The brand new cruise ship Crystal Endeavor has set sail from Reykjavik, Iceland for her maiden revenue voyage, a 10-night tour around the island nation. The sailing is the first of its kind for a luxury expedition vessel in Northern Europe and the Arctic since the pandemic shutdown began, the company said.
“This is an incredible moment for the entire Crystal family,” said Jack Anderson, president of Crystal. “Our new expedition yacht will take our guests further than ever before on bold adventures to the far corners of the globe.”
According to Crystal, the Endeavor is the roomiest, fastest and most powerful expedition ship in the cruise industry today. At 10,000 cubic feet per guest and a passenger space ratio of more than 100, she has the most room per guest of any cruise ship at sea. Her hotel operations can accommodate 200 guests in 100 all-veranda, all-butler suites, with a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio.
The ship carries with her a small fleet of Zodiaks and kayaks, as well as the kinds of toys more commonly found aboard private yachts – a six-guest submersible and two helicopters (in select regions). She is also fitted with an ROV capable of making 300-meter unmanned dives. Wildlife lovers need not leave their suites to see amazing sights: the ship carries a mast-mounted high specification video camera capable of 90-power zoom, and it streams its output to high definition TVs mounted throughout the vessel. (Guests can give input on where to aim the camera with the help of an operator.)
To manage the COVID-19 risk, Crystal Endeavor set sail with a fully-vaccinated crew and passenger roster. Vaccination is mandatory under Crystal’s new operating protocol. As an upside, vaccinated personnel have the capability to visit shoreside attractions independently in Iceland – not something that would be possible for the unvaccinated.
After Iceland, the Endeavor will sail for Norway in September, then moving south to call in Scotland, France, England and Portugal.
Crystal Endeavor was delivered on June 26 at the MV Werften shipyard in Germany. The yard is owned by Genting Hong Kong, the owner of Crystal Cruises, and the Endeavor is the first ocean-going vessel it has delivered under the current ownership structure. The project was delayed by more than a year due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic; MV Werften was forced to close in early 2020, putting Crystal Endeavor and other projects on hold. With hundreds of millions of dollars in loan support from the German government, MV Werften reopened and resumed work on the stalled project. As part of the German rescue package, Genting is also receiving a $374 million post-delivery financing facility for the expedition cruise ship.
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