Crystal Cruises

Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line[1] with headquarters in Los Angeles in the United States.

Crystal Cruises
Subsidiary
IndustryTransportation
Founded1988
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
Miami, Florida
Key people
  • Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay , Chairman
  • Tom Wolber, President and CEO
ProductsCruises
Parent
Websitewww.crystalcruises.com

In March 2015, former parent company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) announced that it was selling Crystal Cruises to Genting Hong Kong (GHK). Since the acquisition, Crystal Cruises has become Crystal, Ltd.

History

The company was founded in 1988 and commenced operations with Crystal Harmony,[2] which was retired from the Crystal fleet in 2005.

On March 3, 2015, NYK announced that it was selling Crystal Cruises to GHK, the owner of Star Cruises and a major shareholder in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.[3] The sale price was US$550 million in cash, subject to certain adjustment items.[4] Simultaneously, NYK announced that Crystal Cruises would be building a new ship, but did not provide any specifics, such as the new ship's size, or date of entry into service.[3] On May 15, 2015, GHK announced that it had closed on the acquisition.[5] In September 2019, Crystal Cruises announced that it would have Broadway themed cruises available in 2020.[6]

Brand expansion

On July 20, 2015, Crystal announced that in addition to Crystal Cruises, the group would operate the following divisions:

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.[7] On January 15, 2018, the company cut steel for Crystal Endeavor at MV Werften.[8] Crystal will debut its new PC6-designated expedition yacht in 2020. 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.[9]

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 Mozart is Europe's most spacious river ship, at twice the width of any other.

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.[10] In addition the company took delivery of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in May 2017. This aircraft is currently stored.[11]

SS United States

It was announced on February 4, 2016 that Crystal Cruises had signed a purchase option for the SS United States, Crystal would cover docking costs in Philadelphia for nine months while it conducted a feasibility study.[12][13]

The plan was formally dropped on August 5, 2016, citing too many technical challenges. But Crystal Cruises did announce a donation of $350,000 to cover docking costs through to the end of the year.[14]

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.[15][16][17]
Crystal Mozart 1987 Deggendorfer Werft und Eisenbau[18]


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 EndeavorScheduled 2021Endeavour (Yacht)MV Werften19,800
TBA2022DiamondMV Werften67,000

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

Casinos

Crystal Cruises originally set sail in partnership with Caesars Palace at Sea casinos on its first ship, Crystal Harmony.[19] The partnership continued with Crystal's subsequent ocean ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity. After the acquisition by GHK, the casinos were re-branded under a new partnership with Resorts World Casinos.[20]

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. "New Crystal on Broadway Voyages Take Center Stage in 2020". TravelPulse. September 30, 2019.
  7. "404". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22.
  8. Staff, CIN (2018-01-15). "Construction Starts on Crystal Expedition Ship". Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  9. "Crystal Reveals More Details on Endeavor". 2018-03-06. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  10. 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.
  11. "Crystal Luxury Air Fleet Details and History". Planespotters Net. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  12. "Crystal Signs Purchase Option for SS United States - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  13. "S.S. United States, Historic Ocean Liner of Trans-Atlantic Heyday, May Sail Again". The New York Times. 4 February 2016.
  14. "Crystal Drops SS United States Project - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  15. "404". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22.
  16. "Crystal: Three New 100,000 Ton Ships, Plus Luxury Yacht, River Cruises and Boeing 787 - Cruise Industry News - Cruise News".
  17. Knego, Peter (December 21, 2015). "CRYSTAL ESPRIT Christened". Maritime Matters. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  18. "Premicon AG". 2014-02-06. Archived from the original on 2014-02-06. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  19. Yoshihashi, Pauline (5 April 1989). "Cruise line owned by Japanese bets on floating casino". Wall Street Journal. via ProQuest. ProQuest 398213610. (subscription required)
  20. Berns, Dave (17 Mar 1997). "Cruise ships lure gaming clients". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2012-05-03.

Bibliography
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.