Crystal Cruises

Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line[1] headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States. Since 2015, it has been a subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong.

Crystal Cruises
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryTransportation
Founded1988
HeadquartersMiami, Florida
Key people
  • Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay , Chairman
  • Jack Anderson, interim President and CEO
ProductsCruises
Parent
Websitewww.crystalcruises.com

History

The company was founded in 1988 by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). Its first ship was Crystal Harmony.[2]

On March 3, 2015, NYK announced that it was selling Crystal Cruises to Genting Hong Kong.[3] The sale price was US$550 million in cash, subject to certain adjustment items.[4] On May 15, 2015, GHK announced that it had closed on the acquisition.[5]

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

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.[6][7] However, the plan was dropped on August 5, 2016, citing technical challenges. It also announced a donation of $350,000 to cover docking costs through to the end of the year.[8]

In September 2019, Crystal Cruises announced that it would have Broadway themed cruises available in 2020.[9]

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.[10][11]

Sub-brands

Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises

Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises launched in December 2015 with the Crystal Esprit. The 62-guest, 3,000-ton yacht is 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, scuba, and snorkel equipment are available.[12] On January 15, 2018, the company cut steel for Crystal Endeavor at MV Werften.[13] Crystal was to have debuted its new PC6-designated expedition yacht in 2020 but construction has been delayed by the pandemic. Crystal Endeavor will have a tonnage of 19,800 GT and will operate polar expeditions as well as voyages in remote tropical regions. The yacht will offer accommodation for 200 guests.[14]

Crystal River Cruises

In July 2016, Crystal launched Crystal River Cruises with the re-furbished vessel Crystal Mozart. 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.

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 is one of its first three charter customers.[15] In addition the company took delivery of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in May 2017. As of November 2017, this aircraft was stored.[16]

Fleet

Current fleet
NameBuiltBuilderEntered service
for Crystal		Gross TonnageFlagNotesImage
Crystal Symphony1995Kvaerner Masa-Yards199551,044 Bahamas
Crystal Serenity2003Chantiers de l'Atlantique200368,870 Bahamas
Crystal Esprit1991Flender Werke20153,370 BahamasPreviously MegaStar Taurus
Operated by Crystal Yacht Cruises.[12][17][18]
Crystal Mozart 1987 Deggendorfer Werft und Eisenbau[19]


MV Werften (redesign)

 2016 532  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises / Named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Crystal Bach 2017 MV Werften 2017  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises / Named after Johann Sebastian Bach
Crystal Mahler 2017 MV Werften 2017  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises / Named after Gustav Mahler
Crystal Debussy 2018 MV Werften 2018  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises / Named after Claude Debussy
Crystal Ravel 2018 MV Werften 2018  Malta Operated by Crystal River Cruises / Named after Maurice Ravel
N989SF 2007 Bombardier Aerospace 2015 United States Bombardier BD-700 Global Express. Operated for Crystal Luxury Air by Corporate Flight Management, Inc
Crystal Skye
P4-XTL		 2011 Boeing 2017 Aruba Ex Air Austral B777-29M(LR) reg F-OLRA. Operated for Crystal AirCruise by Comlux Aruba NV.

Future fleet
ShipWill enter serviceClassBuilderGross Tonnage
Crystal EndeavorLate 2021[20]Endeavour (Yacht)MV Werften19,800
TBA2022DiamondMV Werften67,000

Former fleet
ShipBuiltBuilderService
for Crystal		Gross TonnageFlagNotesImage
Crystal Harmony1989Mitsubishi Heavy Industries1990–200650,142 BahamasRenamed Asuka II

References
  1. "404". Archived from the original on 2009-06-28.
  2. Miramar Ship Index: Crystal Harmony, ID#8806204.
  3. Sloan, Gene (March 3, 2015). "Shake-up in luxury cruising as Crystal gets new owner". USA Today. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  4. Dake, Shawn (March 3, 2015). "Crystal Cruises Sold To Genting Hong Kong For $550 Million". Maritime Matters. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  5. Norton Masek, Theresa (May 16, 2015). "Crystal CEO Rodriguez Comments on 'Thrilling, Yet Bittersweet' Sale". TravelPulse.
  6. "Crystal Signs Purchase Option for SS United States - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  7. "S.S. United States, Historic Ocean Liner of Trans-Atlantic Heyday, May Sail Again". The New York Times. 4 February 2016.
  8. "Crystal Drops SS United States Project - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  9. "New Crystal on Broadway Voyages Take Center Stage in 2020". TravelPulse. September 30, 2019.
  10. "Crystal Cruises parent halts payments on debt of $3.4B". Travel Weekly. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020. temporarily suspend all payments to the Group's financial creditors.
  11. "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.
  12. "404". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22.
  13. Staff, CIN (2018-01-15). "Construction Starts on Crystal Expedition Ship". Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  14. "Crystal Reveals More Details on Endeavor". 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  15. Gollan, Doug (2017-08-10). "Everything You Need To Know To Charter The Crystal Skye Boeing 777-200LR". Private Jet Card Comparisons - Know Before You Buy. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  16. "Crystal Luxury Air Fleet Details and History". Planespotters Net. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  17. "Crystal: Three New 100,000 Ton Ships, Plus Luxury Yacht, River Cruises and Boeing 787 - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  18. Knego, Peter (December 21, 2015). "CRYSTAL ESPRIT Christened". Maritime Matters. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  19. "Premicon AG". 2014-02-06. Archived from the original on 2014-02-06. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  20. "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.

Bibliography
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