Crystal Endeavor has officially been named in Stralsund, Germany. The ship was named by Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Crystal Endeavor is the world’s largest and most comfortable expedition yacht with ice class.
Crystal Endeavor, the first luxury expedition yacht with ice class built in Germany, has officially been named at MV WERFTEN in Stralsund. The naming ceremony took place on the ship’s helicopter deck. The event was broadcast all over the world via livestream on YouTube and Facebook.
Serving as Godmother for Crystal Cruises’ new expedition yacht is Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig. She wished the new ship good voyages at all times before she pressed the red ‘yard buzzer’ which activated the bottle release.
“The naming ceremony is a sign of Germany’s relaunch as a shipbuilding location,” stated Manuela Schwesig. “Our shipyards are innovative high performers, with highly motivated experts and know-how acquired over decades. The employees at MV WERFTEN have successfully driven the transformation process from containership production via special-purpose shipbuilding to cruise ship construction in the last few years, demonstrating that even under difficult circumstances they can achieve top performances, as also in recent months.”
“Today is a landmark day as we christen Crystal Endeavor’, the first and only Polar Class Six (PC6) expedition yacht to be built in Germany, and a testament to Crystal’s award-winning design and MV WERFTEN’s superb German engineering with system redundancies, including 100 percent additional lifeboat capacity, to handle extreme polar conditions,” stated Tan Sri Kok Thay Lim, Chairman of Genting Hong Kong. “She combines the finest attributes of the award-winning Crystal Experience with unmatched technical capabilities including the most installed power per gross ton for any cruise ships at over 13 MW. The most luxurious and expensive ship ever built at $20,000 per gross tons, she sets a new high standard in luxury cruising including the largest space ratio, at over 100 gross tons per guest, and most importantly, the highest staff to guest ratio in the industry at one-to-one. We are delighted that Crystal Endeavor, as the new pinnacle of expedition excellence, now commands the highest cruise fare per night of any cruise ship in the world.”
A new standard in luxury expedition cruising
At 20,200 GT, 164 meters long and 23 meters wide Crystal Endeavor is the fastest, highest-performance and most spacious expedition mega yacht in its sector with a passenger space ratio of more than 100. Her Polar Class PC6 classification enables her to navigate Arctic and Antarctic regions. She offers a total of 100 suites of between 28 and 105 m² with 24-hour butler service for a maximum of 200 passengers. Six gourmet restaurants and a casino, a glass-covered, two-storey solarium, a spa and a fitness centre, as well as various lounges and shopping possibilities are provided on board. For expeditions by air and by water, Crystal Endeavor carries two helicopters, 18 Zodiacs (inflatable rubber boats), 14 kayaks and a six-guest submersible.
Jack Anderson, President and CEO of Crystal Cruises, praised the state-of-the-art technology, innovative design and high safety standards of Crystal Endeavor, describing her as an “unparalleled and bold new expedition yacht made in Germany”. He also noted: “She is precision engineered to launch a new standard in global travel.”
Inaugural Voyages, Iceland, the Arctic Circle and Europe
Expedition yacht Crystal Endeavor is the ninth ship in the fleet of Crystal Cruises. Her maiden voyage is scheduled to commence in Reykjavík, her home port, on 17 July.
As the first and only true luxury expedition yacht to restart cruising in the Arctic and Northern Europe, Crystal Endeavor will sail five 10-night immersive voyages circumnavigating Iceland’s most dramatically beautiful and fascinating locales. The ‘Luxury Iceland Expedition’ voyages will sail round-trip from Reykjavík. These voyages will be followed by the 10-night ‘Journey of Vikings: Iceland & Norway’ from Reykjavík to Tromsø departing September 5, 2021.
Additional autumn departures include the 13-night ‘Norwegian Fjords & Scottish Isles Exploration’ from Tromsø to London, departing September 15, 2021, featuring the fjords and UNESCO treasures of Norway and an overnight in Edinburgh, and the 11-night ‘Breton, Bordeaux and Beyond’ from London to Lisbon departing September 28, 2021, and highlighted by two nights in the heart of Bordeaux and an overnight call in London. For more details visit crystalcruises.com.