Geoffrey Kent and Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio acquire Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.
Crystal Cruises is set to rise from the ashes next year, after the owners of Abercrombie & Kent acquired the brand along with its two ocean-going vessels.
A&K Travel Group Limited, the company owned by Geoffrey Kent, and Manfredi d’Ovidio’s Heritage, will undertake an extensive refurbishment of both ships before restarting Crystal Cruises operations in 2023.
d’Ovidio, who finalised the US$1.25 billion sale of Silversea Cruises to Royal Caribbean Group in 2020, said “I am thrilled to start this new chapter and to be back in an industry that has always had, and always will have, a special place in my heart”.
He said when the opportunity arose to acquire Crystal Cruises “I did not think about it twice,” while A&K CEO Geoffrey Kent said “the idea of combining the unparalleled onboard service that Crystal Cruises is known for, with the extraordinary tailor-made experiences Abercrombie & Kent has been successfully providing for our guess for the past 60 years, fills me with excitement, enthusiasm and pride”.
Crystal Cruises and Abercrombie & Kent will report to Cristina Levis, CEO of A&K Travel Group, who was MD of Silversea Expeditions until 2017.
More details in tomorrow’s issue of Cruise Weekly.