How Crystal’s delivering under A&K Travel Group and what’s ahead

Ordering three newbuilds is a huge sign of confidence Crystal’s doing well under A&K Travel Group, and that’s borne out by reports from travelers, brand loyalists, top retail partners and shipboard personnel.

While details on the new ships are to come, the fact that Crystal’s sticking to a 690-passenger, 61,800gt platform — close to Crystal Serenity’s dimensions — with a walk-around promenade, at least some of the same restaurants and other features but with all-suite accommodations, indicates it has a winning formula now.

In numerous interviews, informal chats and firsthand experience on a recent Crystal Serenity sailing, Seatrade Cruise News got updated on the brand’s revival, performance and outlook.

Thumbs-up from a Virtuoso Icon

‘It is a fabulous product and it may be my first go-to moving forward,’ said Virtuoso luxury travel advisor Lise-Marie Wertanzl, just back from a Crystal Serenity cruise. She’s managing director of Sterling Journeys in Miami, a 2024 Virtuoso Cruise Icon (in the top 1% of cruise sales at Virtuoso) and has a Crystal history going back decades when she performed as a vocalist (and met her future husband, Dietmar Wertanzl, onboard).

Since there’s some reluctance for travel advisors to book Crystal and wondering what it’s like after after A&K taking over, Wertanzl sailed to see for herself. Particularly, she was worried the ‘very special Crystal culture had disappeared or been watered down by the last several years of chaos.’

Related:Crystal orders a third cruise ship from Fincantieri

That wasn’t the case, she reported, noting more than 80% of past crew returned.

She also found the product ‘stellar’ and the food and beverage program ‘amazing,’ with 11 dining outlets, among them ‘fantastic’ specialty restaurants, including Nobu Matsuhisa’s Umi Uma and the elegant new Osteria d’Ovidio. Her suite — one of the new Sapphire Veranda Suites — was ‘stunning’ and she said the enlarged rooms and reduced capacity put Crystal ‘right in line with Silversea and Regent’ crew to guest ratios.

Wertanzl deemed the entertainment ‘far superior’ to any of the other luxury brands, adding: ‘And, a really big differentiator … they have after-hours nightlife.’ Headliners on her Broadway-themed cruise were two well-known leading ladies: Rachel York and Laura Osnes, with ‘other performers, comedians and lecturers that made for a fully rounded experience.’

A rousing endorsement from a real Crystal connoisseur.

Delivering for Signature members’ clients

‘They are really delivering onboard and in destination,’ agreed Alex Sharpe, president/CEO of Signature Travel Network, the first retail group to form a preferred partnership with Crystal under its new ownership. ‘Of course, the team would always like the shoreside stuff — administration — to be easier, but they have really invested there, too.’

Related:What some Crystal loyalists are saying about A&K ownership

Sharpe and scores of Signature owners joined Crystal Serenity’s launch cruise in July last year, and he assessed the network’s Crystal sales since then as ‘quite good,’ adding the A&K connection is attracting some new clientele and ‘our advisors who know and love the Crystal brand have always been keen to introduce it to their customers.’

Rebuilding business

During Seatrade Cruise News’ own voyage, part of a 14-day repositioning from Québec City down the Eastern Seaboard to Port Everglades, where Crystal Serenity arrived last week to start a Caribbean stint, the ship was lightly booked — just 299 passengers on a vessel with capacity for 740. Of those, 179 were Crystal Society members, many of them world cruisers.

The cruise before, when Wertzanl sailed, carried 500 passengers and a couple other Canada/New England cruises had 600.

Hubert Buelacher, one of four veteran Crystal hotel directors who returned under the A&K revival, said 2024 occupancy has been light but is growing. After all, it’s been only just over a year since the refurbished ships emerged.

Related:Crystal keeps the spotlight on entertainment

‘The word in the cruise industry was “You’re never going to manage to bring out the ship on schedule,”‘ he said, having been on Crystal Serenity when it arrived at Fincantieri’s Trieste yard in late July 2022 from the Bahamas (where operations ceased under Genting Hong Kong’s joint provisional liquidators). As the last guests, many world cruisers, departed in Bimini, some were in tears.

A year later, in July 2023, Serenity resumed service following what Buelacher called an ‘incredible’ transformation.

He’d rejoined in April that year when the work was still under way at Fincantieri. ‘On Deck 8 and Deck 9, you could see from one end to the other. It was empty.’ That’s where things were torn down to the steel to build many of the larger Sapphire Veranda Suites by combining two smaller cabins.

‘Three months later, we left the shipyard,’ Buelacher said. ‘Fincantieri did a great job under a lot of pressure.’

Buelacher’s spent 25 years at sea with Crystal, starting on the opening team for Crystal Harmony, its first ship. What gave him the confidence to come back following Genting HK’s collapse?

‘We never left,’ he said, demonstrating the kind of loyalty that’s characterized Crystal crew over decades. He stayed as part of the skeleton team to maintain Crystal Serenity under the court-supervised process while A&K Travel Group under Manfred Lefebvre d’Ovidio and Cristina Levis worked to acquire the ships and the brand.

Through it all, Buelacher remained ‘very confident’ Crystal would rise from the ashes.

‘We always knew Mr. Manfredi was interested in Crystal Cruises and, looking at that time in the cruise industry, I think that was the best option for Crystal, with his background. I was with Silversea for four years. You could tell there was passion behind it.’

But since some travelers and advisors got burned in the Genting HK debacle, many had a ‘wait and see’ stance, as Lise-Marie Wertanzl noted.

Buelacher said: ‘The most amazing thing was when our guests came back.’ First, Crystal Society members, assured because 83% of the crew came back, thanks to the efforts of SVP Hotel Operations Bernie Leypold and Othmar Hehli, director, shipboard talent recruiting.

And A&K Travel Group told them: ‘The old Crystal is the new Crystal,’ Buelacher said.

It’s almost like nothing ever happened. By many accounts, things are better.

A&K’s budgeted more money for food, a ‘significant’ increase. ‘We hear from Crystal Society members that the food has been better than ever,’ Buelacher said. ‘That’s reflected in the ratings.’

On this last cruise, people singled out details like the upgraded gourmet cheese selection and the high-quality gelato.

More space, larger suites

The refurbishment combined cabins to make larger suites and reduced Crystal Serenity’s occupany from 980 to 740.

‘I always felt like Crystal’s Achilles heel was the cabin/suite size and this created some incredible options for guests,’ Signature’s Sharpe said, adding that’s especially important on longer cruises.

‘It also gives them even more space per passenger since the capacity was effectively lowered 25% to 30% by the changes, and some have suggested that’s amped up the service, which was already considered fantastic,’ Sharpe said.

The thing Buelacher hears most about? ‘Guests love the new rooms: the Sapphire Suites.’

Inside a Sapphire Veranda Suite

The 151 Sapphire Veranda Suites — 50 of those added in 2023 — comprise the most numerous accommodation category. They offer a separate living/dining area, desk, stocked/refilled mini-bar, bedroom, a generously sized marble bathroom with deluxe shower jets, double vanity, walk-in closet, butler service and extra perks like laundry. They measure up to 430 square feet with verandas up to 107 square feet.

In various staterooms Crystal kept some of the decor in the same classic palette from a 2018 refurbishment, Wertanzl pointed out, while others were updated to a more contemporary look, ‘allowing returning guests to still feel as though they have their home away from home with the familiar color scheme — Tuscan colors. You are able to choose your decor, classic or contemporary.’ She stayed in a contemporary Sapphire Suite and it was ‘stunning.’

Sharpe said the new suites are very well-received and sell well.

Of course, with more suites in the mix, fares are higher.

Buelacher said for some loyalists this means cruising ‘three times a year instead of five.’ But some rooms were kept the same size, at the same price. And, versus luxury competitors, he thinks Crystal offers a ‘much better program for singles,’ including more solo cabins and Ambassador Hosts who serve as dance partners and dining companions.

Buelacher hears ‘only very good, positive comments’ on the refurbishnent overall. These extend to the updated public areas: The Bistro (serving Julius Meinl Viennese coffee in porcelain cups and light bites that change throughout the day) and the restaurants.

Osteria d’Ovidio, replacing Italian restaurant Prego, is ‘very exciting, with a complete new feel and new menu. It’s beautiful, amazing.’ For some loyalists used to their favorite Prego dishes over years, this got a little pushback but Buelacher said once people try the Osteria, they like it.

Nobu Matsuhisa’s Umi Uma is ‘modern, with a fresh touch.’ And Buelacher said there’s anticipation about the world-renowned Beefbar coming very soon to Tastes Kitchen & Bar, with some Tastes favorites retained.

In another change and new partnership, a Casino de Monte-Carlo is nearly installed in the former card room. Crystal draws many bridge players and groups, and they now have more space in a larger multipurpose venue, The Lounge.

Entertainment/enrichment

The line’s vaunted entertainment and enrichment programming under VP Keith Cox, another returning veteran, seems rich and varied as ever. Immediately following Wertanzl’s Broadway-themed cruise was a voyage headlined by two-time Grammy Winner Gloria Gaynor, who brought a 17-member entourage including musicians and noted back-up singers.

Her performance and a compelling Q&A session with Cruise Director Raphael Derkson were the talk of the ship for days. Gaynor herself stayed the entire two-week cruise and was frequently out in public.

In addition, Crystal booked Broadway star James Fox and pianist, composer and Steinway Artist Julian Gargiulo for special appearances, as well as comedians and a guitarist. These, along with productions by a resident cast and a show band, nightly piano bar personality Mark Farris packing the Avenue Saloon and pianist Richard Wilson and violinist Nadia Matiunina performing around the ship during the day and evening plus expert guest lecturers.

Family feeling

A solo traveler who hadn’t sailed on Crystal since 2016 was touched and made to feel welcome when greeted by name by the Waterside Restaurant maitre d’ and other crew. This kind of thing is typical at Crystal.

Sommelier Ricardo Rodriguez, from Bogotá, Colombia, has a career in luxury cruising, including 11 years with Crystal. He said he didn’t hesitate to come back ‘as soon as I heard Mr. Manfredi was involved. I worked for Silversea; I know him.

‘I’m more than happy to be back at Crystal,’ Rodriguez said. ‘It’s great company — how we feel like a family. We see the same people. It’s like I never left.

‘And the Crystal Society members are happier than us. Many have 20, 25 years with us.’

Socializing in the Society

Last month the first Crystal Society shoreside activation took place at Nobu in Washington, DC, hosted by Lefebvre and Crystal’s Jackie Barney, SVP marketing, and Hailey Claudio, senior manager, guest relations.

It felt like a tony class reunion or a shipboard cocktail party, where old friends reconnected and new friends met with lots of excited chatter about Crystal Serenity’s South America-focused world cruise in January.

Lefebvre talked with everyone, and people lined up to thank him for reviving Crystal.

35th anniversary and new culinary partnership

Barney said more Crystal Society activations are planned in other cities in 2025, when Crystal celebrates its 35th anniversary, and special hosts will be leading some cruises. Plus, another culinary partnership is coming soon.

Barney also sailed on part of the Gloria Gaynor cruise, and was impressed by the socializing, including over team trivia, with ‘a room full of people having so much fun.’ At pre-dinner cocktails one evening in The Cove with a few high-ranking Crystal Society members/world cruisers, ‘People came around, adding chairs.’

A multigenerational family joined and related how the husband, who’d lost his wedding ring in the ocean, was told by his wife: ‘Now it’s your turn to get some jewelry from Huber on Crystal.’ She’d received many jewelry gifts designed by boutique partner Hubert Gesser from her husband on past cruises.

The family worked with Gesser to custom-design a new wedding ring and held a little ceremony in The Cove to present it in what Barney called a ‘sweet, spontaneous example of the Crystal family and those deep relationships on the ship, with the crew involved in this reveal.’

Growing loyalty

Since Crystal resumed sailing in the past year, it’s had a 50% repeat rate, and Barney said returning guests under the new Crystal are ‘five times more loyal than the old Crystal. This means a lot of trust. They love Crystal. They live through this brand and refer to it in their daily lives.’

The average age of returning guests is 62, while new customers are younger, average age 56. The younger ones, and those traveling as families, favor Alaska and Mediterranean itineraries, while older travelers typically book the Caribbean and Canada.

For his part, Buelacher has seen guests coming back this first year ‘over and over again … We have about 300 guests we see constantly on Symphony or here.’

‘Everybody talks about the crew’

When hosting dinner tables, he usually invites one couple who are Crystal Society members, and two couples who are new.

‘They all talk about the crew,’ Buelacher said. ‘Everybody talks about the crew. They deliver day in, day out, exceptional service.’

He put the crew’s performance, and their longevity, down to the fact that ‘We treat them well. It’s not the money,’ he said, adding that’s the same at the luxury end, but rather how they’re cared for and the training they get.

‘We hire for attitude and train for skill,’ he said, with ongoing training for the complement of 50 nationalities.

At the new Crystal, all suites get butler service, and Buelacher said it wasn’t difficult to recruit for those jobs.

‘The ratings for the butlers are fantastic. I don’t get any negative comment about the butlers, the stewardesses or the waiters. People are just raving about them.’

Going forward, he expects more new cruisers beyond the core North American base thanks to marketing initiatives under A&K.

He also sees greater synergies with A&K and particularly looks forward to the upcoming world cruise using A&K’s destination management companies all over South America.

‘One A&K’

Barney confirmed that going forward, the aim is creating as many synergies as possible under the ‘One A&K’ strategy.

Crystal turns 35 next year and A&K 60, making a ‘powerful legacy.’ Also, Abercrombie & Kent is in a massive rebranding and will debut a new look and feel, keeping the essence of what it stands for and the 60 years of experience, she said.

The Group is starting to roll out new programs that pair a short sailing and land tours to entice A&K customers to try a cruise and introduce Crystal customers to the A&K land experience ‘and level of exceptional connections and access we have in destinations.’

For example, a new Mediterranean offering features a five-night Civitavecchia (Rome) to Monte Carlo cruise in July 2025 with optional two- and four-night Tuscany and Rome land programs in five-star accommodations with highly curated experiences like truffle-hunting.

More of these are coming in places with strong A&K DMCs, like Dubai and Singapore.

Crystal and Abercrombie & Kent are looking at possibly co-marketing with direct mail as these programs are built out.

And Crystal brochures will start to sprinkle in more A&K mid-cruise land adventures and pre- and post-cruise add-ons such as Machu Picchu, Galápagos and Carnival in Rio.

International opportunity

Currently 80% of Crystal cruisers are from North America but with A&K, growth is expected in the UK, Canada, Latin America (expecially Mexico), Asia and Australia.

Barney said the two brands share a guest profile of affluent travelers seeking more authentic, meaningful, unique, personalized experiences.

Database analyses found a lot of psychographic overlaps between Crystal and Abercrombie & Kent customers.

Sales network

Meanwhile, during 2024, Crystal put regional sales directors in place and moved call centers from Guatemala to its Hallandale, Florida office, while Matias Lira, SVP trade sales LATAM, UK & EMEA, has been expanding resources in those markets.

‘We feel confident we’re ready for 2025 and hopefully what will be strong demand,’ Barney said.

She underscored it wasn’t easy to relaunch Crystal so quickly, setting up two ships at the same time, on time, and going to market.

‘Better than ever’

‘And here we are in operation one year in the water, with guests coming back and saying “Not only did they bring back Crystal, but it’s better than ever.”‘

For travel advisors and clients, Wertanzl said there’s ‘no need to sweat any of the previous concerns about Crystal’s financial health; they are doing fine.’ She welcomes A&K taking over the shore excursions.

‘I think the marriage of A&K and Crystal is really fantastic, both brands being my favorites,’ she said, and encouraging fellow Virtuoso advisors to ‘Give Crystal a look. Your clients will love it.’

As for Signature’s Sharpe, he’s ‘excited to see how a fuller integration with A&K will add value. A&K is a wonderful land partner for us and more integration with them should enhance Crystal’s delivery in destinations and provide tangible product differences from their competition.

‘Of course, everyone wants new details on the new ships, which will be critical to not only new to brand, but to keep the ones they have onboard today,’ he added.

‘We all know how critical destination is and with just two ships, they simply can’t be everywhere their well-traveled customers want them to be.’

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