Cruise ShipsCrystal – Exceptional at Sea (ex Crystal Cruises)Past and Present

MV Crystal Serenity – Past and Present

IMO Number: 9243667

MV Crystal Serenity

© Aleksi Lindström

© Aleksi Lindström

Steel twin pod motor vessel built in 2003 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France (Yard No H32) for Crystal Cruises, Los Angeles, United States as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship

Technical Data

  • Original Cost: $350 million
  • Length on deck: 250.0m (820.2 ft) overall
  • Breadth of hull: 34.0m (111.5 ft) extreme
  • Draught: 7.60m (24.9 ft) maximum
  • Tonnage: 68,870 gross/34,913 net/6,945 deadweight
  • Engines: Six Wartsila 12V38B diesels
  • Propulsion/Propellers: 52,197 kW/2 Azimuthing pods
  • Speed: 22 knots
  • Capacity: 1100 passengers
  • Passenger decks: 8
  • Crew: 655
  • Navigation Officers: Scandinavian
  • Call Sign: C6SY3
  • MMSI Number: 311536000
  • IMO Number: 9243667
  • Registry: Nassau/Bahamas 🇧🇸


Current AIS Location


Please note that this specific vessels AIS position data may be over an hour old and that the vessels position will only be displayed when it is within range of the VesselFinder AIS system. The AIS transponder/ship position data featured on this page is intended for information purposes only and it is in no way related to the 'Safety of Navigation at Sea'. All the AIS ship position data featured within this article is provided by VesselFinder and we are therefore not responsible for its content or its accuracy.


History

November 8th 2002: Launched.

June 30th 2003: Crystal Serenity delivered to Crystal Cruises, Nassau, Bahamas a wholly owned division of Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), Japan.

© Aleksi Lindström © Aleksi Lindström  

© Aleksi Lindström (both)

July 3rd 2003: Christened in Southampton.

July 7th 2003: Positioning cruise.

© John Wilson © John Wilson  

© John Wilson (both)

January 19th 2004: Departed Los Angeles on her first world circumnavigation. Next 106 days heading west via Hawaii, Japan, China, Singapore, India, Africa and South America.

April 27th 2005: First call at Dover.

© Nigel Thornton

© Nigel Thornton

January 17th 2022: Sailed for a world-trotting voyage that would have covered more than 80 ports in four months. After departure news came of the bankruptcy of Genting. This cruise had to be terminated shortly after departure, and Crystal arranged to offload all passengers in Aruba

January 22nd 2022: Official announcement made that Genting Hong Kong Ltd., (parent company of Crystal Cruises) had run into financial difficulties.

January 29th 2022: Denied entry into Aruba and sailed to Bimini (Bahamas) to avoid arrest.

February 5th 2022: Having disembarked passengers in Bimini the vessel was arrested.

February 7th 2022: Together with CRYSTAL SYMPHONY, moored off Freeport (Bahamas).

February 11th 2022: Crystal Cruises were officially dissolved.

June 22nd 2022:

A&K Travel Group, the company owned by Geoffrey Kent and Heritage Group, today confirmed the acquisition of two Crystal Cruises ocean-going ships.
Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony will resume service in 2023 after an extensive refit and operate under the Crystal – Exceptional at Sea brand..
Crystal Serenity and Symphony were sold at auction in the Bahamas for $109 million and $25 million respectively last week to an undisclosed buyer after Crystal Cruises’ owner Genting Hong Kong filed to be wound up in January.

Travel Weekly

July 31st 2022: Laid up in Treiste pending refurbishment with larger cabins, reducing overall capacity.

January 31st 2023: Announcement from Crystal – Exceptional at Sea:

Crystal Serenity will embark on its first sailing from Marseille on July 31st 2023, visiting Cannes, Monte Carlo, Portofino, Calvi, Barcelona, Ibiza, Cartagena, Malaga, Portimão and Lisbon.

July 11th 2023: Completed sea trials.

August 22nd 2023: Arrived Southampton.

© Gary & Patsy Davies (Maritime Photographic) © Gary & Patsy Davies (Maritime Photographic) © Gary & Patsy Davies (Maritime Photographic) © Gary & Patsy Davies (Maritime Photographic) © Gary & Patsy Davies (Maritime Photographic)

🆕© Gary & Patsy Davies (Maritime Photographic)

 


All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Gary & Patsy Davies (Maritime Photographic), Lindström and John Wilson for their assistance in producing this feature.

Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)

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