Crystal to compete with SeaDream in small ship market

Something tells me the Emperor will be a great addition to the SD board.

Something tells me the Emperor will be a great addition to the SD board.

Emperor and Wripro are regulars over at Seabourn.:eek::D

Other than the Esprit the rest of the ships are years away, especially any thoughts of river boats and planes.

The Esprit sounds very interesting to us! But with only 60? Passengers, hope there will be a child policy!? 😉

The Esprit sounds very interesting to us! But with only 60? Passengers, hope there will be a child policy!?

Amen!!

Correction -- an ANTI child policy.

Got the brochure from Crystal on the Esprit this week. It looks very interesting. Beautiful suites, etc. but they are only doing 3 itineraries for the next year. Seychelles to Sechelles on a 10 day during the late fall and winter and then Dubrovnik to Venice and return Venice to Dubrovnik for the late spring, summer into early fall. The Croatian voyages do not repeat ports so you could do a two week cruise without repeating ports.

Something to think about. A newly renovated ship in this size category is of interest. Advertised prices did not look too bad. Think you have to get further into the process to find out what they really are!

The Esprit sounds very interesting to us! But with only 60? Passengers, hope there will be a child policy!? 😉

Yes there is, 6 months and up. On their website. Interesting though, 62 passengers, 92 crew! and 230 sq ft basic cabins, appears it mostly went to larger bathroom. Time will tell.

Jimbo, since you are an old seadog, tell us how many crew are required just for operation and maintenance of a ship this size? And how does that scale up to SD, the WS triplets, and the much larger SB Odyssey class? Would be nice to know how to translate the total number of crew into the operations number and the customer-focused number.

Jimbo, since you are an old seadog, tell us how many crew are required just for operation and maintenance of a ship this size? And how does that scale up to SD, the WS triplets, and the much larger SB Odyssey class? Would be nice to know how to translate the total number of crew into the operations number and the customer-focused number.

Ok Sundance you win. Don't tell Ho-Hum, ok? We want to hear about the Tank Museum and all the rest of The Trek of Ragnar......So, by regulation, Officers for manning the bridge and engine spaces are set by law. The minimums are the same for passenger carrying vessels whether 10,000 tons or 100,000 tons. Also, the Mates (Chief Officer, etc. are, on any legitimate (part of the world's maritime agreements) passenger line are fully qualified Masters capable of taking over. Deck crew can vary somewhat by size but, with new line control automatic winches and other improvements, it really takes less than you would imagine to leave and enter ports. As you know, most real maintenance gets done in drydock periods so mostly what is done on a regular basis is cleaning, spot painting, etc. The medical staff on passenger carrying vessels is also set by regulation so would be similar. The big variable is in Hotel Staff. The differences in the proposed Crystal Yacht and SD are apparently in hotel staff as the needs of the bridge, engine space and deck department would appear to be nearly the same. 62 passengers with 92 crew would seem to mean exceptional service, even more than 110 passengers and 95 crew that we love. The inevitable truth about cruise lines is that as ships increase in size, the crew/passenger ratio shrinks. Lets say the regulations require a minimum required crew of 20. This would be the same for SD or for Seabourn with 450 passengers. The new Seabourn will have 604 passengers with only minimal crew additions. The place where the cheapest, least experienced, and most overworked crew is found is in Hotel Services. I put more stock in the passenger/crew ratio than the ever touted Passenger/Space ratio. Tonnage can be manipulated about as many ways as can be the US Tax Code.:eek: So, is that clear as mud? Speaking of mud, were the tracks of all those tanks muddy?????:D

I think we will wait for some expert opinions from the Seadream crowd before we try the Esprit...anxiously waiting!!!...😜

Kathy.

I think we will wait for some expert opinions from the Seadream crowd before we try the Esprit...anxiously waiting!!!...😜

Kathy.

Won't have to wait too long Kathy........

And I wonder if Goran will be taken as hostage for those trying out the Esprit!?!?

Hmmmm? HA! 😉😄