This week, Crystal Cruises suspended operations worldwide, oceans and rivers. It’s not the kind of happy news we like to share in this space so let me allow Crystal to speak for itself. This letter was received by past guests, booked guests and travel advisors.

January 19, 2022

Dear Valued Travel Partners,

Many of you may be aware of the recent news from Genting Hong Kong, Crystal’s parent company. As we work through the situation and what it means for Crystal, I wanted to let you know that we have made the difficult decision to suspend all future Ocean and Expedition sailings through April 29, 2022, with River cruises suspended through the end of May 2022.

We are deeply disappointed that we had to take this action, however, it is the most prudent decision in this current business environment. The suspension of ship operations will provide Crystal’s management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward.

Crystal’s three ships currently in operation – Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony sailing in the Caribbean and Crystal Endeavor in Antarctica – will complete their current voyages before the suspension of sailings. Crystal Symphony’s current voyage ends in Miami on January 22, Crystal Serenity’s cruise concludes in Aruba on January 30, and Crystal Endeavor’s voyage ends in Ushuaia on February 4.

All travel partners and their clients impacted by this suspension are now being notified. Crystal will provide a full refund of cruise fare paid, which will be processed automatically to the original form of payment so there is no further action required by you and/or your client. If the cruise was paid via a Future Cruise Payment or Credit (FCP or FCC), the full value will be returned to your client’s Crystal Society profile account.

In light of these developments, tomorrow’s Insider Insights webinar, Thursday, January 20, has been cancelled.

On behalf of the entire Crystal Family, I’d like to offer our sincerest apologies for this disruption to your business and to your clients’ vacations. We are extremely grateful to you – all of our valued travel partners – for your incredible support and understanding during these challenging times, and we look forward to welcoming guests back on board once operations are resumed.

Warm Regards,

Carmen Roig
Senior Vice President
Marketing & Sales

Bad news for sure but will they be back? We sure hope so.