Crystal Cruises Bahamas Sailings See Record Bookings
Cruising is back and consumers are ready to set sail.
Crystal Cruises is reporting its biggest single day of bookings in company history.
Within the first 24 hours of reservations opening for its new Luxury Bahamas Escapes onboard the Crystal Serenity nearly 4,000 travelers reserved staterooms or suites on at least one of the seven-night voyages that sail from Nassau or Bimini.
More than 25 percent of the capacity available on the 16 voyages has already been sold. Almost 200 guests reserved back-to-back voyages with some planning to spend 42 days onboard the company’s flagship, and 80 percent of Crystal Serenity’s butler-serviced Crystal Penthouses have been reserved.
“We are thrilled by the wonderful response to these new sailings. It’s clear that travelers have been eagerly looking forward to exploring again and are as excited to see Crystal Serenity return to sailing as we are,” said Jack Anderson, Crystal’s interim president and CEO. “We are incredibly grateful to our loyal Crystal guests and our valued travel partners for their support as we begin to emerge from what has been an unprecedented year for everyone.
“I want to thank our employees around the world whose passionate dedication and professionalism in navigating the last year has allowed us to resume cruising this summer,” Anderson added. “We are looking forward to welcoming our wonderful officers and crew back on board where they are eager to reconnect with our guests.”
The Luxury Bahamas Escapes will sail from July through October on an itinerary that includes Harbour Island, Great Exuma, San Salvador Island and Long Island.
“After a year of uncertainty, our new Luxury Bahamas Escapes mark an important return to service for Crystal, but also a significant step forward for travel and tourism overall in the Americas,” said Anderson. “The all-Bahamas cruises means there is no risk of border closures, alleviating concerns related to a multiple-country itinerary that may be impacted by differing travel restrictions.”
Anderson noted that these sailings are made possible on behalf of the government of the Bahamas.
“All of this is possible thanks to the partnership of The Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism, the Honorable Dionisio D’Aguilar, Minister of Tourism & Aviation for The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and Director General Joy Jibrilu, The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. The beauty of their country and warm hospitality is enhanced by their exceptional standards of health, safety and quality experiences,” said Anderson.
Cruise fares for the new Luxury Bahamas Escapes cruises start at $1,999 per guest and include $500 Book Now Savings and $500 air savings as well as Best Available Savings by category.
Guests will receive a $125 per person As You Wish shipboard credit with Crystal Society Savings doubling to five percent; new-to-Crystal guests saving 2.5 percent; and solo fares starting at just 125 percent.
Passengers can extend their cruise vacations by choosing Crystal’s Extended Land and Hotel Programs for pre- and post-cruise stays. In the Bahamas, these include stays at Nassau’s SLS Baha Mar and Hilton Resorts World Bimini.
Guests must be fully inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to boarding any Crystal ship. In addition, Crystal has its Crystal Clean+ 4.1 measures in place, which include negative COVID-19 tests for both guests and crew, reduced capacity, social distancing, nimble mask policy and health screening questionnaires.