Further expanding its collection of worldwide accolades, Crystal celebrates top honors in the 2017 Cruise Critic Editors’ Picks Awards. The online cruise guide’s tenth annual awards named Crystal Cruises as the Editors’ Picks in the luxury category for Best Service, Best for Solo Travelers, and Best Ship Refurbishment for Crystal Symphony. In the river category, Crystal River Cruises won for Best Dining. The awards were decided on by Cruise Critic’s international team of expert cruise editors, who rated lines across dozens of categories. Cruise Critic’s UK Editors’ Picks Awards also recognize Crystal Cruises in each of the aforementioned categories, plus Best Dining in the luxury category and Best New Ship, Crystal Bach in the river category.
“It is an honor to earn such recognition from the seasoned travel and cruise experts of Cruise Critic,” says Carmen Roig, senior vice president of marketing and sales. “An uncompromising dedication to delivering a superb onboard experience to all of our guests – particularly in regard to the personalized service of our crew – has long been the chief priority of Crystal. Likewise, we are delighted that our new offerings, Crystal Symphony’s redesign and the new Crystal River ships, are earning the caliber of acclaim that Crystal has enjoyed for decades.”
Service is a cornerstone of the lauded Crystal Experience across each of the company’s brands – Crystal Cruises, Crystal River Cruises and Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises – having earned Crystal one of the highest guest loyalty rates in the industry. As noted by Cruise Critic, crew members greet guests by name, even upon their first embarkation, and the personalized attention to detail continues from there, often leaving guests feeling more like family.
Crystal Symphony, the senior member of the Crystal Cruises fleet, underwent a redesign this fall, seeing more luxurious, butler-serviced Penthouse accommodations added, along with high-tech enhancements, revamped dining options and venues, and new open seating dining. Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity continue to boast elegant, Michelin-inspired cuisine and the only restaurants by Master Chef Nobu Matsuhisa on the high seas.
Crystal Cruises’ ocean ships have also long been favored among solo travelers. Crystal’s single supplement is generally among the lowest in the industry, and the ships offer a host of options and experiences for travelers seeking company for entertainment and dining. Ambassador Hosts are on hand for every voyage to act as dance and dining partners, while special dinner invitations and accommodations are arranged to bring solo cruisers together.
Crystal River Cruises expanded its fleet in 2017 with the debut of Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler, which offer voyages along the Rhine and Danube rivers. The two newest ships mark the first and only all-suite, all-balcony river ships in Europe, with every category of accommodations situated above the water line. Lauding Crystal River Cruises in the tenth annual awards for its sophisticated dining options, Cruise Critic notes, “The cruise line wows with innovation; meals are beautifully plated and feature high-quality ingredients. Dishes are perfectly paired with a solid variety of regional wines.” The fleet will further expand in 2018 with Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel embarking in the spring.
By sea, river, land or air, Crystal has redefined the way the world views luxury travel. The world-renowned Crystal Experience – featuring global journeys with Crystal Cruises, Crystal River Cruises, Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises, Crystal AirCruises and Crystal Air – continues to entice the world’s most discerning travelers with incomparable luxury and unparalleled personal service. Crystal will expand its fleet with the upcoming Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel river ships, the Crystal Endeavor expedition yacht and an entirely new class of ocean ships over the next five years.
Celebrating 27 years of excellence, Crystal Cruises is the World’s Most Awarded Luxury Cruise Line, having earned “World’s Best Cruise Ship” in Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader Choice Awards for 24 years; been voted “World’s Best Large Ship Cruise Line” by Travel + Leisure readers for 20 years; and the “Best Luxury Cruise Line” by travel professional organization Virtuoso for three consecutive years (2014, 2015 & 2016). The readers of Travel + Leisure also voted Crystal River Cruises the “World’s Best River Cruise Line” and Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises the “World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Line” in 2017. Crystal is proud to be a platinum partner of the professionals of ASTA.