Crystal Serenity News

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri announced it has completed the parallel modernization of two cruise ships for Crystal Cruises. The first vessel, Crystal Serenity, rejoined the owner’s fleet on July 20, and the second, Crystal Symphony, was delivered in recent days.The contract was finalized in December 2022, and, after an initial phase committed to engineering development, works lasted for about five months significantly raising the level of amenities and accommodations on board.

A luxury cruise ship has skipped its call to Miami and diverted to the Bahamas after a U.S. judge ordered its seizure as part of a lawsuit over unpaid fuel bills.The Crystal Symphony, operated by Genting Hong Kong's Crystal Cruises, was scheduled to conclude a Caribbean voyage in Miami on Saturday, but the ship sailed to the Bahamian island of Bimini instead after a federal judge in Miami granted an order to arrest the 781-foot, Bahamas-flagged vessel over unpaid fuel bills.Bunker supplier Peninsula Petroleum Far East sued the ship and Crystal Cruises…

Admiral Karl L. Schultz assumed the duties as the 26th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard on June 1, 2018. He previously served from August 2016 to May 2018 as Commander, Atlantic Area where he was the operational commander for all Coast Guard missions spanning five Coast Guard Districts and 40 states. Previous operational assignments include Sector Commander in Miami, Florida, as well as command tours aboard Cutters VENTUROUS, ACACIA and FARALLON. His senior staff assignments include Chief of the Office of Congressional and Governmental Affairs; Congressional Liaison to the U.S.

ALMACO Group recently delievered 36 new luxurious Seabreeze Penthouses and two new spacious Seabreeze Penthouse Suites to Crystal Cruises’ ocean-going vessel Crystal Serenity. The project, which was part of an extensive redesign of the ship, started during the drydock at Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremehaven, Germany, in mid-October and the suites were delivered on November 10, 2018, in Lisbon, Portugal, from where the ship sailed towards Fort Lauderdale, Fla.ALMACO’s scope of work…

Luxury cruise ship Crystal Symphony emerged from dry dock at German shipyard Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven, where a number of newly designed spaces, features and amenities were added over a month-long redesign. The work performed in Q4 2017 included the addition of new open seating and dining venues, penthouses and high-tech conveniences, marking the most expansive makeover in the ship’s 23-year history. According to owner Crystal Cruises, a new dining concept ushers in new restaurants on board, while more of the spacious, butler-serviced Penthouse accommodations were added.

Brazil is still attracting cruise lines, such as Norwegian Cruise Line, which is bringing a ship to Brazil for the first time in the 2016/2017 season. However, hard numbers do not bode well for the industry as the number of cruises dropped by more than half in four years, with a staggering 54 percent decrease in the number of regular cruise ships on the Brazilian coast. In 2012, the season had 15 regular ships, while this year there will be only seven, and the number of passengers boarding at Santos port will be 42 percent lower. The 2010/2011 season of cruises hit the record for ships on the Brazilian coast: 20. Since then, this number has fallen year on year…

Genting Hong Kong is a rapidly growing global travel brand, spreading its wings – literally and figuratively – into ocean cruise, yacht, river cruise, air and shipbuilding. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News speaks with key executives at Genting Hong Kong: Mona Lai, SVP Corporate Communication; Gustaf Gronberg, SVP Shipbuilding & Marine Operations; and Jarmo Lakso, Managing Director, MV Werften, for insights on the future growth strategy. Genting Hong Kong has been an active newsmaker in the cruise sector during the past year.

Russia has more polar icebreakers than the rest of the world combined. America has one polar icebreaker and that one is well past its prime. There has been talk of sharing icebreakers. Sharing may work with allies, who are generally on the same page. Sharing will not work with Russia, which views the world as a zero-sum game. In June 2016, Russia announced the launching of Arktika, the world’s largest polar icebreaker. With a full load displacement of 33,540 tons, a length of 173.3 meters and a breadth of 34 meters, it will be capable of breaking ice up to 2.9 meters.

As Western firms wait to for Arctic shipping to show its worth, Asian countries are already betting on the emergence of an Arctic economic rim, reports The Arctic Journal. For centuries, a harsh climate and ice-choked seas dashed the dreams of sailors attempting to cross the Canadian Northwest Passage between Asia and Europe. Now, thanks to climate change and reduced ice cover, the trip isn't nearly so daunting, says Bloomberg. Last weekend, the Crystal Serenity, a luxury cruise ship, carried a record thousand-plus passengers and crew through the passage. Next year, it'll do the same. “The opening of the Arctic to shipping is fait accompli.

First luxury cruise sailed Northwest Passage in Aug-Sept; Voyage will be repeated next summer. A surge in Arctic tourism is bringing ever bigger cruise ships to the formerly isolated, ice-bound region, prompting calls for a clamp-down to prevent Titanic-style accidents and the pollution of fragile eco-systems. Arctic nations should consider limiting the size of vessels and ban the use of heavy fuel oil in the region, industry players said, after a first luxury cruise ship sailed safely through Canada's Northwest Passage this summer. The route, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via the Arctic, was once clogged with icebergs but is now ice-free in summer due to global warming.

More than 500 cruise passengers aboard Europa 2 will spend a few days in New Orleans next week, as the luxury cruise ship makes her maiden voyage to the Port of New Orleans Julia Street Cruise Terminal Monday, where port officials will host an onboard ceremonial plaque exchange with the vessel’s captain. “New Orleans consistently ranks atop the world’s top destinations for visitors and cruise lines see the Port of New Orleans as an attractive call on their itineraries,” said Gary LaGrange, Port President and CEO.

Crystal Cruises says it is introducing a new expedition-style voyage traversing the Arctic Ocean via the Northwest Passage (500 miles north of the Arctic Circle) that explorers spent centuries seeking, until it was first completed successfully by Roald Amundsen just over 100 years ago. Crystal claims to be the first luxury cruise line to ever navigate the route, maneuvering through 900 miles of majestic waterways lined with spectacular glaciers, towering fjords, and vast unspoiled landscapes away from mainstream civilization and tourism, north of mainland Canada. Beginning August 16, 2016 in Anchorage/Seward, Alaska, the award-winning Crystal Serenity will sail for 32 days from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean/New York City.

In preparation for cruise liner Crystal Serenity’s planned Arctic summer cruise in 2016, Crystal Cruises has selected Rutter Inc.’s sigma S6 Small Target Surveillance (STS) and Ice Navigator systems to provide enhanced small target detection of first-year and multi-year sea ice as well as other floating hazards to safe navigation. This summer’s voyage will be the world’s first luxury cruise liner to sail from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean via the Canadian Northwest Passage.

The “World’s Best” Crystal Cruises is introducing a new expedition-style  voyage traversing the Arctic Ocean via the legendary Northwest Passage – one so mysterious and remote (500 miles north of the Arctic Circle), that explorers spent centuries seeking the passage, until it was first completed successfully by Roald Amundsen just over 100 years ago. Crystal will be the first luxury cruise line to ever navigate the route, maneuvering through 900 miles of majestic waterways lined with spectacular glaciers, towering fjords, and vast unspoiled landscapes away from mainstream civilization and tourism, north of mainland Canada. Beginning August 16, 2016 in Anchorage/Seward, Alaska, the award-winning Crystal Serenity will sail for 32 days from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean/New York City.

When cruise liner Crystal Serenity sets off on its 32-day expedition voyage through the Northwest Passage from Anchorage to New York August 16, she will be escorted by the RRS Ernest Shackleton. Crystal Cruises recently secured RRS Ernest Shackleton for the voyage via a charter party agreement with Tactical Marine Solutions of Victoria, Canada and British Antarctic Survey (BAS) headquartered in Cambridge, U.K. Under the contract, RRS Ernest Shackleton, an ICE 05 classed icebreaker (exceeding the more common 1A Super class)…

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has approved the first application received from Crystal Cruises, which is represented in Malta by Gollcher Group, for its Crystal Serenity which will call to Malta on June 5 and 6, 2015. Crystal’s onboard casinos on Crystal Serenity offer games including Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, 3 Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Mini-Baccarat (on request), as well as slot and video poker machines. “Valletta Cruise Port welcomes this first application, following our instigation to introduce this legislation.

Climate change is aiding shipping, fisheries and tourism in the Arctic but the economic gains fall short of a "cold rush" for an icy region where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the world average. A first cruise ship will travel the icy Northwest Passage north of Canada in 2016, Iceland has unilaterally set itself mackerel quotas as stocks shift north and Greenland is experimenting with crops such as tomatoes. Yet businesses, including oil and gas companies or mining firms looking north, face risks including that permafrost will thaw and ruin ice roads, buildings and pipelines.

The IMO is on the verge of adopting the Polar Code, something that is important and long overdue. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, is on the verge of adopting the Polar Code. When implemented, it will establish the first mandatory rules for operation of commercial vessels in polar waters. This important step is long overdue. On 18 January 2010, the IMO adopted voluntary guidelines for ships operating in polar waters (Res. A.1024).

Crystal Cruises' ships will return to Broward County's Port Everglades beginning in Fall 2017, having last sailed from the port in 2006. Beginning October 27, 2017, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony will sail a total of eight sailings to and from Port Everglades, one of the world’s busiest cruise ports, with more than 3.7 million passengers in 2015. Nine cruise lines, one ferry and more than 40 cruise ships sail from the South Florida cruise port. “Fort Lauderdale is an ideal fit for our ships…

Crystal Cruises announced an expansion plan under new owners Genting Hong Kong that includes three 1,000-passenger vessels, its first new ships in decades. Plus, Crystal will expand into adventure, yacht and river cruising, and luxury jet trips. The three Crystal Exclusive Class ships will be about the same size as the 20-year-old Crystal Symphony and the slightly larger 2003-built Crystal Serenity. The line has signed a letter of intent with Lloyd Werft to build the ocean ships, which will have an unprecedented space ratio of 100 gross tons of space per guest, Crystal said. The minimum size of the cabins on the ships will be 400 square feet. The first ship is due for delivery in late 2018. The ships will be built to sail in polar waters, Crystal said.

The cruise ship MV Crystal Serenity, owned by the US-based Crystal Cruises, is scheduled to set sail from Seward, Alaska to New York on a 32 day, 1,500 km journey through the Northwest Passage via Canada and Greenland on August 16 with with 1,000 passengers on board. The Cruise ship will sail the legendary route 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle, first completed successfully by Roald Amundsen more than 100 years ago. The wildlife charity WWF has accused Crystal Cruises of putting at risk “the very thing that tourists would come to see” – a pristine wilderness and home to endangered species such as polar bears and walrus. Crystal Serenity will be accompanied by UK’s ice-strengthened polar logistics and science vessel RRS Ernest Shackleton…

The first commercial cruise ship to sail through Canada's Northwest Passage was set to depart on Tuesday, part of a growing Arctic tourism industry spurred by rising temperatures and receding ice. The ship Crystal Serenity was to depart from Anchorage, Alaska, and cut through frigid northern waters before reaching New York in one month, according to a schedule from its American operator, Crystal Cruises. The route was first navigated more than a century ago by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, but has been ice-free only in recent years.

Providing critical support to ensure the safety of this historic journey is Ardent’s Global Preparedness Cover (GPC), whose staff are on 24-hour response throughout the cruise ship’s transit through the Northwest Passage. “Ardent has been on the forefront of provide emergency preparedness services to its marine industry for many years, and this goes hand in hand in being prepared to respond in all regions in the world including the Arctic,” said Oliver Timofei, Ardent’s Director Emergency Management.