Crystal Cruises

Last updated
Crystal Cruises
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Transportation
Founded1988;36 years ago (1988)
HeadquartersHallandale Beach, Florida, US
Key people
Products Cruises
Parent
Website crystalcruises.com
Footnotes /references
[1]

Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2022, the Crystal Cruises brand and two cruise ships were bought by A&K Travel Group, to recommence operations in 2023, with headquarters in Hallandale Beach, Florida. [2] The new company has announced major refurbishments and enhancements for the two ships in a Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy, including increasing the number of butler suites and reducing guest capacity, and resumed service in July 2023 with shore excursions organized by Abercrombie & Kent.

Contents

History

The company was founded in 1988 by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). [3] Its first ship was Crystal Harmony. [4]

On March 3, 2015, NYK announced that it was selling Crystal Cruises to Genting Hong Kong. [5] The sale price was US$550 million in cash, subject to certain adjustment items. [6] On May 15, 2015, GHK announced that it had closed on the acquisition. [7]

On July 20, 2015, Crystal announced that it would expand to provide expedition cruises, river cruises, and private jet travel. [8]

On February 4, 2016, Crystal Cruises signed a purchase option for the SS United States, also providing funding for docking costs for the ship in Philadelphia for nine months while it conducted a feasibility study into returning the ship to service. [9] [10] However, the plan was dropped on August 5, 2016, citing technical challenges. It also announced a donation of US$350,000 to cover docking costs through to the end of the year. [11]

In September 2019, Crystal Cruises announced that it would have Broadway-themed cruises available starting in 2020. [12]

In August 2020, Crystal cancelled all cruises for the remainder of the year. Its parent company Genting Hong Kong had suspended payments to creditors citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new 200-passenger Crystal Endeavor was under construction at the time, with delivery scheduled for November 2020; that was delayed for a year because of the suspension of operations at the MV Werften shipyard in Germany. [13] [14]

In March 2021, Crystal announced all-Bahamas cruises aboard Crystal Serenity would start on July 3, 2021, with departures from Nassau and Bimini to work around CDC cruise bans due to COVID-19 in the US. [15] Ports of call within the Bahamas included Harbour Island, Great Exuma, Long Island, and San Salvador. All passengers were required to be vaccinated for COVID-19. [16] The opening booking day set a record for the most bookings on a single day in the company's history. [17] Some destinations expressed concerns with the company's announcement, lack of consultation with local stakeholders, and negative impact to their existing tourism economy. [18]

Following the insolvency of Genting Hong Kong, Crystal suspended operations of all its cruise ships in January 2022. [19] Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity were subsequently arrested in Freeport, Bahamas over unpaid bills in February, and the company's headquarters in the United States closed. [20] [21] Meanwhile, V.Ships Leisure was appointed by the liquidators to manage Crystal's ships. [22]

On June 22, 2022, it was announced that A&K Travel Group, owned by Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio and Geoffrey Kent had bought the bankrupt line's brand and two ocean vessels, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, intending to return the ships to service in 2023. [23] [24]

Two new ships were ordered at Fincantieri in June 2024 for delivery from 2028 onwards. [25] [26] In Autumn, a third ship was ordered. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

Former Sub-brands

Crystal Yacht Cruises

Crystal Yacht Cruises launched in December 2015 with the Crystal Esprit . The 62-guest, 3,000-ton yacht was outfitted with features including a two-passenger submarine, four 10-passenger zodiacs for excursions, and a 12-passenger yacht tender for boating adventures. Additionally, water skis, wake boards, kayaks, jet skis, fishing, and scuba and snorkel equipment were available. [32]

Crystal Expedition Cruises

On January 15, 2018, the company cut steel for Crystal Endeavor at MV Werften, part of a family of shipyards known for their passenger-ship, icebreaker, and private-yacht building expertise. [33] The new PC6-designated expedition yacht was to launch on July 17, 2021, in Reykjavik, Iceland. Crystal Endeavor has a displacement of 20,200 GT and would operate polar expeditions and voyages in remote tropical regions. The yacht was to offer accommodation for 200 guests. [34]

Crystal River Cruises

In July 2016, Crystal launched Crystal River Cruises with the refurbished vessel Crystal Mozart  [ de ]. Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler, the first two of four Rhine-class new-build river ships, were added in 2017 followed by Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel, in 2018.[ citation needed ]

Crystal Luxury Air/Crystal AirCruises

Crystal Luxury Air private jet service launched in 2015 with the company's Bombardier Global Express jet, available for charter and accommodating 12 guests. In August 2017, Crystal AirCruises took flight with the launch of Crystal Skye, a Boeing 777-200LR configured with 88 first-class, flat-bed seats, a lounge/dining room that seats 24, and a full bar. The National Hockey League was one of its first three charter customers. In addition, the company took delivery of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in May 2017. As of November 2017, this aircraft was in storage. [35]

Fleet

Current fleet

NameBuiltBuilderEntered service
for Crystal		 Gross tonnage FlagNotesImage
Crystal Symphony 1995 Knaerner Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard 199551,044Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas Crystal Symphony at Pier 24 in Tallinn 22 June 2017.jpg
Crystal Serenity 2003 Chantiers de l'Atlantique 200368,870Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas MS Crystal Serenity Trieste 1.jpg


Former fleet

NameBuiltBuilderEntered service
for Crystal		 Gross tonnage FlagNotesImage
Crystal Harmony 1989 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 199050,142Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas Transferred to Nippon Yusen Kaisha in 2006 and renamed Asuka II Crystal Harmony arriving in Wellington Harbor, 27 February 2005 (cropped).jpg
Expedition ships
Crystal Esprit 1991 Flender Werke 20153,370Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas Previously MegaStar Taurus
Sold to Lindblad Expeditions in 2021. [36] 		Crystal Esprit.jpg
Crystal Endeavor [37] 2021 MV Werften 202120,449Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas Acquired by Silversea Cruises June 2022. [38] Stralsund, Crystal Endeavor vor der MV Werft (2021-03-26), by Klugschnacker in Wikipedia (4).jpg
River ships
Crystal Mozart1987Deggendorfer Werft und Eisenbau [39]
MV Werften (redesign)		2016532Civil Ensign of Malta.svg  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises
Named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 		Mozart (ship, 1987) 006.jpg
Crystal Bach2017MV Werften2017Civil Ensign of Malta.svg  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises
Named after Johann Sebastian Bach 		Crystal Bach in Kiel Canal I.jpg
Crystal Mahler2017MV Werften2017Civil Ensign of Malta.svg  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises
Named after Gustav Mahler 		Crystal Mahler (ship, 2017), stern, 2018 Ferencvaros.jpg
Crystal Debussy2018MV Werften2018Civil Ensign of Malta.svg  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises
Named after Claude Debussy 		Crystal Debussy ENI 04812690 op de Rijn bij Boppard foto 1.JPG
Crystal Ravel2018MV Werften2018Civil Ensign of Malta.svg  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises
Named after Maurice Ravel
Aircraft
N989SF2007 Bombardier Aerospace 2015N/AFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States Bombardier Global Express. Operated by Corporate Flight Management.
Crystal Skye
P4-XTL [40] 		2011 Boeing 2017N/AFlag of Aruba.svg  Aruba Ex Air Austral Boeing 777-200LR reg F-OLRA. Operated by Comlux.
N947BA [40] 2016 Boeing 2017N/AFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States Ex Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-8 reg CN-RGB. Never entered service.

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References

  1. ↑ Zelinski, Andrea (5 July 2022). "Jack Anderson will resume his leadership of Crystal Cruises". Travel Weekly. Rutherford NJ. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "Crystal". Atlantis Travel. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  3. ↑ "NYK". 6 February 2022.
  4. ↑ Miramar Ship Index: Crystal Harmony, ID#8806204.
  5. ↑ Sloan, Gene (March 3, 2015). "Shake-up in luxury cruising as Crystal gets new owner". USA Today . Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  6. ↑ Dake, Shawn (March 3, 2015). "Crystal Cruises Sold To Genting Hong Kong For US$550 Million". Maritime Matters. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  7. ↑ Norton Masek, Theresa (May 16, 2015). "Crystal CEO Rodriguez Comments on 'Thrilling, Yet Bittersweet' Sale". TravelPulse .
  8. ↑ "Air, River, and Sea: Crystal Cruises Plans Major Brand Expansion". Travel and Leisure. 20 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Crystal Signs Purchase Option for SS United States – Cruise Industry News – Cruise News". 4 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "S.S. United States, Historic Ocean Liner of Trans-Atlantic Heyday, May Sail Again". The New York Times. 4 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Crystal Drops SS United States Project – Cruise Industry News – Cruise News". 5 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "New Crystal on Broadway Voyages Take Center Stage in 2020". TravelPulse . September 30, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Crystal Cruises parent halts payments on debt of US$3.4B". Travel Weekly. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020. temporarily suspend all payments to the Group's financial creditors.
  14. ↑ "Crystal Cruises "Not Going Out of Business" Despite Genting Troubles". Travel Weekly. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020. temporarily suspend all payments to the Group's financial creditors.
  15. ↑ "The CDC is still banning U.S. cruises. Americans sailing this summer, thanks to a workaround". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  16. ↑ "Miami-based luxury cruise company plans COVID-19 comeback in the Bahamas in July". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  17. ↑ "Crystal Cruises reports "biggest single-day of bookings" in its history for Bahamas cruise". Eye Witness News. 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  18. ↑ "NOT ALL ON BOARD: Exuma & Harbour Island concerned with mass cruise tourism plans". Eye Witness News. 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  19. ↑ "Crystal Cruises Suspends Operations Due to Genting HK Insolvency". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  20. ↑ Martin, Eric Priante (2022-01-21). "Fuel provider secures arrest order against Crystal Cruises ship over unpaid bills | TradeWinds". TradeWinds. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  21. ↑ "Crystal Cruises Ships Arrested in Freeport". Cruise Industry News. 6 February 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022.
  22. ↑ "Crystal Cruises Shutting Down; V.Ships To Manage Ships". Cruise Industry News. 8 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022.
  23. ↑ Gollan, Doug (22 June 2022). "A&K Purchase Of Crystal Cruises Receives Applause From Travel Industry". Forbes. New York. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  24. ↑ Davies, Phil (22 June 2022). "A&K Travel Group confirms purchase of Crystal Serenity and Symphony". Travel Weekly. London. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  25. ↑ "Crystal Cruises | News | Crystal Signs Memorandum of Agreement with Fincantieri for Two New Ocean Ships". Crystal Cruises | News | Crystal Signs Memorandum of Agreement with Fincantieri for Two New Ocean Ships. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  26. ↑ "Fincantieri | Fincantieri signs agreement with Crystal for two new high-end cruise ships". www.fincantieri.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  27. ↑ "Crystal Cruises | Press Releases". Crystal Cruises | Press Releases. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  28. ↑ "Fincantieri | Fincantieri finalizes order with Crystal for a new high-end cruise ship". www.fincantieri.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  29. ↑ "Crystal Confirms Third Ocean Ship for 2032 Delivery – Cruise Industry News | Cruise News" . Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  30. ↑ "Crystal Cruises | Press Releases". Crystal Cruises | Press Releases. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  31. ↑ "Crystal Cruises | News | Crystal Signs Order With Fincantieri For Third Ocean Ship". Crystal Cruises | News | Crystal Signs Order With Fincantieri For Third Ocean Ship. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  32. ↑ "Crystal Esprit Overview".
  33. ↑ Staff, CIN (2018-01-15). "Construction Starts on Crystal Expedition Ship" . Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  34. ↑ "Crystal Reveals More Details on Endeavor". 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  35. ↑ "Crystal Luxury Air Fleet Details and History". Planespotters Net. 19 November 2017.
  36. ↑ "Lindblad Expeditions Is the Buyer of the Crystal Esprit". 9 September 2021.
  37. ↑ "DNV GL: Crystal Endeavor". Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  38. ↑ Staff, C. I. N. (2022-06-14). "Silversea Set to Acquire Crystal Endeavor". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  39. ↑ "Premicon AG". 2014-02-06. Archived from the original on 2014-02-06. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  40. 1 2 "Crystal Luxury Air Fleet Details and History". Planespotters Net. Retrieved 19 November 2017.

Bibliography

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