With its yacht product, Crystal goes for small-ship intimacy

The 31 suites on the refurbished Esprit are smaller but more intimate than one might expect on a traditional Crystal vessel.

ABOARD THE CRYSTAL ESPRIT — The latest ship in Crystal Cruises’ fleet lies anchored in a protective cluster of tropical islands in the Seychelles, the Indian Ocean archipelago. In one direction, the ship’s two-person submarine is taking enthralled passengers on a 30-minute tour of an undersea coral garden. In another, Zodiacs zip guests to a sandy beach prowled by giant tortoises.

One thing is clear: This isn’t your grandfather’s Crystal Cruises.

The debut of the Esprit after a Dec. 20 christening ceremony marks the operational start of a new era at Crystal under its Malaysian owners Genting Hong Kong, which acquired the line in March for $550 million from Japan’s NYK, which had owned it for 25 years.

Crystal has built up a dedicated cadre of loyalists, and its officials, led by CEO Edie Rodriguez, are confident that the new Crystal will maintain its traditional passenger base, while the extensions of its core cruise product will attract new blood.

So what is the Crystal Esprit like?

A dozen top travel agents on a preview cruise remarked first that the Crystal standard of service has been successfully imported, despite ocean swells that cut a week-long training cruise to a day and a half.

“They’re very friendly and warm,” said Ralph Iantosca, owner of Dallas-based GoGirl.Travel, commenting on staff and crew.

The ship’s Sunset Bar is outside but covered by a canopy.

Another strong impression was about the size of the ship. With just 31 suites, the ship has none of the scale of Crystal’s two 1,000-passenger vessels; instead, it boasts the intimacy of small-ship cruising.

Guests on the Crystal Esprit will get the chance to know each other well. Making a play on the name, Rodriguez said they will develop an “esprit de corps.” They will also make friends with the largely Filipino staff.

At 280 square feet, cabins are not huge by luxury standards, but nevertheless Ian tosca said they exceeded his expectations.

The Esprit is not out-of-the-box new. It was built in 1991 and was transferred to Crystal from Genting’s Star Cruises, where it was a charter-only vessel for the company’s high-end customers.

Crystal spent three months redoing the vessel’s interior and giving it new decorations, cabinetry, carpeting and fixtures, said COO Thomas Mazloum.

Its five decks include a small plate/buffet restaurant, a slightly more formal dinner venue, a lounge and an expansive aft Sunset Bar, which is outdoors but covered by a white canopy.

There is a small pool and gym and a postage stamp of a casino.

A good part of the Esprit’s revenue is expected to be from charter business. After the ship was named, Genting Hong Kong chairman K.T. Lim stood in the Sunset Bar and gestured to a nearby yacht that was every bit as long as the 280-foot Esprit.

That yacht, Lim said, would likely charter for as much as $1 million a week, but it has far fewer staff and only a half-dozen bedrooms. By comparison, “this is an incredible value,” Lim said of the Esprit.

“I do a lot of yacht charters,” said Iantosca, “and for a client who doesn’t want to spend [big], this is a good alternative.”

Another feature that distinguishes the Esprit is a toy cabinet with all manner of water sports equipment, including a stylish 12-passenger Wider speedboat and a two-person U-Boat Worx submersible submarine that is one of only four in the world.

The Crystal Esprit made its debut last month in the Seychelles.

On a demo, we were startled to run across a half dozen scuba divers, who were probably equally startled to see the submarine with its 3.9-inch-thick acrylic bubble suspended between two pontoons.

The sub, which will take passengers on 30-minute excursions for $599 a person, is like scuba diving in a high-tech lounge chair.

Food on the Esprit is cooked nearly on demand, and an open kitchen enlivens the Yacht Club dinner venue.

There is a butler assigned to every stateroom, which didn’t match the vibe in the laid-back Seychelles, where the Esprit will sail this winter. In the spring it moves to the Adriatic where it will cruise the coast between Venice and Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Pressed for downsides, Iantosca said the small size of the ship cuts both ways.

“I think you need to be aware of motion” that rocks the ship depending on the vigor of the seas. But all things considered, Iantosca was pretty impressed.

Crystal Cruises to open Miami office

Crystal Cruises, newly acquired by Genting Hong Kong, said it will open a branch office in Miami on June 1.

The headquarters for the cruise line will remain in Los Angeles. The Miami office will bolster Crystal’s presence on the East Coast, said CEO Edie Rodriguez. It will also help Crystal source experienced cruise talent, create partnerships and foster existing business relationships in the region, she said.

Crystal said the Miami branch office, located at 1501 Biscayne Blvd. in the Omni Building, will be home to newly created management positions at Crystal while serving as a secondary location for Los Angeles-based executives to conduct business as needed. 

It will also feature a reservations call center, which will begin to accept bookings in summer 2015, and provide support on both coasts for Crystal to serve the domestic and international markets. 

Crystal's Sale and New Ship Spark Speculation

Crystal Cruises makes bold moves with its sale to Genting Hong Kong and plans for a new ship in 2018

Crystal Cruises is getting a new owner — Genting Hong Kong (GHK) — along with a long-awaited new ship. As a result, travel agents are generating a boatload of questions. Despite assurances that Crystal’s management team will continue intact, travel planners worry about highly respected, key executives. In light of so many recent cruise industry moves into China, they also voice concerns about whether Crystal will become a Chinese product.

The current parent company, Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, launched Crystal in 1988, and the luxury line has competed very successfully against more recent ships with its two vessels, the 922‐passenger Crystal Symphony (1995) and the 1,070‐passenger Crystal Serenity (2003). When the order for the line’s largest vessel, Crystal Serenity, was announced in November 2001, luxury lines were struggling, even before the events of 9/11. I remember standing beside one of the Japanese owners who said to me, “Could the timing be any worse?”

They subsequently reduced the fleet size in 2005, sending the oldest ship,to the parent company to be renovated and moved into the Japanese cruise market. Since then, Crystal’s two-ship fleet has consistently received top industry awards. The company has continuously added additional features, changed the decor and proven that the highest luxury standards could be maintained on ships as large as 1,000 passengers — a bold pioneering move in luxury. 

The new owner, GHK, is part of the Genting Group, a public global hospitality and leisure company with business in more than 20 countries, including the U.S. (New York, Florida and Nevada).

“Genting will provide financial resources and proven expertise in innovative ship design to build a new ship that will set the highest standard in luxury cruise ships,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chairman, CEO and acting president of GHK. “This new ship, together with Crystal’s legendary six-star service, will reinforce Crystal Cruises’ reputation as the world’s leading luxury cruise line for decades to come.”

Under the terms of the agreement, GHK will acquire Crystal for $550 million during the second quarter of this year. Genting already owns Star Cruises, Asia’s major cruise line, and is a 28 percent owner of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the umbrella company of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises. 

Crystal president and CEO Edie Rodriguez pointed out that Regent and Crystal will continue to compete head to head, citing the relationship between Princess Cruises and Holland America Line as an example of competition between two brands within the same parent company.

“After 25 successful years with NYK, we are excited to have Genting Hong Kong as the new owner of Crystal Cruises,” Rodriguez said. “The proposed expansion of our fleet will present our loyal Crystal Society members and new luxury cruise guests with more itinerary options, accommodation choices and exceptional vacation experiences, as we continue to position Crystal as the innovative leader in global luxury cruising. Additionally, Crystal’s veteran leadership, management and crew will continue to focus on our award-winning guest service and our strong partnership with the travel agent community — which now has a greater opportunity to grow their businesses with a larger menu of Crystal product offerings.”

Travel consultants certainly agree that an additional ship is what Crystal needs to compete in the growing luxury sector of cruising.

“They would really be losing out if they didn’t,” said Susan Reder, managing partner of Frosch Classic Cruise & Travel in Woodland Hills, Calif. “I think there are lots of changes ahead, but Crystal really must form an advisory board. Agents know the features needed for the new ship to compete with the new Regent ship, which I hear is unbelievable.”

Tom Baker, co-owner of Houston-based Cruise Center, thinks it’s too early to predict what will happen.

“We won’t know enough until after the deal becomes finalized later this year,” Baker said.

Several agents expressed concern that Crystal will become a cruise line geared toward the Chinese market, and some expressed the hope that executive vice president Jack Anderson will remain in a leadership position, along with Thomas Mazloum, senior vice president of operations. The timing for Crystal’s newbuild represents a sort of coming of age, as the company turns 30 in 2018, when the ship will launch.

Crystal to debut excursions for late-risers

Crystal Cruises has developed an excursion product aimed especially at guests who like to sleep in.

While shore excursions typically launch 30 minutes to an hour after docking or tendering operations begin, these excursions will start at 11 a.m. or noon, depending on the itinerary. They are designed to dovetail with a late-riser's breakfast served from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on both Crystal ships.

"The 'Late-Risers Adventures' allow guests who prefer more sleep in the morning, are perhaps still adjusting to a time change, or simply like to enjoy a long, leisurely breakfast, to keep their preferred schedule ," said Crystal President Edie Rodriguez.

The new, later excursions will be offered beginning with Crystal Serenity's Sept. 19 Boston-Quebec sailing, and on Crystal Symphony's Sept. 27 Hamburg-Lisbon sailing.