Crystal is making some design changes to its upcoming luxury ocean-going ships. While plans are still being confirmed, the ships will now likely be smaller, and without a dedicated deck of privately owned luxury residences, a Crystal representative tells Travel Agent. Additionally, the ships, which were originally referred to as the “Exclusive Class,” will now be called “Diamond Class” vessels.
Crystal announced the three new luxury ocean-going vessels back in 2015 as part of the brand’s major expansion into river cruising, yacht cruising and private jet travel. Initial plans called for the all-suite, all-balcony ships to be polar ice rated, with a minimum of 400 square feet for the guestroom suites – larger than the minimum 226 square feet on Crystal Serenity and 202 square feet on Crystal Symphony. Ceiling heights were also set to be raised by one foot to eight feet on all decks, and plans also called for a one-to-one crew to guest ratio, with a 1,000 guest capacity. It’s important to note that, since plans for the smaller sized ships have not yet been finalized, it’s not clear how much of these details will remain unchanged in the final product.
Since the announcement Crystal has continued to roll out the other parts of its brand expansion, first with the debut of its luxury yacht expedition product with the launch of the Crystal Esprit, and later with the launch of its private jet product with Crystal Skye and the launch of its river cruise product.
The first of the three ships is currently slated to debut in 2022.
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