Luxury cruise operator Crystal Cruises will start sailing from Boston in August and New York in September of this year. Crystal Symphony will be the companies second vessel to commence operations after Crystal Cruises started operations from the Bahamas at the start of this month with Crystal Serenity.
Crystal Symphony will have Boston and New York as homeports, sailing from New Yorkโs Manhattan Cruise Terminal and Flynn Cruiseport Boston. She will be the first vessel to start operations on the Northern Eastcoast of the United States since the industry paused operations now more than 16 months ago.
Luxury Bermuda Escapes
Guests who want to sail onboard Crystal Symphony will be able to do so starting August 22, when the vessel will sail on the first of four voyages from Flynn Cruiseport Boston. The seven-day cruises will feature two full days and two nights in Bermuda, while guests can relax and enjoy the vessel during some days at sea on either end.
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After the first four initial voyages, the vessel will start operations from New York’s Manhattan Cruise Terminal on September 24, sailing every Friday for a set of nine voyages featuring a spectacular New York sail-away.
Crystal Symphony had initially been scheduled to sail from Antigua and St. Maarten roundtrip, but these voyages have now been replaced with the Bermuda cruises. The cruise line decided to change its itinerary for Crystal Symphony following an increased demand for sailings from the United States as guests are still either unable or unwilling to travel long distances to join a cruise ship:
Jack Anderson, Crystalโs president:
โAs the entire travel industry emerges from the restrictions of the global pandemic, flexibility has been key in re-establishing meaningful experiences for travelers. For cruising, in particular, the recent positive developments of ships sailing from U.S. ports have prompted U.S. travelers to show an increased preference for more direct access to luxury cruise options closer to home,โ
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Increased Health Requirements
As the cruise industry slowly comes back to operations, Crystal Cruises has decided to make the east coast Bermuda cruises available to guests who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 only.
The company also operates under its Crystal Clean+ protocols with increased sanitation, capacity controls, social distancing on board, contactless dining, decreased capacity, and increased health monitoring of all guests and crew. Both guests and crew will also need to adhere to the local health and safety guidelines in place in Bermuda.
Bermuda’s Minister of Transport, The Hon. Lawrence Scott, believes guests will still be able to enjoy the island to its fullest potential:
โWe are delighted to welcome Crystal Symphonyโs guests to Bermudaโs 21-square miles of beautiful open spaces and pink sand beaches and invite them to relax and enjoy all the culture, adventure and fun we have to offer knowing that stringent protocols ensure them a healthy, safe and pleasurable experience.โ
New York and Boston Eager To Open Up
Both Flynn Cruiseport Boston and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal executives are eager to see cruising return to the east coast. Before the pandemic started, Boston Port served more than 400.000 cruise passengers, which injected more than $100 million into the local economy. Twenty different cruise lines regularly sailed from Boston.
Massport Port Director Michael Meyran:
โWe look forward to welcoming cruise passengers back to Flynn Cruiseport Boston this summer and providing an opportunity for New England residents and others to experience Bermuda. Massport and Crystal Cruises are actively working on a port agreement that will align with local and state public health authorities, as well as meet all the necessary CDC protocols.โ
New York has been a traditional stop-off port for Crystal Cruises, and the port is more than happy to welcome one of its ships back again.
Steve Levitsky, vice president, Cruise Ports America:
โPorts America is extremely pleased to welcome Crystal Symphony back to New York City as her homeport. We have had a long-standing partnership with Crystal Cruises for many decades serving their vessels at Manhattan Cruise Terminal and throughout many ports in the U.S. and we look forward to a successful return this fall.โ
Crystal Cruises sailed for the first time earlier this month from the Bahamas with Crystal Serenity, making Crystal Symphony the second Crystal Cruise ship to commence operations in the Americas.