''Crystal Symphony'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

owned by

Abercrombie & Kent Geoffrey JW Kent (born 14 July 1942) is the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Abercrombie & Kent, an international luxury and adventure travel company. He is credited with introducing the first luxury photographic African safari in 1962. Early l ...

and operated for

Crystal Cruises Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line owned by A&K Travel Group. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2 ...

. She was built in 1995 at Kværner Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. She is the oldest vessel in the Crystal Cruises fleet.

Concept and construction

''Crystal Symphony'' was ordered in December 1992 and entered service in May 1995. The ship was docked in Sydney Harbour for the Olympics in 2000. The ship was refitted a second time in 2006. This process, which cost US$23 million, was the largest refit ever for Crystal Cruises. During this refit, Crystal employed over 750 external workers to join the existing 545 crew to ensure a timely completion. The refit was done in

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

Norfolk Ship Repair in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. In 2009 ''Crystal Symphony'' underwent a third refit costing US$25 million. The refit was completed at Boston Ship Repair's South Boston Dry dock. In June 2012, the ship completed a two-week "extreme makeover" done by 1,100 workers (including the crew) at the

Blohm + Voss Blohm is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans Blohm C.M. (born 1927), photographer and author * Hermann Blohm (1848–1930), German businessman and co-founder of German company Blohm+Voss * Irma Blohm (1909–1997), German pol ...

docks in Germany.

Insolvency and arrest

At the beginning of 2022, Crystal Cruises' parent company,

Genting Hong Kong Genting Hong Kong Limited ( zh, 雲頂香港有限公司) was a holding company that operated cruise and resort businesses. It was headquartered in (海洋中心), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (). It was p ...

, was experiencing financial difficulties. Due to the outstanding balance of approximately $4.6 million in fuel bills, a warrant was issued in January 2022 for the vessel's arrest should it re-enter U.S. waters. As a result, the ship changed course to

Bimini Bimini is the westernmost district of the Bahamas and comprises a chain of islands located about due east of Miami. Bimini is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland United States and approximately west-northwest of Nassau. The popula ...

, Bahamas, and arrangements were made to transport its passengers back to the United States. Genting Hong Kong subsequently filed for bankruptcy and suspended operations of its cruise ships. Thereafter, on February 4, 2022, both ''Crystal Symphony'' and its sister ship, ''

Crystal Serenity ''Crystal Serenity'' is a cruise ship owned by Crystal Cruises. ''Crystal Serenity'' was built in 2003 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in St. Nazaire.

'', were arrested in Bahamian waters. The ships were then placed under the management of V.Ships Leisure, which was appointed by the liquidators to assume control of Crystal's ships.

Change of ownership

On June 22, 2022, it was announced that A&K Travel Group had purchased the brand and two ocean vessels of the bankrupt cruise line, intending to return the ships to service in 2023. The ''Crystal Symphony'' was acquired for $25 million. Beginning in July 2022, the ship underwent a refurbishment in Trieste, Italy, and on September 1, 2023, returned to service under the Crystal Cruises brand.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crystal Symphony Cruise ships Ships built in Turku 1995 ships