Crystal Relaunches with New Name, Website and Enhanced Cruise Ships

After being acquired by Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group last year, the former Crystal Cruises is being relaunched as Crystal in 2023.

The cruise line unveiled a new website on Tuesday and will open bookings for recently released mid-2023 through 2024 itineraries exclusively for guests who have made $500 refundable open deposits on Wednesday, February 1.

Other past guests can book upcoming sailings aboard the revamped Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony beginning February 13 while bookings will open to the general public on February 22. Crystal Serenity will sail the new cruise line’s inaugural 12-day voyage from Marseille, France to Lisbon, Portugal on July 31. Meanwhile, Crystal Symphony will debut with a seven-day sailing from Athens, Greece to Istanbul, Turkey departing on September 1.

Moving forward, Crystal will cruise to destinations throughout the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Canada and New England as well as Alaska, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and even through the Panama Canal.

Relaunching with the tagline, “Exceptional at Sea,” Crystal will renovate both of its ships in a move that will cut down on guest capacity by more than 20 percent. Onboard suites will offer new carpeting, drapes, furniture, Italian marble and Egyptian linens while the ship’s spas and gyms will also be enhanced. Other highlights will include the addition of pickleball courts and improvements to common areas.

“We’re not going to categorize ourselves as one of the luxury cruise lines,” Jack Anderson, president of Crystal, told Travel Weekly. “We believe it will be like no other, in a class by itself.”