Celestyal amends debut cruise season in Arabian Gulf to include Qatar Grand Prix

F1 tie-ups as well as geopolitical climate in wider region impact itineraries

The itinerary for Celestyal Journey’s maiden voyage in the Arabian Gulf has also been amended to accommodate the Qatar Grand Prix. The seven-night Desert Days & Qatar Grand Prix will sail a round trip from Doha from 30 November 2024, and will spend its first three days in Doha port for the race, before travelling overnight to Dubai, and afterwards to Khasab, Sir Bani Yas Island and Abu Dhabi.

This voyage will be followed by an altered seven-night 'Desert Days & Abu Dhabi Grand Prix' cruise, which will now sail a round trip from Dubai leaving on 2 December 2024, and will spend a full day and late-night stay in Abu Dhabi on 8 December for passengers attending the race.

Celestyal Journey’s winter season now entails nine seven-night Desert Days trips between November 2024 and March 2025, and two special Grand Prix voyages.

Celestyal has amended several itineraries for its Celestyal Journey ship during its inaugural Arabian Gulf season, including the rerouting of repositioning cruises via the Red Sea in response to geopoltical unrest.

Two 14-night repositioning cruises, 'Ancient Athens to Dazzling Doha' and 'Dazzling Doha to Ancient Athens', set to depart on 26 October 2024, and 8 March 2025, respectively, have been cancelled and will now operate via longer routes on a non-commercial basis.

These cancellations are alongside the first three scheduled Desert Days itineraries, scheduled to leave Doha on 9, 16 and 23 November 2025. In addition, three Heavenly Adriatic cruises, slated to leave on 22 and 29 March, and 5 April 2025, have also been cancelled.

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All travel partners have been notified, assured protected commission and provided with updated information and guest rebooking options. All booking system changes will be updated over the next two weeks.

Lee Haslett, Celestyal’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “In light of the current geopolitical climate in our original path of passage to this year’s winter season, we have decided to operate longer non-commercial repositioning sailings to and from Qatar.”

Haslett clarified Celestyal Journey will continue to homeport from Doha from November 2024 and for the next three winter seasons.

He added: “We apologise for the inconvenience that today’s cancellation of a small number of our itineraries may have caused. Our impacted guests have all been offered alternative cruise options and/or reimbursement.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to our global year-round operation in the Greek islands, Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf, and would like to thank our valued guests and trade partners for their understanding and support.

“We look forward to welcoming our customers onboard Celestyal Journey for her inaugural Arabian Gulf season in late November this year.”

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