving Hagia Sophia in awe, we visited Topkapi Palace, the home of the Ottoman sultans for 400 years. It’s full of beautiful art and architecture, and we saw some very interesting displays of royal jewels, armor, and weaponry.

 

After lunch, we learned about local Istanbul crafts, and then visited the Spice Market again. Normally, the tour takes you to the Istanbul Grand Bazaar, but unfortunately it was closed on New Year’s Day.

 

Soaking up some last-minute vibes on Istanbul’s streets, it was time to head back to the ship. We were absolutely EXHAUSTED after the 2 packed days we’d had in Istanbul, and were looking forward to resting on the coming day at sea to enjoy the amenities on board the Celestyal Crystal ship.

 

Day At Sea

After 2 busy days in Istanbul, it was time on our cruise from Istanbul to Greece to take a rest on the day at sea. We used this time wisely to enjoy some of the amenities onboard and treat ourselves to what our luxury Mediterranean cruise had to offer.

We honestly spent most of the time just soaking up the sun and mesmerizing views of the ocean blue from our private balcony. We also spent some quality time at the outdoor Thalassa bar, enjoying the Mediterranean views while getting our drink on, baby!

We had fun playing games in the Eros lounge, and then Lauren got ready for her much-needed massage at the spa.

After the massage, we had a dinner reservation at the specialty restaurant at the Aura dining room on Deck 9.

Like we mentioned previously, the speciality dining experience was a highlight of the cruise, and we’d highly recommend it! We had been looking forward to this meal the whole cruise, and it did not disappoint.

 

Volos

Our penultimate stop on our amazing luxury small ship cruise in the Greek islands was the city of Volos. We went off on an excursion to the gravity-defying Meteora Monasteries.

Over the centuries, 24 monasteries were built here on top of otherworldly sheer rock formations near the town of Kalambaka in central Greece. It’s one of the largest and most important groups of Eastern Orthodox monasteries. The remaining monasteries are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and are just as incredible to visit in person as they look in pictures.

We visited two of the monasteries on the excursion. We had a bit of free time to search for the best viewpoints, and took tons of pictures.

After the two hour bus ride back to the ship, we departed for Piraeus, where we would close out our small ship cruise in the Greek islands.

Piraeus (Athens)

Piraeus is where most of the cruises to Athens start and end.

Disembarking the ship was easy, and retrieving our luggage was quick and seamless. We’ll get more into the Mediterranean cruise ports in the next section!

 

Mediterranean Cruise Ports

Our 8-night all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise took us to several different Mediterranean cruise ports in Greece and Turkey. Leaving from Lavrion port near Athens, we visited Crete, Santorini, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Volos, and ended in Piraeus. 

Read on to learn about what each Mediterranean cruise port is like:

Crete

The Heraklion cruise port is walking distance (about 20 minutes) to the city center. The cruise port itself doesn’t have much in the way of amenities, but it’s close enough to Heraklion that you can easily get to the city or its harbor on your own.

Santorini

Cruise ships can’t reach the port at Santorini, so you have to take a tender boat to the port.

If there’s rough weather, the tender boats sometimes can’t make it, which would be so sad! Luckily, we were blessed with amazing weather the whole cruise, so we got to the port with no trouble.

The port is below the town of Fira, which is the biggest settlement on the island. When you get off the tender boat, you can either walk up the steep 600 steps to Fira, pay to take a donkey ride up, or take a cable car up.

Kusadasi

The Kusadasi cruise port is located right in the middle of the city and its coastline. The cruise port itself has lots of shops and restaurants, and just outside of it there’s even more shopping and dining to be had. There are some beaches in Kusadasi not too far from the port, as well.

Istanbul

The Istanbul cruise port is really modern and absolutely HUGE. It probably takes almost 10 minutes to walk from the Istanbul cruise ship terminal entrance to the ship.

Going through the Istanbul cruise port is like navigating through a small airport. As of 2023, the Istanbul cruise ship terminal itself is pretty empty of anything besides one shop, long hallways, and a couple security stations. This may change in the future as development on the cruise port in Istanbul continues.

There are many places to shop and dine lining the promenade immediately outside of the Istanbul cruise port. Istanbul is a huge city with tons to do, so you’re never too far away from shopping, dining, or other entertainment.

Volos

The Volos cruise port is pretty spartan.

We didn’t notice any amenities in the port at all, and it seems a bit far to walk to the more interesting parts of the city. If you want to visit any of the attractions around Volos independently, such as the mountain villages nearby or the Meteora Monasteries, you’ll have to arrange transport. Otherwise, we highly recommend joining a tour with Celestyal Cruises to ensure you get back on board on time before the ship leaves.

Piraeus (Athens)

Piraeus is the biggest port in Greece, and has three different cruise ship terminals. No matter which terminal you dock at, it’s easy to get to the rest of Athens or other destinations from Piraeus.

There are many beautiful Greek islands near Athens, so Piraeus is one of the most frequented Mediterranean cruise ports.

 

Affordable All-Inclusive Mediterranean Cruise Prices

Celestyal’s all-inclusive Mediterranean cruises are our new favorite (and affordable) way to cruise the Mediterranean in luxury.

If you’re looking for some cheap Mediterranean cruise deals, definitely consider cruising with Celestyal!

We found Celestyal’s cruises to be an amazing value. This is especially so when you consider that they’re totally all-inclusive, and that some excursions are included on every itinerary. You really do get so much for your money!

Best Time for Mediterranean Cruises

Celestyal offers luxury Mediterranean cruise departures between March and December each year. We think there’s not really a bad time for a small ship cruise in Greece. With this being said, there are things you need to consider in certain times of the year. 

In summer, temperatures in the eastern Mediterranean can approach 100 °F (37 °C), and crowds can be an issue in places like Santorini. Prices are also higher in the busy summer season.

Conversely, in winter, prices are lower, there are FAR fewer crowds, and the temperatures are cooler — usually not TOO cold, though. 

Wind can be an issue any time of the year, and if it’s too windy, it can affect tender boats in places like Santorini.

We cruised with Celestyal at the end of December. There was beautiful sunny weather almost the entire cruise, and we certainly enjoyed the lack of crowds in places like Santorini. 

Celestyal Cruises Review: Final Thoughts

If you’re looking to cruise the Mediterranean on an all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise, we hope you’ve found our Celestyal cruise review helpful. Our Celestyal experience was one we will never forget, and we truly had the best time. The hardest part of the whole cruise was saying goodbye—we never wanted to leave!

Read more Celestyal Cruises reviews here.

There are many all-inclusive Mediterranean cruises in Europe to choose from, but we love Celestyal for their commitment to outstanding service, all-inclusivity, comfort, and quality for the ultimate cruise experience. We love the concept of taking a small cruise ship to the Greek islands and beyond, enjoying a smaller, easily navigable ship with a tight-knit crew that started to feel like family.

Cruising with Celestyal is hands-down our favorite cruising experience we’ve had, and would fully recommend them to anyone looking for an all-inclusive Mediterranean cruise. We would LOVE to cruise again with them on another of their Mediterranean and Greek island small ship cruises in a heartbeat.

If you have any questions that we didn’t cover in our Celestyal Cruises review, please feel free to reach out on any of our social media platforms and we would be ecstatic to assist you!

 

Disclosure: This post is a collaboration with Celestyal Cruise line, but as always, all opinions are very much our own!

 

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