Crystal Cruises has laid the keel of its first expedition yacht, Crystal Endeavor, in a ceremony attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Crystal claims the 100-suite yacht, which will enter service in August 2020, will be “the world’s largest and most spacious” purpose-built Polar-class ship.
Merkel was joined at MV Werften’s Stralsund shipyard by dignitaries including Crystal president and chief executive, Tom Wolber, and Lim Kok Thay, executive chairman and chief executive of Genting Honk Kong, which acquired Crystal in 2015.
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Crystal Cruises has laid the keel of its first expedition yacht, Crystal Endeavor, in a ceremony attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Crystal claims the 100-suite yacht, which will enter service in August 2020, will be “the world’s largest and most spacious” purpose-built Polar-class ship.
Merkel was joined at MV Werften’s Stralsund shipyard by dignitaries including Crystal president and chief executive, Tom Wolber, and Lim Kok Thay, executive chairman and chief executive of Genting Honk Kong, which acquired Crystal in 2015.
Wolber said celebrating the shipbuilding milestone was “truly a thrill”, adding how he believed Endeavor would “change the way guests can explore the world both adventurously and luxuriously”.
“I am honored to share this occasion with Chancellor Merkel, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay and our special guests, as well as the skilled workers of MV Werften who are building this game-changing ship,” he said.
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Crystal Endeavor will carry 200 passengers and feature a spa and salon, six restaurants, including Nobu Matsuhisa’s Umi Uma, expedition rooms, and offer private butler service for every suite.
The line said suites would feature “luxurious touches”, including king-sized beds, walk-in closets, heated storage for drying parkas, “spa-like bathrooms” with adjustable heated floors, dual vanities, anti-fog mirrors and rain-showerheads.
Endeavor will meet Polar Class Six standards, enabling it to sail in summer and autumn through medium first-year ice.
Itineraries for the yacht’s inaugural season were announced last month, with sailings being operated from August of 2020 through to January 2021.
Crystal said voyages, spanning 12 to 22 days, would go “far off the beaten path of traditional cruise routes” exploring the cultural and bio-diversity of Japan and the Russian Far East; Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines; New Zealand and Tasmania; Australia and the Great Barrier Reef; and Antarctica.
The ship will sail a series of charters and special event voyages before it begins its inaugural season. Bookings for Endeavor’s global journeys will go on sale the public on Wednesday (August 22).
Also in attendance at the keel-laying ceremony were minister of economic affairs for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Harry Glawe, and president and chief executive of MV Werften, Peter Fetten, as well as hundreds of MV Werften staff members.
Merkel said: “The keel laying for Crystal Endeavour here in my political hometown of Stralsund marks a special moment for me that is doubly significant.
"Today, the foundation has been laid for this highly sophisticated, state-of-the-art cruise ship.
"But the ceremony itself, which is taking place in the lively shipyard with the participation of so many employees and trainees, also bodes well for the future of shipbuilding in the Hanseatic City of Stralsund and in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.”
Lim added: “We are delighted with the success and progress of the Crystal fleet and continue to share the company’s vision for expanding the choices for travelers around the world.
"Crystal Endeavor is a ship like no other, and will take travellers on journeys unlike any they’ve ever experienced.”
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