A&K Travel Group has firmed a date for the delivery of the first of its new build ships with Italian shipyard, Fincantieri. Speaking exclusively with LATTE in Melbourne on Monday, Cristina Levis, CEO of the luxury travel company, said the 61,800-gross-tonne ship would debut in May 2028.

Currently, Crystal operates two ships. Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony. Both vessels were resurrected by A&K Travel Group in 2023 following the demise of the former owner. Before relaunching, the luxury travel juggernaut invested heavily in a suite redesign, and capacity reduction.

Levis concurs that a fleet of two ships has its limitations, especially with the current situation in the Red Sea requiring vessels to circle the African continent from Asian waters. But the limited ships also has benefits “for the time being, ” Levis said. “That’s why we want to grow the fleet”.

That growth is through the addition of new ships, originally announced in July 2023 aboard Crystal Serenity and signed with shipbuilder Fincantieri last year. Initially two firm orders and a third option, Levis told LATTE that A&K Travel Group’s intention will be to exercise the third vessel. “We’ll see what happens in the next few months”.

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Crystal’s first new classic ship (yet to be formally named), is confirmed for delivery on 30 May 2028, Levis revealed to LATTE. A date for the second sister-vessel is yet to be set in stone.

Ship one will be built at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard, near Venice, while the location of ship two’s construction site remains unknown, other than it will “be made in Italy,” Levis highlighted.

The new all-balcony suite Classic ships will have a capacity of 690 guests, differing from Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony that were constructed with guestrooms overlooking the Promenade Deck.

The walk around Promenade Deck is a key characteristic of Symphony and Serenity, loved by loyal guests, Levis says is crucial, and will be reproduced on the new ships.

“The Promenade Deck is a feature almost all ships no longer have nowadays. For the new build, we want to have the full promenade deck because guests love it. It’s one of the features they love the most about Crystal.”

“But at the same time, we must have all the suites with balconies, and the designers and naval engineers have managed to do that. They have been incredible,” she said.

As for the configuration of the new ships, Levis says the mix of suites will be “more or less what we have today”, excluding rooms with no balconies. That’s a mix of Double and Single Guest Rooms, Aquamarine, Sapphire, Junior Crystal and Crystal Penthouse.

The visiting CEO did however specify that there will be one category on the new ships not already offered on Serenity and Symphony. That will be a larger suite than Crystal’s current Penthouse Suite, which itself is 117 square-metres. Though not stated, that could potentially involve an Owner’s Suite or Residences.

Levis says the lead-in suites will be slightly larger than what is configured on the original vessels. However, a significant design change involved increased storage capacity.

“Cruisers are very demanding compared to hotel guests because they stay onboard much more. They don’t stay two or three nights like they may at a hotel. They travel for extended periods, sometimes three or four months, so they notice everything. And they want the ship to be like their home.”

Levis, who keeps a close eye on guest feedback on social media, says one of the few criticisms she sees from guests, especially in the lead-in room categories, is the limited storage capacity.

“Imagine you bring clothes for four months and you have a tiny closet! So on the new ships, with the interior designers and the architects, we’ve managed to find a solution to have double the capacity that we have today, inside the room without compromising on the look and feel of the room.”

Levis confirmed signature restaurants from Chef Nobu, the Alajmo Brothers and Beef Bar will be replicated on the new vessels. Other new restaurant partnerships will be revealed “very soon… in the next few weeks”.

She said discussion for the new eateries have been in talks for the past six- to eight-months.

In regards to Crystal’s mooted Expedition ships, of which there will be two, Levis said the original plan – announced back in July 2023 — was to expedite polar class vessels in preference to new Classic ships.

“We were very much advanced with the expedition ship. We had all the designs. We could have started construction in a matter of weeks.” Those plans were thrown into disarray with the shipyard Crystal had been working with declared bankruptcy.

“We are working on a replacement. We’re working on a plan, but as of today, I won’t be able to say when we will have expedition ships. We’re working on that. The plan is still there absolutely, but when that will happen will also depend on the availability of slots at the shipyards. They are full until 2035 or 2036. The demand is just insane.”

Levis reconfirmed to LATTE that Crystal’s expedition fleet will “ideally be two”.