Celestyal today announced its deployment programs for 2025, 2026 and early 2027, according to a press release.

As it continues to move toward year-round operations, the company is expanding its offerings in the Eastern Mediterranean and also doubling its presence in the Middle East, with its two ships set to sail in the Arabian Gulf for 2025-26.

The move will mean a 30 percent increase in Celestyal’s overall capacity when compared to 2023, the company said.

“86 percent of our guests tell us they want to come back to Celestyal, so we’re delivering on our commitment to broaden our programs,” said Lee Haslett, Chief Commercial Officer at Celestyal.

“We’re renowned as the cruise specialists of the Greek islands and the Mediterranean and, thanks to the commitment of the region and this overwhelming support from our customers and trusted partners, we are now confident in becoming the go-to cruise specialists of the Arabian Gulf,” he added.

According to Celestyal, both the Celestyal Discovery and the Celestyal Journey will see new ports and expanded itineraries on their summer programs in the Mediterranean and Greece.

One of the changes for the upcoming schedule includes an increase in the number of sailings for the company’s “Heavenly Adriatic” itinerary.

Due to what the company called an overwhelming demand for the seven-night voyage in 2024, Celestyal is adding eight additional departures for the cruise in 2025 and 13 in 2026.

The “Heavenly Adriatic” itinerary visits Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, and Italy, with visits to Split or Dubrovnik, Kotor, Marghera (for Venice) or Bari.

Celestyal also announced that the cruise line’s newest ship, the Celestyal Discovery, will spend winters sailing the Arabian Gulf starting in 2025; the company will also add a short cruise program in the region.

The Discovery will join the Celestyal Journey, which will mark the company’s debut in the region later this year.

With both ships in the Middle East, Celestyal is adding new itineraries to local destinations, as well as a new embarkation port in Abu Dhabi.

“Across our network, we offer two types of cruising. Destination-intensive three- and four-night itineraries are perfect to combine with a land stay and as a bolt-on to a beach or touring holiday, while our classic seven-night cruises are ideal as a holiday in themselves,” Lee Haslett said.

“We have an award-winning service, two newly refurbished ships, immersive shore excursions, a quality, diverse food and beverage offering, and unrivaled customer satisfaction, as well as the ambition to continuously evolve and deliver more. We really cannot wait to showcase everything Celestyal has to offer to a wider audience.”