Citing customer interest, Crystal Cruises is upping the number of new river ships that it’s building to sail on Europe’s rivers.
The luxury line signed an order for a total of eight ships Tuesday, all to be built through the Lloyd Werft Group, a collection of four shipyards in northern Germany that are owned by Crystal’s parent company, Genting Hong Kong.
The vessels to be built include:
- Six river cruise ships, including four that previously were announced: Crystal Debussy, Crystal Ravel, Crystal Mahler and Crystal Bach. The ships will be deployed on the rivers, starting in 2017 and going through 2019. The names for the two new river ships were not announced.
- Crystal Endeavor, a 200-passenger luxury megayacht with polar capabilities. This ship is slated for delivery in August 2018.
- The first of three 1,000-passenger ocean-going ships that will be part of the line’s “Crystal Exclusive" class. These ships, which will also have onboard residences for sale, will debut in fall 2019.
Crystal has been on a wave of luxury expansion since Genting acquired the company in 2015. Already, the yacht Crystal Esprit has spent a season in the Seychelles, and the line’s private jet transportation service, Crystal Air, is underway. The line’s river cruising arm kicks off in July 2016 with sailings on Crystal Mozart, a 158-passenger vessel that’s undergoing massive refurbishment.
