Crystal Cruises is expanding its river version of Crystal Getaways — its shorter itinerary product — by about 300 percent. The company has announced more than two dozen new Crystal Getaways between May and November this year, operated by the all-suite, all-balcony Crystal Bach, Crystal Mahler and Crystal Ravel. The Getaways run six to nine days on the Danube and Rhine rivers with multiple overnights.
“Crystal River Cruises’ hallmark is offering innovative itineraries that explore new places and longtime favorites catering to our guests’ own distinct style and length of exploration,” said Walter Littlejohn, vice president and managing director of Crystal River Cruises. “These new Getaways, along with the full complement of voyages across the fleet, will feature the personalized service, culinary experiences, expansive all-suite design and other fine details only found with Crystal.
Rick Kaplan, president of Los Angeles-based Premier River Cruises, applauds the cruises, saying that “the North American market tends to like more concise vacations versus travelers down under or from Europe.”
Crystal Bach already sailed three previously announced cruises to the Netherlands and Belgium in April and May, and is now adding seven-day Romantic Rhine sailings between Amsterdam and Mainz, Germany, and Rhine Serenade itineraries between Mainz and Frankfurt.
Crystal Mahler is operating seven-day Delightful Danube cruises between Regensburg, Germany and Budapest, and nine-day European Escape sailings between Amsterdam and Regensburg. Crystal Ravel offers six-day itineraries between Vienna and Nuremberg on the Danube and eight-day European Treasures cruises between Nuremberg, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland.
Carmen Corvos-Roig, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Crystal Cruises, says Crystal Getaways and other shorter cruises are increasingly popular as the audience of luxury travelers expands. Besides the convenience for busy schedules and lower starting fares, they allow Crystal to offer more diverse itineraries over the course of the year.
“Shorter voyages often appeal to multigenerational families and large groups, for whom it can be difficult for one person to coordinate 12 or more days among everyone’s schedules,” she said. “This presents a great opportunity for agents to book those larger groups and reap the rewards they offer. These cruises are also great for families with children, which broadens agents’ reach to that sector for luxury bookings.
Corvos-Roig notes that, in the spirit of offering more choices, Crystal seeks to create itineraries that do not repeat on consecutive embarkations, particularly with shorter seven-day cruises, offering a full, all-inclusive experience with a lesser commitment of time and money along with the possibility of back-to-back cruising.
The Details
Crystal River Cruises
www.crystalcruises.com/river/cruises
