Joyce Cook, who won Group Travel Organiser of the Year® in 2024, used her prize money on a Celestyal Cruise around the Mediterranean. She reports back.
It was a wonderful shock when my name was announced as GTO of the Year® at the GLT Awards in June of last year. At that time, I had no plans for how I would use the wonderful prize - not believing I would be the lucky winner.
Celestyal Cruises has ships that are not too large, and I had seen an itinerary on the Celestyal Journey which visited four countries in seven days with six different ports of call.
We flew out to Athens on the Thursday afternoon ready for a Saturday departure. This covered cancellations or delays on flights – there actually was a one-day strike in Greece the day before we travelled, but our flights were not affected by that.
On the Friday, we walked down to the port as I thought the ship was in port already. It looked very good, and I was excited for the next morning. On arrival we were fast-tracked as the staff thought I “would be better in a wheelchair instead of just my stick.” We were taken right through check-in and shown to our cabin. I was very grateful for this. The ship sailed at 13:00 after a fire drill.
We were on deck five, not far to go to the Thalassa Restaurant on deck seven where we went for our first lunch. There was a buffet but also a three-course a la carte option with waiter service available. I was pleasantly surprised to be told I could order whatever I liked the day before, and I was assured it would be garlic-free (I have an intolerance). We stayed with this dining arrangement all week. The staff were friendly and very efficient, and the food was mainly very good but at times excellent. There was a lot of choice and everything was fresh.
Joyce Cook is the group organiser for Basingstoke & Old Basing U3A and won the GTO of the Year Award® in 2024. First presented in 1999, it is a special accolade for the positive impact GTOs have on the lives of friends, family, colleagues or the local community.
To find out about the award, how to nominate and enter, visit: www.groupleisureandtravel.com/gtooftheyear
Every evening there was a different show in the Amphithetro Lounge, each with a different theme and they seemed to be more to our liking as the week went on.
Sunday morning: we docked in Kefalonia and many went off on the excursions. We opted to just walk round Argostoli. It was a very quiet port as everything was being prepared for Easter and then more places would be open.
The ship sailed to Dubrovnik about 01:00. The next morning, we watched Dubrovnik approaching and were ready to disembark about 12:30. Quite a few of us took the local bus to the entrance of the old town. It looked fantastic and lots of work has been done since the war in 1989-1990. It is a very busy venue, and it was fun listening to so many languages all around you. If I had been a few years younger I would have booked a guided tour.
The ship sailed from port at 02:00. I was very much looking forward to re-visiting Kotor in Montenegro in the morning. The ship docked right near the old port and you immediately saw the lovely garden alongside the road. We actually saw cats this year, as last year we didn’t see one and as the ship’s newsletter quoted the “lazy purr of cats lying under the balconies”, it was good to know they were there. We returned to a café we used last year and enjoyed people watching within the busy square.
Back near the port I wanted to go in the Orthodox Church where I knew the girls and young ladies would have decorated the church with flowers. It was beautiful.
The next morning we docked in Italy at Bari and went on an excursion to see the fairytale town. I had seen pictures of the Trulli houses in Alberobello but they are even better when you look inside. No windows at all and pointed roofs. We spent a good time looking at these before going down into the town to meet the guide and go back to the ship. Back on board we heard a good talk about Corfu where we were visiting the following day.
Corfu is a pretty island with a lot of variety. We chose to take the coach tour across the island to Paleokastrista. A beautiful scenic drive and then a visit to the Monastery. On the return towards the ship, we visited the old Town of Corfu and could do some shopping and sightseeing.
On Good Friday, we were docked at Katakolo. They have a land train which goes on a scenic drive, and there was still time to look at the town afterwards. It was excellent value for money. Back near the port I wanted to go in the Orthodox Church where I knew the girls and young ladies would have decorated the church with flowers. It was beautiful.
The theme for the last night was ‘Greek night’ and the entertainment celebrated this. The Greek Show was amazing. The dance/acrobat group who had been the entertainment all week was joined by El Greco, who had played nightly in the Blue Lounge. They had a keyboard player, a guitarist and finally a bouzouki player. One of the best I have heard playing. Their singing was also very good.
We had our breakfast the next morning and then it was time to disembark and get the taxi back to the Airport.
I am now really thinking about which cruise with Celestyal my group would like for 2026. Many thanks to Group Leisure & Travel for giving me this opportunity, and for Success Tours who arranged the bookings, flights and accommodation in Piraeus.
The Group Travel Organiser of the Year® award recognises group travel organisers for the positive impact they have on the lives of friends, family, colleagues or the local community.
For more information about the award and to enter or nominate visit the GTO of the Year page.
