The new Celestyal Cruises brand, formerly Louis Cruises, was launched officially today with a press event in Greece. The big news was the announcement of the Olympic Explorer returning to service for the Greek line, and will join the Celestyal Crystal and Celestyal Olympia in cruise service for 2015.
The Explorer will be named Celestyal Odyssey on a reported three-year charter agreement.
The 840-passenger Olympic Explorer, most recently named Explorer, was built at Blohm + Voss in 2001 for high-speed, port-intensive service, and was most recently in operation for Semester at Sea.
According to Louis, Celestyal Cruise represents a revamped product designed to offer a real Greek experience comprised of authentic Greek hospitality, local cuisine and Greek entertainment. These experiences are reinforced through an extensive portfolio of themed events that bring to life Greek culture and history, as well as introducing the broad palate of Greek cuisine complemented with wines made of distinct grape varieties that are unique to Greece.