German ship building company MV Werften has immediately suspended production at its Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund shipyards due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the ships currently under construction and/or being fitted out by MV Werften is Crystal’s maiden expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor.
In a statement, MV Werften said its workforce will initially reduce hours or take holidays and enter into “short-time work” period from 1 April through to 19 April, 2020.
“The decision has become necessary because there are massive restrictions in the operational process due to the corona epidemic,” the shipbuilder said. “Because despite comprehensive preventive measures in place in the past few weeks, not all requirements can be met, such as the required safety margins in production between colleagues. Bottlenecks in external supply chains and closed borders also prevent continuous production.”
The ultra-luxury Crystal Endeavor expedition ship was floated out of the Stralsund shipyard in late December and was scheduled to enter service in August 2020.
Crystal acknowledged the necessity for MV Werften’s operational pause as a preventive measure to protect its employees against COVID-19.
“We are assessing the situation and how it might impact Crystal Endeavor, and we will provide an update as soon as we can,” Crystal said.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has also seen Crystal cancel multiple ocean, river and yacht sailings. Among the new cancellations are:
Crystal Cruises
• Crystal Serenity | 21 April, 2020 | 12 nights | Rome to Monte Carlo
• Crystal Serenity | 21 April, 2020 | 6 nights | Rome to Palma de Mallorca
• Crystal Serenity | 21 April, 2020 | 19 nights | Rome to Venice
• Crystal Serenity | 27 April, 2020 | 6 nights | Palma de Mallorca to Monte Carlo
• Crystal Serenity | 3 May, 2020 | 7 nights | Monte Carlo to Venice
• Crystal Serenity | 3 May, 2020 | 28 nights | Monte Carlo to Rome
• Crystal Symphony | 8 May, 2020 | 16 nights | Dubai to Rome
• Crystal Symphony | 8 May, 2020 | 10 nights | Dubai to Aqaba/Petra
• Crystal Symphony | 8 May, 2020 | 42 nights | Dubai to London
• Crystal Symphony | 18 May, 2020 | 6 nights | Aqaba/Petra to Rome
Crystal River Cruises
• Crystal Bach | 16 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Amsterdam Roundtrip
• Crystal Bach | 23 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Amsterdam Roundtrip
• Crystal Debussy | 17 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Amsterdam Roundtrip
• Crystal Debussy | 24 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Amsterdam Roundtrip
• Crystal Mahler | 18 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Budapest to Vilshofen
• Crystal Mahler | 25 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Vilshofen to Budapest
• Crystal Ravel | 17 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Budapest to Vilshofen
• Crystal Ravel | 24 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Budapest to Vilshofen
Crystal Yacht Cruises
• Crystal Esprit | 19 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Limassol to Athens
• Crystal Esprit | 26 April, 2020 | 7 nights | Athens Roundtrip
Guests on these cancelled sailings will have two options to consider: either a 100% refund of cruise fare, port charges, taxes, and fees paid, and any air and hotel packages booked through Crystal; or a Future Cruise Credit equal to 135% of their cruise fare paid, valid through to 31 December 2021.
If guests are unable to redeem the future cruise credit by 31 December, 2022, they may request a refund of the original cruise fare paid.
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