In a move towards the re-opening of cruising worldwide, Crystal Cruises has expanded further on its Crystal Clean 2.0 protocols. Crystal Clean 3.0 brings even stricter guidelines to the luxury operators Ocean and River ships as the company looks forward to operations starting in 2021.
With many new initiatives planned in for this year, parent company Genting certainly looks like it needs cruising to start sooner rather than later.
The Future of Cruising at Crystal Cruises
Crystal Clean 3.0 protocols include new pre-boarding and embarkation procedures, social distancing requirements, strict shore excursion policies, crew member quarantine, COVID-19 testing and more.
Before boarding, guests will not only be required to go through the standard temperature checks. Those embarking Crystal Ocean and River ships will also need to go through a Covid-19 test before departing home and provide proof of a negative test.
The crew is not exempt from this. Crew members onboard will be tested by the company before embarking and will go for a mandatory quarantine for seven days before they are allowed to start working.
As we’ve seen already with operators like MSC Cruises, shore excursions are also changing dramatically at Crystal Cruises. Gone are the days for a leisurely stroll in town in the Mediterranean.
Guests are now required to book a shore excursion if they want to leave the vessel. There will be no shuttle busses, and personal transportation like a private car will not be available.
Meanwhile, onboard the ships, hugely popular signature Crystal features like the ‘Ambassador Host dance program’ have been cancelled and will not be returning for the near future. Ship’s staff will also strictly monitor social distancing and capacity control measures in bars, lounges, theatres and restaurants.
Sailing When Safe
Crystal has re-iterated their commitment that they will not sail until they are sure it is safe for their guests to do so.
The company had only recently started launching several new initiatives to diversify their portfolio. This included the 62-guest private yacht Crystal Esprit and River ships Crystal Bach, Debussy, Mahler and Ravel.
Crystal has also been trying to gain headway into the Luxury expedition market with the Crystal Endeavour. A market where competitors Seabourn and Silversea Cruises have been active for several years now.
The Crystal Endeavour is an expedition yacht, fitted with Zodiacs, kayaks, submersibles and helicopters and was supposed to be sailing the frigid Antarctic and Arctic Oceans this year.
The expedition ship launch date had already been pushed back to November 14th; however, it seems that this will now not be happening until the first months of 2021 at the earliest.
Also Read: 10 Reasons Why Cruise Ships Are Not Floating Petri Dishes
Genting Warns of Losses
Not only is Crystal Cruises laid up until next year, but parent company Genting also seems to be in some trouble. Genting, which was in the process of building one of the largest ships in history, the Global Dream, issued a profit warning in August. The company expects an operating loss of around $300 million.
With more ships planned to be built, it comes as no surprise that Crystal Cruises is enhancing its safety protocols on board. With this many new initiatives, the company is hit incredibly hard and is in dire need of a re-opening of the cruise market worldwide.
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