You might have loads of choices for those who’re seeking to see the world with Crystal.
The much-beloved luxurious line, which restarted operations in July after an 18-month shutdown, provides cruises to a variety of locations across the globe regardless of working simply two ships.
The 740-passenger Crystal Serenity and 606-passenger Crystal Symphony are virtually all the time on the transfer. They function a various array of itineraries on a number of continents together with Europe, North America and Asia.
For extra cruise guides, information and suggestions, join TPG’s cruise e-newsletter.
Certainly, one of many ships is scheduled to fully circumnavigate the world in 2024 with visits to 6 continents.
Amongst its many choices, Crystal has a very giant footprint in Europe, with each vessels spending no less than a while annually within the area. Greater than a 3rd of Crystal’s departures are to the Mediterranean, the Baltic and Northern Europe.
However the line additionally provides many sailings to the Caribbean, New England and Canada, and Alaska.
Crystal ships sail every thing from quick, seven-night cruises to Alaska to 141-day globe-circling voyages. Not like mass-market strains, the corporate typically does not supply sailings of six nights or fewer. Between now and early 2025, the road has solely a single voyage shorter than seven nights on its schedule — a six-night crusing from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Los Angeles.
Listed here are our picks for the 5 finest Crystal cruise locations.
Reward your inbox with the TPG Each day e-newsletter
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists.
The Mediterranean
As is usually the case with luxurious strains, Crystal has a selected concentrate on sailings within the Mediterranean. 1 / 4 of its departures at present on its schedule are dedicated to the area, and each of its vessels are scheduled to spend no less than a part of the approaching two years in Europe.
Most of Crystal’s Mediterranean journeys vary from seven to 14 nights, though it often provides for much longer voyages. These itineraries embrace sailings targeted particularly on the Western Mediterranean or Jap Mediterranean and a few that embrace stops throughout each.
Typical of the latter is the road’s 12-night voyage from Istanbul to Monaco, a one-way journey with a number of stops in Greece and Italy.
The 12-night Istanbul-to-Monaco voyage is a part of an extended, 45-night itinerary from Lisbon to Monaco with stops in Spain, Morocco, France, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Turkey.
Within the Mediterranean, the road’s important hubs are Piraeus, Greece (the port for Athens); Istanbul; Venice, Italy; Barcelona; Monaco; Civitavecchia, Italy (the port for Rome); and La Seyne, France (the port for Toulon).
Associated: One of the best Mediterranean cruise for each kind of traveler
The Caribbean
Crystal is not an enormous participant in Caribbean cruises, but it surely sometimes sends one vessel to the area each winter for no less than six to eight weeks of sailings that supply a mixture of well-known and lesser-known ports.
These Caribbean voyages are significantly completely different, in lots of circumstances, than the standard seven-night Caribbean sailings provided by most mass-market strains.
For starters, they start and finish in a variety of ports together with Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Bridgetown, Barbados. Additionally they sometimes are 9 to 13 nights, which is comparatively lengthy for Caribbean sailings. In some circumstances, these itineraries will be mixed to create even longer Caribbean itineraries which might be 20 nights or longer.
Associated: Crystal’s revamped Crystal Serenity, reviewed intimately
A typical 11-night Caribbean voyage out of Miami provided by Crystal consists of calls at Tortola within the British Virgin Islands; St. Martin; St. John within the U.S. Virgin Islands; Barbados; St. Lucia; and Nassau within the Bahamas.
Crystal additionally provides occasional one-way Panama Canal sailings from Florida to the West Coast of the USA. These function stops within the Caribbean, in addition to a full transit of the Panama Canal.
Alaska
Crystal is one in all a handful of luxurious cruise strains devoting a ship to the Alaska marketplace for the approaching summer season of 2024, with its 740-passenger Crystal Serenity heading to the area for an abbreviated season.
Throughout July and August, Crystal Serenity will supply each round-trip sailings to Alaska out of Vancouver, British Columbia, and one-way sailings between Vancouver and Seward, Alaska.
The sailings are seven nights in size, which makes them among the many shortest sailings on Crystal’s schedule. However the itineraries are a bit completely different than most seven-night Alaska itineraries provided by the big-ship strains.
Associated: Crystal plans fast growth with 4 new ships in 2029
Crystal’s typical round-trip crusing to Alaska from Vancouver encompasses a day crusing by way of and experiencing British Columbia’s famously scenic Seymour Narrows, which is never on Alaska cruise itineraries. Just some hundred meters extensive in locations, the 3-mile-long narrows is not accessible to the massive mass-market ships that sail to Alaska however is a web site to behold. (I have been fortunate sufficient to sail by way of it a few occasions, and it is a deal with if the climate cooperates.)
The round-trip sailings from Vancouver additionally embrace a name on the small Alaska city of Sitka as an alternative of the extra touristy Juneau — the latter a mainstay of seven-night Alaska sailings. Stops at Skagway and Ketchikan and a go to to the glacier-carved Endicott Arm fjord spherical out the journeys.
One-way sailings between Vancouver and Seward go to Ketchikan, Sitka, Skagway and Hoonah in Alaska and embrace scenic cruising to Hubbard Glacier.
Asia, Australia and New Zealand
Crystal often sends one in all its two ships to Asia, Australia and New Zealand each winter for sailings out of such cities as Bangkok, Singapore, Sydney and Auckland.
The road additionally sometimes sends a second ship on an around-the-world cruise that features segments in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, leading to two of the road’s ships crusing within the areas through the winter. (See extra on the road’s world cruises beneath.)
The vessels supply a comparatively extensive mixture of itineraries, by no means staying in the identical a part of Asia, Australia and New Zealand for too many voyages in a row.
Among the many Asia itineraries that Crystal has on its schedule for the following two years is a 12-night voyage between Hong Kong and Singapore with stops in Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and Brunei. Australia and New Zealand sailings embrace a 17-night round-trip voyage out of Sydney to New Zealand with stops in Auckland, Tauranga, Picton, Lyttelton and Dunedin in New Zealand, and Burnie and Hobart within the Australian island state of Tasmania.
Associated: One of the best cruise strains for class and exclusivity
Longer itineraries that mix visits to Asia, Australia and New Zealand right into a single crusing embrace a 42-night voyage from Mumbai, India, to Auckland. This crusing consists of stops in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.
The world
Crystal has lengthy been recognized for epic around-the-world voyages with stops at dozens of locations on 4, 5 and even six continents.
These journeys can final 4 months or longer, permitting People to journey throughout the globe with out ever getting on an airplane.
Usually, Crystal’s around-the-world voyages start and finish in both Florida or California (or each; the road generally provides the choice of becoming a member of its world cruises in both state because the ship makes it method all over the world).
Associated: 10 epic around-the-world cruises
Crystal plans one such around-the-world journey for 2024 — a 141-day voyage on Crystal Serenity beginning Jan. 18, 2024. The ship will depart from Miami and name in 33 nations. Would-be world cruisers can also be part of the ship in San Diego on Feb. 3, 2024, after it sails to California by way of the Panama Canal.
After departing San Diego, Crystal Serenity will comply with a westward path across the globe, beginning with a Pacific crossing to Hawaii and French Polynesia on the way in which to New Zealand and Australia. From there, the vessel will head to varied nations throughout Asia, together with Indonesia and India, earlier than crusing by way of the Crimson Sea and the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean.
Within the Mediterranean, the ship will go to a number of ports in Israel, Turkey, Greece, France and Spain earlier than heading to Portugal. An Atlantic crossing to Miami will comply with, and West Coast-based passengers can proceed on a further leg by way of the Panama Canal again to San Diego.
Crystal additionally just lately introduced a 123-day world cruise for 2025 that brings stops in 62 ports in 31 nations. Departing from Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 7, 2025, the crusing will not be a whole around-the-world crusing. As a substitute, It is going to concentrate on an prolonged exploration of South America and Antarctica earlier than the vessel crosses the Atlantic to Africa, India and Europe.
Backside line
Regardless of its small dimension, Crystal provides a various array of itineraries in cruise locations all over the world, from North America to Asia. You will discover probably the most decisions amongst Crystal itineraries in Europe adopted by the Caribbean and Alaska. The road can be well-known for epic around-the-world cruises.
Planning a cruise? Begin with these tales:
