A&K Travel Group announces major investment in Crystal Cruises.
The Crystal Cruises fleet will have two brand new “classic” ships and two expedition vessels sailing by 2029, under a fleet expansion plan just announced aboard Crystal Serenity during a shakedown cruise in the Mediterranean.
After being authorised to make the announcement by Crystal Executive Chairman, Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, Cristina Levis, the CEO of Crystal’s new parent company A&K Travel Group, said advanced plans were in place ahead of contracts being let, with the construction of one classic and one expedition ship expected to be under way within 12 months.
The expedition ships, likely to be PC6 ice class, will have capacity for about 220 guests, while the classic vessels will carry around 650 passengers. Levis and her team said the intention was to have the same generous staterooms, guest-to-space and crew ratios and the same restaurants as the newly refurbished Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony to give clients a consistent experience.
Crystal will release its 2025 World Cruise itinerary next month, while the remainder of the line’s 2025 program will be launched in September, the company announced. The itineraries will also for the first time introduce elements of a unified Crystal and A&K product range, bundling luxury cruises with exclusive A&K bucket-list pre and post land content.
More details in Monday’s issue of Cruise Weekly.