founded 1988 headquarters los angeles miami key people tan sri lim kok thay chairman edie rodriguez president and ceo thomas mazloum chief operating officer products cruises parent nippon yusen kaisha 1988 2015 genting hong kong 2015 website www.crystalcruises.com crystal cruise lines most commonly referred to as crystal cruises is an american luxury cruise line 1 2 with its headquarters in los angeles in the united states . the line was established in 1988 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the large japanese shipping company nippon yusen kaisha nyk . cond nast traveler magazine speaks highly of crystal cruise lines voting it best midsize cruise ship line . 3 the cruises offered by crystal cruises include an annual world cruise on the crystal serenity of about 110 days in length . in march 2015 nyk announced that it was selling crystal cruises to genting hong kong ghk the owner of star cruises and a major shareholder in norwegian cruise line holdings . the transfer was expected to close within the second quarter of 2015 . contents 1 history 2 brand expansion 2.1 ss united states 3 fleet 3.1 current fleet 3.2 former fleet 3.3 future ships 4 interiors 5 casinos 6 see also 7 references 7.1 notes 7.2 bibliography 8 external links history edit the company was founded in 1988 and is notable for its two medium sized high end ships crystal symphony and crystal serenity each of which carries about 1 000 guests . in 2003 the new crystal serenity entered service with crystal cruises . in 2005 the crystal harmony 4 was retired from the crystal fleet and transferred to the parent company underwent some renovations renamed the asuka ii and now caters to the japanese cruise market as part of asuka cruises . on march 3 2015 nyk announced that it was selling crystal cruises to genting hong kong ghk the owner of star cruises and a major shareholder in norwegian cruise line holdings . 5 the sale price was us 550 million in cash subject to certain adjustment items . 6 simultaneously nyk announced that crystal cruises would be building a new ship but did not provide any specifics such as the new ship s size or date of entry into service . 5 in a statement accompanying nyk s announcement ghk said that it would provide financial resources and proven expertise in innovative ship design to build the new ship so as to set the highest standard in luxury cruise ships . 6 on may 15 2015 ghk announced that it had closed on the acquisition . 7 brand expansion edit on july 20 2015 crystal announced major expansion plans including new subsidiary brands and holiday types . yachts starting in december 2015 yacht cruises are offered on board the newly acquired crystal esprit . the 62 guest 3 000 tonnage yacht is outfitted with special features including a two passenger submarine four 10 passenger zodiacs for special excursions and a 12 passenger wider 32 foot super yacht tender for special boating adventures . additionally water skis wake boards kayaks jet skis fishing scuba and snorkel equipment are all available for passengers . 8 9 debuting in 2018 crystal will take the delivery of the crystal endeavor the first purpose built polar class megayacht . 10 river cruises and air travel in july 2016 crystal launched crystal river cruises with the debut of the re imagined crystal mozart de and in 2017 it will introduce four new build river yachts and crystal luxury air bringing the brand to river cruising and luxury air tours . crystal luxury air will be the first in the luxury travel industry to offer around the world trips on the world s most advanced twin aisle boeing 787 dreamliner and a boeing 777 200lr business jet . 8 9 11 exclusive ships finally in 2018 crystal will launch the first of three new crystal exclusive class cruise ships with the first expected for delivery in late 2018 . genting hong kong has signed a letter of intent with lloyd werft in germany to build the polar ice class vessels . 8 9 ss united states edit it was announced on february 4 2016 that crystal cruises has signed a purchase option for the ss united states crystal will cover docking costs in philadelphia for nine months while it conducts a feasibility study . 12 13 the plan was formally dropped on august 5 2016 citing too many technical challenges . but crystal cruises did announce a donation of 350 000 to cover docking costs through the end of the year . 14 fleet edit current fleet edit ship built builder entered service for crystal gross tonnage flag notes image crystal symphony 1995 kvaerner masa yards 1995 51 044 tons bahamas crystal serenity 2003 chantiers de l atlantique 2003 68 870 tons bahamas crystal esprit 1991 flender werke 2015 3 370 gt previously megastar taurus part of the newly launched crystal yacht cruises sub brand . 8 9 15 former fleet edit ship built builder entered service for crystal gross tonnage flag notes image crystal harmony 1989 mitsubishi heavy industries 1990 2006 50 142 tons bahamas future ships edit ship class inaugural run gross tonnage notes image crystal endeavor yacht pc6 polar class 2018 25 000 gt this ship is scheduled for delivery in 2018 . 16 tba crystal exclusive class polar ice class 2019 17 117 000 gt this ship is scheduled for delivery in 2019 instead of 2018 being the first of three . 8 9 tba crystal exclusive class polar ice class tba 117 000 gt second crystal exclusive class ship . 8 9 tba crystal exclusive class polar ice class tba 117 000 gt third crystal exclusive class ship . 8 9 interiors edit the crystal symphony is the smaller of the two holding 940 passengers . 18 it was last refurbished in 2012 . the crystal serenity can hold 1 050 passengers and about 650 crew and was last refurbished in 2011 . 19 each crystal ship features two specialty restaurants including the italian restaurant prego overseen by piero selvaggio of valentino restaurants and silk road and the sushi bar overseen by japanese restaurateur nobu matsuhisa 20 . specialty restaurants require a cover charge 30 per person per dining experience . 21 daytime activities include pools lectures a movie theater lessons by yamaha keyboard instructors 22 and instruction by berlitz language teachers . 23 casinos edit crystal cruises enlisted caesars world to operate an onboard casino caesars palace at sea on its first liner crystal harmony . 24 the partnership continued with crystal s current vessels crystal symphony and crystal serenity . 25 each casino had about eight table games and 100 slot machines . caesars received minute earnings from the casinos but considered them good marketing . 25 the management agreements with caesars expired in the spring of 2006 . 26 in february 2015 crystal cruises announce that passengers will be able to use on board credit in the casinos on their ships making it the first to allow credit other than cash in a cruise ship casino . 27 see also edit los angeles portal companies portal references edit notes edit http www.crystalcruises.com experienceships.aspx id 2 hutcheon helen 3 november 2013 . the fab four . the australian . retrieved 13 may 2014 . http www.concierge.com tools travelawards cruisepoll miramar ship index crystal harmony id 8806204 . a b sloan gene march 3 2015 . shake up in luxury cruising as crystal gets new owner . usa today . retrieved april 12 2015 . a b dake shawn march 3 2015 . crystal cruises sold to genting hong kong for 550 million . maritime matters . retrieved april 12 2015 . norton masek theresa may 16 2015 . crystal ceo rodriguez comments on thrilling yet bittersweet sale . travelpulse.com . retrieved may 17 2015 . external link in website help a b c d e f g http www.crystalcruises.com mediacenter.aspx pr 957 & intcmp 10000 protx242 & pos b1 & pgid home a b c d e f g http www.cruiseindustrynews.com cruise news 12833 crystal three new 100000 ton ships plus luxury yacht river cruises and boeing 787.html http www.cruiseindustrynews.com cruise news 14059 crystal orders new 200 passenger yacht.html crystal add another aircraft type for luxury air travel http www.cruiseindustrynews.com cruise news 13800 crystal signs purchase option for ss united states.html http www.nytimes.com 2016 02 04 business ss united states historic ocean liner of trans atlantic heyday may sail again.html r 0 http www.cruiseindustrynews.com cruise news 15658 crystal drops ss united states project.html knego peter december 21 2015 . crystal esprit christened . maritime matters . retrieved december 31 2015 . http www.cruiseindustrynews.com cruise news 14059 crystal orders new 200 passenger yacht.html new crystal ship delivery pushed back to 2019 . 2016 04 06 . retrieved 2016 04 06 . cudahy brian j. 2001 . the cruise ship phenomenon in north america p. 269 ; haworth r.b. miramar ship index crystal symphony id 9066667 . http www.crystalcruises.com mediacenter.aspx pr 692 sloan gene . usa today http www.usatoday.com travel cruises item.aspx type blog & ak 44498316 . blog . missing or empty title help cruise guidebook dining . crystal cruises . retrieved 27 january 2016 . http www.yamaha.com yamahavgn cda contentdetail pressreleasedetailpf.html cntid 29147 & ctid 551577 beyette beverly 28 may 2006 . what makes a cruise a 5 star experience it s all in the details . los angeles times . yoshihashi pauline 5 april 1989 . cruise line owned by japanese bets on floating casino . wall street journal . via proquest . retrieved 2012 05 03 . subscription required a b berns dave 17 mar 1997 . cruise ships lure gaming clients . las vegas review journal . retrieved 2012 05 03 . form 10 k report . harrah s entertainment . 14 march 2006 . p. 15 . crystal move to end casino discrimination . cruise.co.uk news . feb 11 2015 . bibliography edit cudahy brian j 2001 . the cruise ship phenomenon in north america . new york cornell maritime press . isbn 0 870 33529 4 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to crystal cruises . official website v t e crystal cruises fleet current ships crystal symphony crystal serenity crystal esprit former ships crystal harmony v t e cruise lines owned by star cruises fully owned subsidiaries star cruises crystal cruises dream cruises 2016 28 % share norwegian cruise line former subsidiaries cruise ferries retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title crystal cruises & oldid 741984534 categories companies established in 1988cruise linesmitsubishi companieshidden categories cs1 errors external linkspages with citations lacking titlespages with citations having bare urlspages containing links to subscription only contentinterlanguage link template link numbercommons category with page title same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links 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