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Why I’ll be devastated if this luxury travel brand is gone for good
The Points Guy ^ | January 20, 2022 | Gene Sloan

Posted on 01/21/2022 12:31:20 PM PST by Capt. Tom

Good journalists are supposed to be impartial. They stay neutral when reporting the news. And even as someone who has built a career writing about the fluffiest of topics — cruising — I have tried to hold fast to such principles.

Alas, every so often a story that I am covering hits me in the gut to such a level that it is hard to stay impartial. The suspension of operations at Crystal Cruises Wednesday in the wake of a financial meltdown at its parent company is just such a story.

Crystal is, without a doubt, the finest cruise line that I have ever experienced — and I have sailed with more than 40 cruise brands. The possibility that it won’t be around to continue to set the bar for what a great cruise line can be fills me with sadness.

I will lay my bias on the table right here, for everyone to see: I really want Crystal to survive.

Whether it does or not seems up in the air.

For now, the suspension of operations at Crystal, which specializes in luxury cruises, is just temporary … at least, that’s what the line is saying. On Wednesday, Crystal said it only canceled sailings of its three oceangoing ships through the end of April. It canceled sailings of its five river ships through the end of May.

But the line’s fate is now in the hands of liquidators for its parent company, Genting Hong Kong.

Genting Hong Kong said on Wednesday that it was nearly out of cash and filed for what is known as a winding-up petition with a court in Bermuda, where it is registered. This clears the way for liquidators to sell or shut down divisions as part of an orderly restructuring.

What happens next is unclear.

In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday, Genting Hong Kong said some of its business activities, including (but not limited to) the operations of its Asia-based Dream Cruises division, would continue as its liquidators pursue a financial restructuring “in order to preserve and protect the core assets and maintain the value” of these assets during the process.

However, it said it expected the majority of its existing operations to “cease to operate.”

Genting Hong Kong has a controlling interest in three cruise lines — Dream Cruises, Asia-based Star Cruises and Crystal — as well as shipyards in Germany and a Resorts World casino in Malaysia.

Why I am rooting for Crystal Cruises The luxury corner of the cruise world in North America is dominated by just a few major players, most notably Crystal, Silversea Cruises, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Together, they operate about two dozen ocean ships.

Over the years, I have sailed with all of these lines many times, and there is no bad apple in the bunch. They all are wonderful cruise operators, with beautiful ships, carefully crafted itineraries and — most importantly — generally impeccable service.

But among them all, Crystal has always stood out. It’s something special.

There is a culture on board Crystal ships that is like nothing I have experienced anywhere else at sea — and this is coming from someone who has sailed on more than 160 cruise vessels operated by 41 different lines. I’ve easily taken more than 200 cruises in all.

The service on Crystal ships is consistently intuitive and flawless at a level that makes it extraordinary. It’s often the little things that tell the tale.

A few months ago, when I was sitting in the Palm Court lounge on Crystal’s new expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor, the room’s bar manager, Ana, arrived with a cappuccino. She quietly placed it on the table in front of me while I was typing away on a story.

I hadn’t ordered the cappuccino, but I was indeed ready for one, which she somehow intuitively knew. She clearly had taken note in the days before that I liked to slowly sip on a coffee as I wrote in a corner of the room. She must have noticed that my coffee orders on board were invariably cappuccinos, not Americanos or lattes.

Ana also struck up conversations with me at times when I visited her bar, but she seemed to know just the right time to do so and just the right time to leave me alone. That’s a fine line to walk, and she walked it like a pro.

I wrote about this at the time, as it was a perfect example of the amazing, anticipate-your-every-need service that is a hallmark of Crystal.

It’s the sort of service that points to a company not only hiring the very best people in the business but also training them extensively and about as perfectly as possible.

Crystal’s crew members are not the only ones who are a delight, though. So are the passengers. It’s a truism of cruising that every line has its own culture when it comes to their regular crowd, and Crystal ships are a second home to some of the most interesting, fun and engaging people you’ll find at sea. I always enjoy being around them.

The best outcome The next few months could go a few ways for Crystal.

In a statement Wednesday, the line said its suspension of operations for the next few months would “provide Crystal’s management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward.”

That leaves open a lot of possibilities. It’s also not clear how much of a vote Crystal’s management will get when it comes to choosing a path forward. Judging from Genting Hong Kong’s filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday, the company’s liquidators will have the biggest sway over what comes next.

In the filing, the company suggested the liquidators would pursue a financial restructuring that could keep at least parts of the company running. However, they also would have the power to “dispose of all or certain of the company’s assets with a view to maximizing value and returns for creditors.”

That could mean that Crystal resumes operations as a division of a restructured Genting Hong Kong. It also could mean it resumes operations under the ownership of another cruise company, hedge fund or other entity that buys it during the liquidation process. It also could mean the brand is shut down completely or sees some of its eight vessels sold off for cash to interested buyers.

I like to think that Crystal has such a loyal following and offers such a unique brand promise that someone either within or outside of Genting Hong Kong will see the value of it as an entity kept whole and make a play to keep it running just as it is.

Given Genting Hong Kong’s not-so-great track record in overseeing the brand, the best outcome to me would be for the line to be sold to a financially sound buyer who won’t make too many changes to what it is now.

That’s my biased hope, at least.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Travel
KEYWORDS: bankruptcy; crystalcruises
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To: Capt. Tom

You mean to say that Crystal Cruises gave this guy a cappuccino without him ordering it?? Oh my. What unparalleled luxury and service. Once or twice I’ve had iHop bring me a cup of coffee without me ordering it, so I’m not totally unfamiliar with this sort of thing.


21 posted on 01/21/2022 1:38:03 PM PST by irishjuggler
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To: ProtectOurFreedom; NEMDF; George from New England; cll; DarthFuzball; Tennessee Nana; Fai Mao; ...
You can tell I didn’t read much of the article!

I know many Freepers won't look for an excerpted article , so I try to avoid that, and hunt down the original aricle that I can post in it's entirety.

I did that on this article after being told by FR guidelines to excerpt the article when it appeared on other URLs.

Still I know some Freepers won't read the article in the thread before commenting. -Tom

22 posted on 01/21/2022 1:38:53 PM PST by Capt. Tom (.It's COVID 2022 - The Events, not us, are still in charge. )
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To: Capt. Tom

“Why I’ll be devastated if this luxury travel brand is gone for good”

i imagine guys like that don’t get too devastated over things like building materials and skilled labor being unavailable to rebuild over one thousand houses that burned to the ground in the Marshall fire in Colorado a few weeks ago, or the fact that only two thousand dwellings are for sale on Colorado’s Front Range from Castle Rock to Fort Collins, thus freezing Colorado’s residential real estate market because no one can buy anything else if they sell [thank you very much Dementia Joe] ... but loss of a SINGLE luxury cruise outfit is indeed devastating ...


23 posted on 01/21/2022 1:40:47 PM PST by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: Capt. Tom
All Ocean or Expedition cruise guests aged 12 years or older are required to be fully inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine

That probably doesn't hurt your business. /s

24 posted on 01/21/2022 1:58:12 PM PST by Tommy Revolts
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To: Jane Long; Tennessee Nana

Below is another take on Carnivals latest protocols. -Tom

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Breaking+News+Cruise+Lines&&view=detail&mid=3B8EBE35AEDDC2B022AF3B8EBE35AEDDC2B022AF&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DBreaking%2BNews%2BCruise%2BLines%26FORM%3DVARSQP


25 posted on 01/21/2022 2:00:36 PM PST by Capt. Tom (.It's COVID 2022 - The Events, not us, are still in charge. )
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To: Attention Surplus Disorder

“They are not for everyone, but they are a pretty simple way to have a very low-think vacation.”

I’m not anti cruise ship vacation, not in the least, I hope you continue to enjoy your time & money as you see fit.

I was trying to add a demographic component to the conversation about their business model. A model that is dependent on Baby Boomer money.

If the younger generation is “eating asset inflation” in housing, education, health care, automobiles etc. They may not have as much money for either hotels or cruises over the next decade.

Virus hysteria isn’t helping these industries either. So I see some head winds in the future.


26 posted on 01/21/2022 2:04:47 PM PST by unclebankster (Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel )
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To: Capt. Tom

Why can’t the cruise ships use the 18th century English legal doctrine of impressment to fill their ships with passengers?


27 posted on 01/21/2022 2:08:07 PM PST by sergeantdave (Federal courts no longer have any standing in America. )
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
Crystal sounds very nice. What a shame.

My one & only cruise was a Dennis Prager organized one on the Crystal Serenity in 2014. Sailing from England to Boston with stops in Guernsey, Ireland, Iceland, Nova Scotia and Bar Harbor, it was a genuine experience & pleasure! Yes, everything was top-notch and the rest of the (generally) silvered-hair passengers were very LOYAL to the brand and even the specific ship! Would I cruise on a Crystal ship again? Very much yes given a logical chance!

If the Crystal organization does fall victim to the COVID & China malaise, I will be saddened and regret lost opportunities. I will hope that they can recover!

28 posted on 01/21/2022 2:11:48 PM PST by SES1066 (quires )
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To: unclebankster
The tourist industry will get butchered, they rely on disposable income from customers. In a deflationary environment(tight money) customers have less income for non essential businesses like cruise ships.

Plus their customer base is old, eventually old people die, which means no more cruise vacation for the dead person.

I agree; which makes me wonder how long the creditors are going to allow this to go on. - Tom

29 posted on 01/21/2022 2:15:21 PM PST by Capt. Tom (.It's COVID 2022 - The Events, not us, are still in charge. )
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To: Capt. Tom

“I agree; which makes me wonder how long the creditors are going to allow this to go on. - Tom”

We’re about to find out, with higher interest rates on the horizon.

If I knew anything about the convertibility of cruise ships. (I don’t currently have this knowledge)
That would be the investment direction I would be heading towards.

The ships are already there, they just need to be utilized properly.


30 posted on 01/21/2022 2:26:59 PM PST by unclebankster (Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel )
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To: Capt. Tom
Good journalists are supposed to be impartial. They stay neutral when reporting the news.

It's pretty hard to find one of those these days. See Tagline.

31 posted on 01/21/2022 3:12:16 PM PST by libertylover (Our BIGGEST problem, by far, is that most of the media is hate & agenda driven, not truth driven.)
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To: catnipman

Real life problems, meet uber wealth snowflake imaginary problems.
Situation in Colorado sounds like old Soviet Union!


32 posted on 01/21/2022 4:01:09 PM PST by boxlunch (10th Amendmt: nullification or Texit? PS We're in a hot war: globalists, CCP, media, Dems, RINOs)
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To: unclebankster
The ships are already there, they just need to be utilized properly

The cruise ships are good for one thing carrying paying passengers.

They make poor collateral today because all the cruise lines are facing hard times, and don't need to be buying more ships.

Billionaires can afford them but they are too big.
They only need yachts that can carry 10 to 50 people and be much smaller to get into different ports.

So today they are scrapping these unwanted older cruise ships for a fraction of their normal value.

Also, the cost of the new ships being delivered is in excess of 1 Billion Dollars each which puts more monetary stress on an already economically in debt cruise line.

Something has got to give way. - Tom

33 posted on 01/21/2022 4:02:29 PM PST by Capt. Tom (.It's COVID 2022 - The Events, not us, are still in charge. )
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To: Capt. Tom
Never been on the Crystal Ocean ships, but 5 cruises on their River boats....FABULOUS!!! After 30 minutes on the first one, I said to my husband...."I've been CRYSTALIZED"!

We were supposed to be on one from Amsterdam to Basel with Celebrity cruises bookended.....we had to cancel them also....sniff.

34 posted on 01/21/2022 4:14:45 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Pretty sure he said 200 cruises he’s been on.


35 posted on 01/21/2022 4:16:24 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

A WRITER can work anywhere!


36 posted on 01/21/2022 4:18:13 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: edwinland

You are nothing like the original Edwin H. Land, the Professor at MIT!


37 posted on 01/21/2022 4:19:32 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Capt. Tom

I have to tell you that on Celebrity, the median age has gone down a lot in the last 6 cruises we’ve taken. I might have been one of the OLDEST!!!


38 posted on 01/21/2022 4:22:43 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Jane Long
Then those booked folks will have to do their own cooking and cleaning.

I see what you did there. 😂

39 posted on 01/21/2022 4:34:40 PM PST by Allegra
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To: Capt. Tom

Thanks Tom,

The information you’ve provided is appreciated.


40 posted on 01/21/2022 4:35:38 PM PST by unclebankster (Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel )
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