Crystal Cruises
Encyclopedia
Crystal Cruise Lines, most commonly seen as Crystal Cruises, is a Japanese
luxury cruise line
founded in 1988 and notable for its two medium-sized, high-end ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, which each hold about 1,000 guests. The line is a wholly owned subsidiary of the large Japan
ese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The line has its headquarters in Century City, Los Angeles, California
.
Readers of Condé Nast Traveler
have voted the line Best Large-Ship Cruise Line for 16 years. Readers of Travel + Leisure have voted Crystal Cruises World's Best for 16 consecutive years. Both ships travel the world and visit destinations. The luxury cruise line also offers a World Cruise on the Crystal Serenity each year of about 110 days in length.
Crystal Cruises has announced that their cruise fares will become all-inclusive starting in the Spring of 2012. Crystal thought this was the appropriate time to become all-inclusive.
The Crystal Symphony is the smaller of the two, holding 940 passengers. Crystal Symphony was last refurbished in 2007. The Crystal Serenity can hold 1,050 passengers and about 650 crew. Crystal Serenity was last refurbished in 2011. The line's original vessel, Crystal Harmony, was retired from the Crystal fleet in 2005. The vessel was transferred to the parent company, underwent some renovations, renamed the Asuka II, and now caters to the Japanese cruise market as part of Asuka Cruises. Each Crystal ship features two complimentary (though tip encouraged) specialty restaurants including the Italian restaurant Prego (overseen by Piero Selvaggio of Valentino restaurants) and Silk Road and the Sushi Bar (overseen by famous Japanese restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa). Daytime activities include pools, lectures, a movie theater, lessons by Yamaha keyboard instructors, instruction by Berlitz language teachers.
. On September 8, 1998, Crystal Cruises relocated its headquarters from one building in Century City to another; it received a larger amount of space in the new headquarters than it had previously.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
luxury cruise line
Cruise line
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...
founded in 1988 and notable for its two medium-sized, high-end ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, which each hold about 1,000 guests. The line is a wholly owned subsidiary of the large Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The line has its headquarters in Century City, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Readers of Condé Nast Traveler
Condé Nast Traveler
Condé Nast Traveler is a US magazine published by Condé Nast. It has its origins in a mailing sent out by the Diners Club club beginning in 1953, listing locations that would take the card. It began taking advertising in 1955. In order to attract more advertisers, it became a full-fledged magazine,...
have voted the line Best Large-Ship Cruise Line for 16 years. Readers of Travel + Leisure have voted Crystal Cruises World's Best for 16 consecutive years. Both ships travel the world and visit destinations. The luxury cruise line also offers a World Cruise on the Crystal Serenity each year of about 110 days in length.
Crystal Cruises has announced that their cruise fares will become all-inclusive starting in the Spring of 2012. Crystal thought this was the appropriate time to become all-inclusive.
Ships
Crystal Cruises operates two vessels:| Ship | Built | Builder | Entered service for Crystal |
Gross Tonnage Gross tonnage Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage... |
Flag | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Symphony Crystal Symphony Crystal Symphony is a cruise ship owned and operated by Crystal Cruises. She was built in 1995 in Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Turku, Finland. She is the only fleetmate of Crystal Serenity and "Crystal Harmony".... |
Kvaerner Masa-Yards | 1995 | 51,044 tons |  The Bahamas |
||
| Crystal Serenity Crystal Serenity Crystal Serenity is a cruise ship, owned by the cruise line, Crystal Cruises. Crystal Serenity was built in 2003 in STX Europe in St. Nazaire... |
Chantiers de l'Atlantique Chantiers de l'Atlantique Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France... |
2003 | 68,870 tons | The Bahamas |
The Crystal Symphony is the smaller of the two, holding 940 passengers. Crystal Symphony was last refurbished in 2007. The Crystal Serenity can hold 1,050 passengers and about 650 crew. Crystal Serenity was last refurbished in 2011. The line's original vessel, Crystal Harmony, was retired from the Crystal fleet in 2005. The vessel was transferred to the parent company, underwent some renovations, renamed the Asuka II, and now caters to the Japanese cruise market as part of Asuka Cruises. Each Crystal ship features two complimentary (though tip encouraged) specialty restaurants including the Italian restaurant Prego (overseen by Piero Selvaggio of Valentino restaurants) and Silk Road and the Sushi Bar (overseen by famous Japanese restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa). Daytime activities include pools, lectures, a movie theater, lessons by Yamaha keyboard instructors, instruction by Berlitz language teachers.
Headquarters
Crystal Cruises has its headquarters in the Century City area of Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. On September 8, 1998, Crystal Cruises relocated its headquarters from one building in Century City to another; it received a larger amount of space in the new headquarters than it had previously.