CRYSTAL CRUISES OVERVIEW:
Upscale Crystal Cruises, based in Los Angeles, offers luxury cruise travel at its best. The line's current fleet consists of the 50,000-ton 940-guest Crystal Symphony and the Crystal Serenity. The Symphony is perhaps one of the most spacious and luxurious vessels cruising the world. Its unique size in the luxury market allows for smooth sailing and a wide range of innovative facilities, generous amenities and elegant accommodations.
The Six-Star rated liner features grand lounges, a lavish spa outfitted in accordance with the principles of Feng Shui, extensive exercise facilities, complimentary golf, yoga and Pilates instruction, complete casino, and the innovative Computer University@Sea, offering 24-hour e-mail and Internet access, as well as hands-on instruction. There are also expansive decks, two pools, award-winning cuisine and entertainment, and exquisitely appointed staterooms, more than half of which offer private verandah.
Crytal's newest ship is the 68,000-ton, 1,080-guest Crystal Serenity which entered service in July 2003. Crystal Serenity features an even greater space-per-guest ratio than her sister ships and she is 36 percent larger. Areas for spa services and other athletic, cultural and intellectual pursuits are somewhat larger on Crystal Serenity. Within a range of luxury accommodations, the line has increased its number of penthouses and enlarged its deluxe staterooms with verandahs. Approximately 85 percent of its all outside staterooms and suites offer private verandahs, and, through a unique sheltered lifeboat design, all boast unobstructed views.
The Crystal Difference
The Crystal Difference arises from the company's simple but all-encompassing goal: To give its guests the best large, luxury cruise ship experience in the world. This commitment is evident in every aspect of the Crystal experience, where attention to detail and availability of choices is unsurpassed in the world of travel. Through its uncompromising focus on service and choice, Crystal Cruises has redefined luxury.
Friendly Elegance
Crystal Cruises creates an atmosphere of friendly elegance in which guests quickly unwind and settle into relaxing days at sea. Here, too, Crystal has set new standards; it has reshaped the cruise experience to meet the new tastes and outlooks of people with the freedom to travel and the disposable income to do it in style. Such guests, in turn, bring their own interests to the mix. An important part of the Crystal Difference is the opportunity to cruise with other sophisticated and well-traveled people from all over the world.
Choice
Choice is at the heart of Crystal's contemporary approach to cruising. The wealth of activities and public lounges one can experience aboard Crystal's large size ships provide a distinctive difference in the luxury market. Shipboard dining is another excellent example. With a variety of cuisine and specialty restaurants, guests can dine in the style they desire, according to their daytime activities and evening preferences. The elegant Crystal Dining Room never repeats a menu, even on three-month World Cruises (although guests always have the option of ordering past favorites).
Similarly, the award-winning entertainment scene aboard Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony is ever-changing and always exciting. A typical cruise may offer side-splitting comedy, a riveting recital by a Juilliard concert pianist and Crystal's grandest production to date. The entire ship becomes the stage as the "Evening in Camelot" unfolds, complete with a vivid pageantry of shipboard crew in costumes (almost 300 were created), a "Royal Feast" and a theater presentation, "Tales of Time."
Crystal Visions Enrichment Program
Crystal Visions Enrichment Program features celebrated authors, journalists, culinary stars and historians, the innovative Computer University@Sea workshops and e-mail facilities, multiple pools, a paddle tennis court and golf driving ranges featuring Callaway equipment are among the stimulating and active choices.