Celestyal Releases 190 New Shore Excursions for First Winter Mediterranean Season

Celestyal has unveiled its lineup of shore excursions for its new winter Eastern and Western Mediterranean deployments, with 190 experiences available to book now.

The new offerings include 118 excursions for Celestyal Discovery’s new Western Mediterranean itineraries sailing winter 2026/27 and 2027/28, and 72 excursions for Celestyal Journey’s winter 2027/28 Eastern Mediterranean itineraries.

“For us, an authentically Mediterranean experience has always been about much more than simply arriving in a destination and seeing its most famous sights. It’s about meeting the people who live there and understanding the traditions that have shaped it,” said John Diorio, managing director and vice president for Celestyal North America.

A range of half-day, full-day and two-day options are available, in addition to 27 new “Authentic Encounters,” which provide immersive experiences with local people and attractions, and smaller group sizes.

The excursions also introduce a new “Community Connections” offering, designed to take guests beyond traditional sightseeing by connecting them with the local people, producers, and communities that bring each destination to life.

Highlights include:

• Mamas and Tapas: A full day “Authentic Encounter” tour that takes guests from Malaga into rural Andalucía to visit an olive oil mill before being welcomed into the homes of residents in the mountain village of Alfarnate for a traditional five-course lunch.
  
  
• Artisan Cheese Tour & Workshop: A half-day excursion that begins in Cádiz and takes in the small town of El Bosque, where guests meet local cheesemakers, take part in a hands-on workshop, and sample cheeses made using milk from livestock farms in the surrounding Sierra de Grazalema.
  
  
• Carcaixent Citrus Plantation & Spirit Tasting: A half-day “Community Connections” experience that departs Valencia, heading to the countryside of Carcaixent, where guests visit a family-run citrus orchard dating back to 1870. The experience includes an introduction to traditional orange cultivation, tastings of fresh juice, artisan jam,s and orange-blossom honey, followed by regional citrus liqueurs.

Other highlights include a hands-on tagine cooking class in Tangier, a private flamenco and tapas experience in Cádiz, Valencia’s Fallas festival workshops, a gastronomic tour of Palma’s Mercat de l’Olivar, a Taste of Istanbul experience, and a journey on the historic mountain railway from Volos.

“Winter is such a rewarding time to explore the Mediterranean. There’s a more relaxed pace and guests have more space to experience destinations,” Diorio said. “Through our new shore excursions and ‘Community Connections’ offering, we can help them get closer to local life and traditions, while ensuring tourism delivers real, meaningful value to the people and businesses they meet along the way.”

To mark the introduction of the new excursions, Celestyal is offering a 15% discount on all excursions for Celestyal Discovery’s new 2026 Western Mediterranean itineraries booked before Sept. 30, 2026.