Celestyal Cruises acquires former Holland America Line ship
Celestyal has acquired a former Holland America Line ship, bringing its fleet to three vessels.
The 1,260-guest ship, built as the Ryndam in 1994, will be renamed the Celestyal Journey. The ship will undergo a $21 million refurbishment and technical maintenance overhaul in Piraeus, Greece, where Celestyal is based.
After sailing for Holland America from 1994 to 2015, the ship sailed for P&O Cruises Australia as the Pacific Aria before it was acquired by Cruise & Maritime Voyages in 2019.
The ship never sailed for Cruise & Maritime Voyages, which was placed in administration and ceased operations during the pandemic in 2020.
Celestyal, which specializes in sailing to the Greek islands and the Eastern Mediterranean, also owns the 1,200-guest Celestyal Crystal and 1,664-guest Celestyal Olympia. CEO Chris Theophilides said strong bookings and a positive outlook for the cruise industry were cause for Celestyal to grow its fleet.
Celestyal had downsized during the pandemic. Citing market conditions and the pandemic, the line in 2021 sold a Costa ship it purchased a year earlier but never used. Celestyal indicated it would look to grow again “when the time is right.”
Theophilides said the Journey will give Celestyal a “significant increase” in premium and balcony staterooms, which he said are in high demand.
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