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Celestyal Crystal - 7 Night Ιdyllic Aegean - September 25th 2021


PAF88
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Seems like this is more viewed part of the forum for Celestyal, than roll calls. 

 

Checking out who's on the same cruise or did it before and could share some insights for others. 

Have watched all the related youtube videos and now have more questions than before. 

 

My name is Pavel, I'm in my mid 30's. As the only one in my family who has not been to Greece, I'll be travelling solo. Never cruised with Celestyal before, but looking forward having this 'test drive' of the Greek Islands. 

 

Our itinerary Kusadasi (Turkey), Rhodes (Greece), Agios Nikolaos (Greece), Santorini (Greece), Milos (Greece), Mykonos (Greece), Athens Lavrion (Greece)

Departing from Lavrion. 

 

As of now I'm checking options for shore excursions. 

With the cruise we have two excursions included 

Day 2 | Kusadasi (Turkey): Ancient Ephesus through the ages - Hellinistic and Roman

Day 3 | Rhodes (Greece): Medieval tour - Acropolis of Lindos and the Citadel of the Knights

 

I've been to Ephesus previously, so I think this would work fine and spend rest of time in Kusadasi, and for Rhodes seems to be a good option too. 

 

So more questions about other stops. 

Agios Nikolaos - Crete. The Island seems to be really big and visiting Elafonissi Beach seems to be off our limits (about 4 hours drive one way). Another option was to visit Heraklion (taxi? rental?) but seems to be not much different from other cities.  

If anyone did "The Palace of Knossos & Cosmopolitan Heraklion" from Celestyal - how was it?

My favorite option would be to go to Vai Palm Forest beach and spend the day there, but it's also nearly 2 hours drive from port. 

So possibly just exploring the port city of Agios Nikolaos and having some beach time. 

 

Santorini (Thira) - thinking of booking  The Essence of Santorini and staying in Oia after it. Any suggestions on the transfer options from Oia to the port in the late-late evening are highly appreciated. I've seen some youtubers renting ATV and traveling the island by themselves, not sure I want anything more than Thira and sunset in Oia...

 

Milos - the hardest one, because it's a shore morning stop (8.30 am till 1.30 pm. btw what's all aboard time for it?). There is only one tour by Celestyal 'Step back in time" which seems to be shorter than their 'PANORAMIC MILOS'. In fact maybe just getting to Sarakiniko Beach would be enough for that short stop. But what are the options of getting there. 

 

Mykonos - possibly just explore the town and maybe find a place to swim? or there is an option of going to Delos Island... 

 

I would love to hear your ideas and experiences! If you are on the same cruise maybe we can share some excursions?

 

 

 

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We were booked on this trip for Sept. 4, 2021 but we were recently notified that Celestyal has cancelled all cruises after August 2021. So disappointing. They just say they are shortening their season. I assume all your trip is also cancelled? Does anyone know anymore about why? Some people seem to think they didn’t have enough bookings to warrant continuing to cruise. So sad. 

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Didn't get the email or any communication from Celestyal, but have just seen the news on the feed.

 

If that's true, it's very disappointing, because I have non refundable tickets and all my 18 days in Greece were planed around this cruise. Honestly don't know why would I go to Greece for 18 days now and even more - I could have had better options with 'beach vocation' in other countries without problems of getting visa.

 

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Here comes the ✉️.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING CRUISE

Dear Valued Guest

We are writing to advise you that we that we will shorten our 2021 operating season. Sailings on our two ships Celestyal Olympia and Celestyal Crystal will end on:

• CELESTYAL CRYSTAL- August 28th - Last sailing departing August 21st from Piraeus
• CELESTYAL OLYMPIA - August 30th - Last sailing departing August 23rd from Lavrion

This will unfortunately impact your cruise as you are due to sail between September and December 2021.

You will have the option to receive full refunds or apply your deposit to a 2022 or 2023 sailing. If you choose a future sailing, we will add 20% bonus value to be applied to a future sailing.

Attached in this email is a Future Cruise Credit (FCC ) for the value of the booking currently paid to date with the option of an additional 20% bonus value reflected, to allow time for you to consider your options.

WHY HAVE WE SHORTRENED THE 2021 SEASON?

We have enjoyed a successful and safe summer season to date but as we move into the autumn, additional restrictions are coming into play across countries our later-season guests typically come from. Similarly, a trend of booked travelers opting to defer their cruises from autumn 2021 until 2022 has guided our decision.

Although this was not an easy decision to make, after careful thought we are confident it is the right one, as it was at the start of the pandemic in 2020, when we were one of the first cruise lines to pause our operation in reaction to the operating realities.

2022 AND BEYOND

We recently launched both our 2022 and 2023 itineraries. We will begin our 2022 season in early March and we are already seeing strong booking demand, so we would highly recommend rebooking at the earliest opportunity to ensure your first choice of sail date, stateroom category and itinerary. Clik here to view our 2022-23 cruises.

Should you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our contact centre who will be happy to assist in making those alternate arrangements. Contact details can be found at celestyal.com. Over the coming months we look forward to announcing many new experiences to be enjoyed by our guests in 2022 and beyond.

We would like to close by thanking you once again for your patience and resilience during this restart year and for your unwavering support.

Best regards

Celestyal Cruises

 

 

Still don't see how to apply for refund.

 

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