[Worldtrippers home] [Crystal home]
This is the first of four sea days on our Indian Ocean itinerary, so it’s a good time to talk about the ship we’re currently sailing on.
Crystal is considered an “ultra-luxury” cruise line. Founded in 1988, it once had a presence in ocean, river, expedition and yacht cruises. Crystal even had its own luxury private jet service. Unfortunately, Crystal was a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic and became insolvent in January 2022.
In June 2022, A&K Travel Group (Abercrombie & Kent) successfully purchased the “Crystal” brand name and two of its ships. (One of the co-chairs of A&K is Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio. “Manfredi’s Restaurants” on all Viking ocean ships are named after him.) In July 2023, Crystal relaunched with two ships: Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.
Until now, we have lectured exclusively aboard Viking Ocean ships. Unfortunately, our latest Viking contract had us embarking in Cape Town, South Africa. Gail didn’t want to endure a 35-hour-plus airplane ride from California to South Africa. We searched for a way to get closer to this part of the world, so we could split the travel. The Crystal Indian Ocean itinerary worked out almost perfectly for both region and timeframe. Crystal offered Russell a lecture contract, and here we are.
(NOTE: It is normal for lecturers to work for multiple cruise lines. Our Viking exclusivity was our own choice. Viking is aware of and fine with our current schedule.)
Crystal’s original offer had us in a small “Double Guest Room with Ocean View.” This meant a 215 square foot stateroom, with a view partially obstructed by the lifeboat outside. (A Viking lecturer stateroom is 225 square feet.) A week before departure, Crystal unexpectedly upgraded us to a “Sapphire Ocean View Suite.” This doubled our stateroom size to 430 square feet, with a separate bedroom, an unobstructed view… and a butler.
One of the reasons is that the ship is not full. Crystal Symphony has a guest capacity of 606. Currently, we have 354 guests aboard. Even so, there are still 575 crew members aboard – which means there are currently more crew than guests.
This Crystal cruise is a short (for us) 10 days. Only Russell is lecturing; Gail is aboard as a guest, though she will help Russell with his preparations. Russell submitted four lectures, but is only scheduled to give three (all on sea days). After being used to Viking, Russell is going through an unfamiliar culture shock, as he needs to learn a new ship, personnel and processes, in addition to his normal lecture rehearsals.
We have met a familiar face! Johannes Lackner, whom we know from Viking, is currently Symphony’s Food & Beverage manager. (Johannes became an Associate General Manager with Viking when Crystal became insolvent. When Crystal restarted, he went back.) Johannes has already put in a good word for us with the cruise director.
Our initial impressions of the Crystal Symphony are very positive. The ship is gorgeous. The food is superb. There are many elements we haven’t seen in years, including a casino, photo studio, cigar and brandy room, and children (though there are only a few children).
Many of our Viking friends have requested a comparison between the two cruise lines. At the end of this cruise, we will write a more detailed review of the Crystal Symphony and our impressions.
In the meantime, here are some photos of our “home” for the next 10 days…
