Two ships regarded as among the best in the world are to get multi-million-pound makeovers to make them even more luxurious.
Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity will get new penthouse suites, an overhaul of restaurants, refreshed public areas and technological upgrades during dry docks this year and next.
The overhauls are part of Crystal’s ambitious growth plans including new river yachts, ocean ships and even a private Boeing 777 in the next three years.
Passenger numbers will be cut from 922 to 848 on Symphony and from 1,070 to 980 on Serenity as smaller staterooms are replaced with more spacious suites.
New luxury: A Seabreeze penthouse
Crystal Symphony will get two new categories of room on Deck 9 – 12 Seabreeze penthouse suites and 28 Seabreeze penthouses. They will be the same size as existing penthouses and penthouse suites, while Seabreeze penthouses will be connected by a shared entryway off the hall.
On Crystal Serenity, 36 new penthouses and two new penthouse suites will be built on Deck 10. Penthouses come with butler service and in-room specialty dining.
Sleek: A Seabreeze penthouse suite bathroom
On both ships the central Dining Room will become Waterside, similar to the main restaurant on the Crystal Mozart river ship. There will be more tables for couples and groups of four and open seating between 6pm and 9.30pm, replacing assigned seating and reservations.
The Lido Café will become the Marketplace by day and Churrascaria by night, featuring an open kitchen with dishes made to order.
Casual: The new Silk restaurant
New venue Silk will offer Chinese-inspired food for sharing. Silk Road and The Sushi Bar will continue to serve the cuisine of master chef Nobu Matsuhisa but be renamed Umi Uma, the Japanese word for Crystal’s signature seahorses.
The Trident Bar & Grill will continue to be a casual grill serving burgers and sandwiches.
Crystal Symphony’s redesign is set for September 19 to October 21 this year and Serenity’s for October 14 to November 10, 2018.
To mark the first makeover, from November guests on all Crystal vessels will receive complimentary wifi throughout their voyage. A new portal, Crystal Connect, will also be launched to give access to shipboard information such as menus and activities and new ultra-thin 42in interactive TVs will be installed.
Makeover: Crystal Serenity
As for public spaces, the top-deck Palm Court on Serenity will be redesigned to give more intimate seating and Symphony’s mid-ship Starlite Club will be refitted.
Crystal CEO Edie Rodriguez, said: ‘Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity are the foundation of Crystal and continue to embody the cornerstones of the celebrated Crystal Experience. These ships have earned us not only acclaim from the world’s most eminent entities and publications for more than two decades, but more importantly, the loyalty of the world’s most discerning travellers and travel partners. We are committed to continuing their reign as the most luxurious ships at sea by investing in changes and updates that will far exceed our guests’ wishes.’
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