CRYSTAL Cruises’ newbuild announcement (CW breaking news) will see the newly nascent line add four more vessels over the next six years, with Chairman and co-owner Manfredi Lefebvfre d’Ovidio and his team currently finalising designs and financing for the massive growth spurt. Speaking in the Mediterranean aboard the newly refurbished...
CRYSTAL Cruises’ newbuild announcement (CW breaking news) will see the newly nascent line add four more vessels over the next six years, with Chairman and co-owner Manfredi Lefebvfre d’Ovidio and his team currently finalising designs and financing for the massive growth spurt.
Speaking in the Mediterranean aboard the newly refurbished Crystal Serenity (pictured) on Sat, Cristina Levis who is CEO of Crystal’s parent company A&K Travel Group, confirmed that while no shipbuilding contract had been let at this stage.
“We are working closely with our lenders, with the export credit agencies, with very talented naval architects and with two shipbuilding companies in Europe to build four ships,” she said.
Two of the newbuilds will be “classic” vessels in the style of Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, which were acquired by A&K Travel Group from the receivers of the collapsed Genting Hong Kong about a year ago.
Levis confirmed they would carry about 650 passengers and have similar stateroom sizes, guest-to-staff ratios and dining options to Serenity and Symphony.
The two planned expedition vessels, with capacity for about 220 pax, would likely be polar class PC6, Levis said, with the planned Crystal growth trajectory confirming her earlier comments that “only a fool would believe we could survive with Crystal with just two ships” (CW 28 Jul).
Marketing for the brand is set to ramp up with the release next month of Crystal’s 2025 World Cruise, followed by the Sep launch of the full 2025 program, which will incorporate Abercrombie & Kent land product for pre- and post-touring options.
