In August, the two-ship cruise line – which has traditionally focused operations in the Aegean Sea – axed eight sailings due to ongoing political unrest in countries around the Red Sea.

While chief commercial officer Lee Haslett insisted Celestyal would never discount its Aegean cruises, it has been forced to cut prices on Arabian Gulf sailings, which start on 30 November. 

Haslett told TTG: “We will not discount our Aegean product as there’s enough demand for these sailings across the industry. The only times where we need to be competitive with pricing is where we’re growing into new capacity.”

He explained the “challenge” Celestyal is facing, with the line’s fleet capacity set to grow by 32% this year and a further 17% in 2025. We want to be doing the opposite to discounting, but we’ve had to discount when we’re growing into our new itineraries,” Haslett added. 

“We’ve been impacted by Red Sea tensions and the Israel-Gaza war. We’ve had to change deployment the month before. When we’re trying to create a market, we will be competitive with our pricing."

Haslett revealed around 40% of passengers sailing on Celestyal Journey during the upcoming Arabian Gulf season had been sourced from the UK market. 

When asked about future growth plans, Haslett said Celestyal would not operate two ships forever. “We’ve got plans to grow the business. We will either buy an existing ship or build a new one – both options are on the table,” he said. 

He added Celestyal will launch a new UK agent portal next month following feedback from a trade steering group. 

Celestyal, meanwhile, plans to host 32 travel agents on a “super fam trip” later this month. 

Invited agents will experience the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, watch an El Classico Legends football match and board the 1,260-passenger Celestyal Journey while docked at Doha’s Grand Cruise Terminal.