Crystal Symphony 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…

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.

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.

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.

Atlantic Pacific Marine has completed the $2 million refit of the Crystal Symphony three days ahead of schedule. A team of 130 men worked around the clock while she was drydocked in Hamburg during September. APM’s work scope included installing new ducting and GF pipework, engine room mechanical repairs and renewing the ship’s loading deck. In total, the project took just sixteen days. “We were delighted to complete three days early,” said APM Director, Philip Rodrigues. Crystal Symphony’s refit is just one of Atlantic Pacific Marine’s success stories this year.

For an unprecedented 19th consecutive year–and with its highest score ever–Travel + Leisure readers have voted Crystal Cruises the “World’s Best” Large-Ship Cruise Line in the prestigious magazine’s 2014 annual survey. Recognized as a T+L Hall of Fame winner, Crystal is the only vacation experience–cruise line, hotel or resort–to have been voted #1 in its category every year since the awards’ inception. Thousands of jet-setting readers rated cruise lines on service, itineraries/destinations, activities, accommodations, food, and value, culminating in the overall score, which is published at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest and in the magazine’s August issue.

Crystal Cruises selected as 'World's Best' for a record 18th year in the annual Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best Awards” readers' survey. NYK say that the ultra-luxury vacation company is the only cruise line, hotel, or resort to win its category every year since the awards began. Crystal’s winning score for 2013 reflects thousands of jet-setting readers’ ratings across six areas: service, itineraries/destinations, activities, accommodations, food, and value. Crystal Cruise was also recognized in the survey for offering the World's Best Service (Large-Ship).

Crystal Cruises reports a 38% increase in advance bookings & an increase of $93 million in revenue over the same time last year. The cruise line says it kicked off 2013 with 'Book Now Fares', direct mail increases, strong travel agent promotional support worldwide, and robust onboard bookings. In just the past two months, Crystal has also reaped a half dozen travel magazine awards voted by the traveling public and professional travel agents, underscored by service, food, entertainment and design ratings gained from its post-cruise Quality Assurance guest surveys.

Condé Nast Traveler magazine (U.S.) readers have named Crystal Cruises the “Best Cruise Line” (mid-size) for 2012. The Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards honor the best hotels, airlines, cruise lines, cities, rental car companies, and islands from around the world. A record 46,476 readers voted this year, ranking their personal experiences with cruise lines’ activities/facilities, staterooms, crew/service, design/ship layout, food/dining, itineraries/schedule, and shore excursions.

Crystal Cruises unveils the world's first self-contained, free-standing 'living wall' at sea, with indoor plants depicting a world map. A living wall is a vertical garden that is pre-planted in panels and then attached to the wall or facade of a building. Plants stay intact in their vertical positions because their root structures are anchored in two to four inches of soil kept within the panel. According to Crystal Cruises a living wall acts as a bio filter, enhancing air quality by breaking down harmful airborne contaminants and transforming them into clean oxygen.

In recent months, Crystal say it has spent $40 million on redesigns of its award-winning Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, and $100 million in a little over five years. "While we have delighted travelers this year with newly designed spaces, new services, and new value-conscious pricing, we have offered a consistency of experience that is unmatched in our industry," says Crystal President Gregg Michel. The Travel + Leisure 2012 World's Best Award joins several other high-profile honors bestowed upon the luxury line since the end of 2011…

Crystal Cruises' largest ship, Crystal Serenity, has won its seventh award since undergoing a $25 million redesign last year – Hospitality Design (HD) magazine's "Judges Award for Distinctive Cruise Design."  This is the first time a cruise line has ever been recognized in the trade publication's annual awards. "Because design is such a key sensibility of discriminating travelers, we have always been committed to creating ultra-stylish spaces in which our guests can feel at home," says Alexandra Don, Crystal's vice president hotel services and design.

LOS ANGELES, March 15, 2011 – Amidst increased reports of violence in the Mexican port town of Mazatlán, Crystal Cruises is canceling its scheduled April 4 visit there on Crystal Symphony. The roundtrip Los Angeles “Treasures of Mexico” voyage will now adjust its itinerary to allow guests more time in other ports-of-call. The new schedule switches travel days so that guests will now have an overnight call in popular Cabo San Lucas, with Crystal being the only cruise line in port for those two days. Subsequent days will provide travelers with a full day in Loreto, and a half day in La Paz.

MAVCO has been awarded the contract to design, supply and install a range of audio, video, lighting and effect systems in over twenty venues on board a third Crystal Cruises ship. Commissioned by ALSTOM Marine Chantiers de l’Antantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, MAVCO will be involved with the complete contract for local entertainment systems. Scheduled for delivery in late June 2003, the unnamed 68,000-ton vessel will see an increased number of Crystal Cruises’ most successful features, including more entertainment lounges, expanding on the best of Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony. The scope of the project ahead for MAVCO incorporates detailed system design, supply, installation and commissioning shared between the company’s offices in Miami and the U.K.

MIVAN  announced at the recent Cruise Shipping Miami show that it had secured over £4 million of cruise ship outfitting orders for 2012 in Europe. The largest of these contracts is the £1.7 million re- fit of the Crystal Symphony for Crystal Cruises. The 2 week fit -out will take place in June in Blohm & Voss, Hamburg. This is the second contract Mivan has secured with the Crystal Cruises following the successful fit-out of the retail areas of the Crystal Serenity in May 2011.

Crystal Serenity's $25 million redesign has not only received accolades from guests, travel agents and travel press since its debut last year, but from the design world as well. The ship's renovated Apropos boutique -- a retail space for designer clothing and accessories -- has won the prestigious Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.) interior design "Crystal Award" for the shop's distinctive and dramatic aluminum interlocking circle screen. The design won the first-ever Wall Treatment Award in the new, Individual Element category for 2012.

SeaMobile Inc. signed an agreement with Crystal Cruises to provide communication solutions for its guests throughout the world. SeaMobile will begin installing wireless broadband communications equipment on board two luxury Crystal Cruises ships, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, later this year. The SeaMobile communications service is designed to allow guests and staff of Crystal Cruises to use their own cellular phones and wireless PDAs while at sea. Charges for calls and data services will then appear on the user's wireless bill from their home carrier. The simple-to-use, high-quality service is expected to complement a host of luxury services aboard the Crystal Cruises ships.

Ultra-luxury cruise specialist Crystal Cruises is spending $23 million to enhance the award-winning Crystal Symphony in what will be the cruise line's largest-ever dry dock. In just two weeks, from October 31 through November 12, 2006, nearly 1,300 people will work around the clock on more than 150 separate projects to create what will essentially be a new ship, especially to those familiar with it. Symphony's comprehensive undertaking will transform all staterooms, a continuation of the ship's last dry dock in 2004 when all penthouses were refurbished; much of Tiffany Deck, the ship's main entertainment area, including a completely reconstructed social lounge…

As this year’s cruise shipping season draws to a close, Dirk Claus, the Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG), reported that it has been a positive one. The season ends on Monday September 21st with the visit of Marco Polo. Dirk Claus said at the Seatrade Europe Trade Fair in Hamburg that “this year Kiel has been visited by many especially big cruise ships. We were able to well exceed our passenger target of 250,000 passengers.” During the season, 21 different cruise ships called a total of 117 times and more than 290,000 passengers boarded or left a cruise ship in Kiel, compared to 222,000 in 2008. The biggest ship to call this season was the 102,600 GT Costa Magica, followed by the 92,400 GT MSC Orchestra and the 86,000 GT Eurodam.