Celestyal Olympia

The 1982-built Celestyal Olympia cruise ship (fka Louis Olympia) was initially named "Song of America" and owned by RCCL-Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. MS Celestyal Olympia is a traditionally designed luxurious passenger liner with fleetmates the 1980-built Celestyal Crystal and the 1994-built Celestyal Journey (fka MS Ryndam, and Aegean Goddess). All boats are operated by the Greek travel brand Celestyal Cruises (2014-rebranded from Louis Cruises).

The vessel (IMO number 7927984) is currently Malta-flagged (MMSI 229051000) and registered in Valletta. Before 2020, it was Cyprus-flagged (MMSI 209691000) and registered in Limassol.

History - construction and ownership

In April 2012, after operating as "Thomson Destiny" (under charter for Thomson Cruises UK), the ship was given a new name (Louis Olympia) by the shipowner Louis Cruises. During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, Louis ship Olympia served as a floating hotel. In 2014 Louis Cruises announced the launching of a new authentic Greek-experience cruise travel brand.

The debut of this vessel improved the company's identity as a specialist in Greek island and Turkey operations.

Decks and Cabins

Celestyal Olympia staterooms (724 total) include 9 Balcony, 298 Inside, 2 wheelchair-accessible. The ship's max passenger capacity is 1664. Of all cabins, 9 are Suite-grade accommodations, each with a private step-out balcony. The boat has 418 outside staterooms (including the 9 suites) and 298 Interior cabins. Because of the vessel's old design, rooms as sizes and types vary greatly. The total number of cabin categories is 15.

The boat has 10 decks, of which 9 are passenger-accessible and 7 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

With three eating outlets to choose from, cruisers might enjoy the sumptuous Greek and Mediterranean kitchen as well as 24-hour room service. Aegean Restaurant is the main dining room onboard Celestyal Olympia. It is complimentary, features Greek cuisine specialties, and also has a dinner a la carte menu. The MDR restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Leda Casual Dining is a buffet-style venue for alfresco dining with an outdoor seating area. Continental Breakfast (7-8:30 am) and Afternoon Tea (4-5 pm) are also served here. Another Dining Room is the Aura Grill.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Passengers might also enjoy a huge array of facilities and diverse onboard activities, all with the relief of a modern and sophisticated cruise liner. Celestyal Olympia Lounges & Bars include Mast Bar, Horizons Bar, Eclipse Bar, Argo Bar, Helios Pool Bar, Muses Lounge, Selene Lounge, Internet Cafe. The Muses Lounge is the shiptheater/main show lounge with tiered seating and a dance floor. The grand-style entertainment program offers live music and dance shows, as well as a magician and acrobatic performances.

The Casino Royale, served by the Argo Bar, offers gaming tables and several slot machines. There is also a video arcade and two large pools and five bars securing full amusement at sea. A completely equipped Olympian Gym, badminton, basketball and table tennis are accessible together with the Ocean's Spa for treatments and saunas. The Kids' Club, duty-free stores, travel value shop (Agora), library and Internet corner complete the superb experience offered on board this stylish cruise liner. The ship also has a medical center, Sana Beauty Center, Photo Gallery.

Itineraries

Celestyal Olympia's itinerary program is based on three and four-day cruises to the Greek islands and Turkey. The ship currently operates on round-trip itineraries from Greece (Piraeus-Athens) and Turkey (Kusadasi-Ephesus).

In 2019, the liner started year-round operations for Celestyal Cruises, as opposed to the previous charter options. The company's Eastern Mediterranean Olympia ship deployment included two new itineraries - "Eclectic Aegean" and "Three Continents" (Holy Land and Turkey/Istanbul) - in addition to the Adriatic Sea cruises (7-day roundtrips from homeport Venice Italy) which are operated only seasonally (during winter).

In April 2021 Celestyal Cruises scheduled the Olympia ship to restart voyages in the Eastern Mediterranean starting with the new itinerary "Legendary Archipelago" in the period June 28 - August 30 (2021). The 7-night roundtrip from Lavrion-Athens visited Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete (Agios Nikolaos), Rhodes, Cyprus (Limassol). All-inclusive prices started from USD 1020 (EUR 860) per person with double occupancy. Following this Aegean mini-season, after August 30th the boat's itinerary program had to continue with the prescheduled 3-4-night (Lavrion roundtrip) itineraries "Iconic Aegean" and "Iconic Discovery".

Celestyal's new/exclusive cruise terminal at Port Lavrion (homeport) is just ~25 km (16 mi) from Athens Airport.

However, due to the Coronavirus crisis, the Celestyal ship Crystal was paused for two years (March 2020 thru April 2022) restarting on April 29th.

The vessel (Wartsila Hietalahti yard/hull number 111180) has volume 37773 GT-tons, DWT-deadweight tonnage 5000 tons, max draught 7 m. The powerplant is based on Wartsila marine diesel engines (model 8ZL40/48) with combined output 16,48 MW (22095 hp). The registered shipowner is DESTINY TRADING OPCO LLC, while the registered manager is OPTIMUM SHIPMANAGEMENT SERVICE.

MS Celestyal Olympia ship was built as "MS Song of America" for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. In April 2012, after the Thomson Cruises charter operations (as Thomson Destiny), the ship was renamed Louis Olympia and operated by the owner Louis Cruises.

Fun fact is, that during the Winter Olympics 2014 in Russia, Louis Olympia ship served as a floating hotel- together with Thomson Spirit and Grand Holiday (now Magellan).

In September 2014, Louis Cruises announced the company is launching a new brand with an authentic Greece cruising experience. In 2015, the two ships, Louis Olympia and Louis Cristal, were branded Celestyal Cruises and renamed, respectively, Celestyal Olympia and Celestyal Crystal.

In 2015, a new (chartered) ship was added to the fleet - Celestyal Odyssey (now Blue Dream Star). In 2016, the company purchased Celestyal Nefeli/MS Gemini.

Celestyal Olympia refurbishment 2016 review

During the ship's drydock refurbishment in 2016 (done in Piraeus-Athens Greece) to a total of 21 Oceanview cabins were added balconies and the staterooms were upgraded to Junior Suites (category SBJ-Balcony Junior Suite). The ship also has 9 Balcony Suites (SB). Each of the new cabin verandas extends 1,4 m (4,5 ft) from the ship's bulkhead and has a length between 2,8-5,8 m (9-19 ft).

All cabins and all public areas were also renovated and upgraded. Hotel amenities upgrades were also implemented, along with general maintenance works.