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The line attracts 55-plus, well-traveled guests looking for high levels of personal service -- on both ships there is nearly one crew member to every passenger -- and luxury. While Crystal is not an obvious first choice for families, a youth program is offered on select cruises, particularly during the summer school vacation period. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. There are a high number of inclusions, including virtually all dining, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, wi-fi, gratuities and transfers. The vessel has one main dining room and two main specialty restaurants that each are about as classy and upscale as you'll find at sea — all included in the fare. There are also several casual eateries in the vicinity of the main pool on the Lido Deck.
SUITES & GUEST ROOMS
And before I disembarked the ship in Barcelona, I crashed an evening excursion to the trendy El Born neighborhood, where our 10-person group shared a barrage of Spanish tortilla, patatas bravas, and croquetas at Tapeo. But after a major overhaul in early 2023, part of a relaunch of the Crystal brand under new owners, it's back to being one of the leading luxury ships at sea. As is typical for cruise ships, Crystal Serenity operates on a cashless system, with any onboard purchases you make posting automatically to your onboard account. You'll receive a plastic keycard upon embarkation that you can use to make charges.
Crystal Yacht Cruises
It has capacity 88 passengers (down from the aircraft's original capacity of 300 pax) and serves all Crystal cruise itineraries' air-and-land portions. In January 2016, Genting bought the remaining 30% stocks of Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven. The deal also included ~50% stake in the shipbuilder's real estate subsidiary company "Investitions und Verwaltungs". In February 2023 were rehired four veteran Hotel Directors - Hubert Buelacher and Scott Peterson (Crystal Serenity) and Herbert Jaeger and Josef Matt (Crystal Symphony). Despite its small size, Crystal offers a diverse array of itineraries in cruise destinations around the world, from North America to Asia. You'll find the most choices among Crystal itineraries in Europe followed by the Caribbean and Alaska.
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The Crystal name was revived with the 2023 relaunch of the refurbished ocean ships Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony after they were acquired by the A&K Travel Group. Also of note are the educational seminars, held daily, with guest speakers who lecture on upcoming destinations and give in-depth talks into their industries — whether that’s sports, media, or “even the occasional astronaut,” per Crystal’s website. With one coveted culinary name already, Cristina Levis, A&K and Crystal Cruises CEO, told me she’s working to “bring home another celebrity chef” for Osteria. (Though, even without a Michelin-touted chef at the helm of Osteria, I loved the lobster acquasale and gnocchi blanketed in porcini mushroom ragout.) The best Italian export on board, however, is served six decks above Osteria at the gelato bar, Scoops. Levis is from a family of gelato makers, and it shows; the stracciatella and coffee gelato I savored on a poolside couch as we sailed from Portofino, Italy, was better than the cone I had in port. In addition, on cruises of seven nights or more, there will be at least one optional ship-wide formal night where women are expected to turn out in cocktail dresses, gowns, pantsuits or elegant skirts and blouses.
The list of destinations (visited countries along the itinerary) includes Germany, Switzerland, Holland, France, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary. In 2023, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony sail a total of 68 itineraries (6 to 23 nights) with B2B (back-to-back) options for longer voyages. The program has 216 call ports (10 maiden) in 92 countries on 6 continents. Crystal Serenity in 2023 is deployed in North America (Caribbean, Canada and New England USA). Both ships have extended summer seasons in Western Europe and the Mediterranean.
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As a result, the ship now has far fewer but far bigger cabins than it once did. And yet the new owners of Crystal Serenity and the rights to the Crystal Cruises brand are creating a new cruise line that is about as close to the old Crystal Cruises as can be. Its name is just slightly different (note it's just Crystal, not Crystal Cruises), and it's operating the same two main ships that once sailed for Crystal Cruises. You'll also find many of the same senior staff and crew on those ships as before. Crystal Serenity is the new flagship for Crystal, a luxury cruise brand that is at the same time all-new and decades old.
Crystal Cruises Tips, Activities, and Overview
In addition, the bathroom in my Sapphire Verandah Suite was spacious and elegant, with a Fior di Pesco marble-topped vanity embedded with two upscale Duravit sinks on one side and an unusually large walk-in shower on the other side. The shower itself was a showpiece, with high-end Grohe fixtures that spouted water from three directions. These included a massive rain shower head on the ceiling that shot water straight down, two back-wall shower heads that shot out horizontally (hitting you midbody) and a separate hand-held wand. There were separate controls for each of these, so I could mix and match the water delivery devices to my liking.
The powerplant is based on 6x Wartisla marine diesel engines (model 12V38B) with combined output 52,2 MW (70000 hp). The propulsion is diesel-electric and based on 2x Rolls-Royce Mermaid podded propulsors/thrusters with combined output 27 MW (36210 hp). The registered shipowner is CRYSTAL SERENITY LTD, while the registered manager is CRYSTAL CRUISES LLC (the previous owner was SERENITY HOLDINGS LTD/until 2023).
Next table shows the originally planned 116-day "World Voyage 2022" as call ports and times. The ship's drydock refurb in 2018 (October 18 - November 6, done at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven Germany) reduced the passenger capacity in order to enable single-seating dining. Following the dry-dock, Crystal Serenity offers to all its passengers free Wi-Fi (regardless of cabin category).
On Grand European itineraries (between Baltic Sea and Black Sea) are additionally included river ports of call in the Balkan countries Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania. On August 1, 2020, were opened bookings for Crystal Symphony's 2023 program - 36 itineraries (6- to 15-night) with 23x of 10-days or fewer. Signature regions include India, Southeast Asia; Holy Land, Egypt, Middle East; Baltic, Mediterranean, Australia. The complete 2023 deployment for Crystal Serenity includes 32 voyages ranging in length 7-23 nights, including a 140-night World Cruise (themed " "Wild Kingdoms and Exotic Discoveries"). Signature regions and destinations include South Pacific Islands, Africa (Egypt), Canada and New England, the Americas, Caribbean, Mediterranean. Timed with the Grand Prix, the ship visits Monaco and Villefranche-sur-Mer, offering guests the chance to witness the iconic race in two European destinations.
Specialty coffees and teas were served complimentary by the Vienna Austria-based company Julius Meinl. In January, Crystal signed a partnership with Ensemble Travel Group (1968-founded consortium, member-owned and run organization of ~850 independent travel agencies in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). Under this deal, Crystal provides an onboard amenity program, Ensemble Travel-hosted voyages, and access to discounted cruises for travel agents.
It should be noted that the casinos on both ships have been removed to make way for new lounges. The sheer amount of space means you’ll find quiet areas to tuck yourself away or more boisterous spots when you feel like being social. The "Luxury Bahamas Escapes" itineraries included the call ports Harbour Island, Great Exuma Island (Georgetown), San Salvador Island and Long Island. In August, to the itinerary was added Miami as both call port and homeport/departure port. This way, the 7-night itinerary offered 3x embarkation ports - Nassau (Saturdays departures), North Bimini (Sundays), Miami (Mondays). In October 2023, Crystal announced five Grand Voyages/world cruise itineraries.
Crystal Symphony - Cruise Ship Review Condé Nast Traveler - Condé Nast Traveler
Crystal Symphony - Cruise Ship Review Condé Nast Traveler.
Posted: Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:16:37 GMT [source]
Levis said the company is working with advisers, lenders and export credit agents to sign a memorandum of agreement with two shipyards. Both shipbuilders, yet unnamed, are located in Europe, as most of the major cruise shipyards are. A nine-night voyage from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami departing Nov. 23 starts at $3,800 per guest based on double occupancy, according to the line's website, but prices vary by cruise and room category, and include food and drinks on board. The 132-night/133-day itinerary visits a total of 82x ports/destinations (including 45x islands) in 32x countries and features 19x Caribbean and 6x Canaries destinations, as well as 11x overnights in large port cities and two Transatlantic Crossings. Prices started from around USD 22,000 per person (double occupancy rates). Following extensive drydock refurbishments, both ships restart operations in 2023 for the relaunched Cristal Cruises brand, which was fully acquired by A&K.
Our ships' full-time Fitness Director offers fitness advice and a variety of stretch and aerobic instruction. As Crystal becomes more ingrained in the A&K family, “we will bring to Crystal what A&K does best, which is the excursions,” Levis said. Starting in 2025, the cruise line intends to roll out packages that let travelers leave the ship for a few days, knock out a once-in-a-lifetime tour, and then hop back on board.
The sailings are seven nights in length, which makes them among the shortest sailings on Crystal's schedule. But the itineraries are a bit different than most seven-night Alaska itineraries offered by the big-ship lines. Crystal is one of a handful of luxury cruise lines devoting a ship to the Alaska market for the coming summer of 2024, with its 740-passenger Crystal Serenity heading to the region for an abbreviated season. For starters, they begin and end in a wide range of ports including Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Bridgetown, Barbados. They also typically are nine to 13 nights, which is relatively long for Caribbean sailings. In some cases, these itineraries can be combined to create even longer Caribbean itineraries that are 20 nights or longer.
During the day, the dress code is "day casual," which for Crystal means sundresses, elegant shorts, jeans; T-shirts, polo shirts or blouses; or linen clothing. Swimsuits with cover-ups also are acceptable when dining near the pool at the Trident Grill, Tastes and Marketplace eateries. Cigarette smoking (including electronic cigarettes and personal vaporizers) is only allowed outdoors in designated areas at the back of decks 8, 9, 10 and 11; in a small corner of the main Seahorse Pool area on Deck 12; and at the Connoisseur Club on Deck 6.
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