Crystal Cruises

Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line owned by A&K Travel Group.

It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2022, the Crystal Cruises brand and two cruise ships were bought by A&K Travel Group, to recommence operations in 2023, with headquarters in Hallandale Beach, Florida.[2] The new company has announced major refurbishments and enhancements for the two ships in a Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy, including increasing the number of butler suites and reducing guest capacity, and resumed service in July 2023 with shore excursions organized by Abercrombie & Kent.

History

The company was founded in 1988 by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK).[3] Its first ship was Crystal Harmony.[4]

Former Sub-brands

Crystal Yacht Cruises

Crystal Yacht Cruises launched in December 2015 with the Crystal Esprit. The 62-guest, 3,000-ton yacht was 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, and scuba and snorkel equipment were available.[31]

Crystal Expedition Cruises

On January 15, 2018, the company cut steel for Crystal Endeavor at MV Werften, part of a family of shipyards known for their passenger-ship, icebreaker, and private-yacht building expertise.[32] The new PC6-designated expedition yacht was to launch on July 17, 2021, in Reykjavik, Iceland. Crystal Endeavor has a displacement of 20,200 GT and would operate polar expeditions and voyages in remote tropical regions. The yacht was to offer accommodation for 200 guests.[33]

Crystal River Cruises

In July 2016, Crystal launched Crystal River Cruises with the refurbished vessel . 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 was one of its first three charter customers. In addition, the company took delivery of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in May 2017. From November 2017, this aircraft was in storage[34], until it was sold for $25 million in 2024 to be scrapped by C&L Aviation.[35] The aircraft is estimated to have made just 13 hours in flight. The plans to configure it with 60 first-class seats for Crystal Luxury Air, offering 14- to 28-day around-the-world private jet journeys, never materialized.

type	Subsidiary
foundation	1988
location	Hallandale Beach, Florida, US
key people	Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio (Co-Chairman) Geoffrey Kent (Co-Chairman)

History

Former Sub-brands

Crystal Yacht Cruises

Crystal Expedition Cruises

Crystal River Cruises

Crystal Luxury Air/Crystal AirCruises

Fleet

Current fleet

Former fleet

External links

References