Press Release: Crystal River Cruises to Offer Exclusive Complimentary Event

LOS ANGELES, February 16, 2017 – When Crystal River Cruises’ newest luxury vessel embarks on her maiden voyage this June, guests will be treated to numerous experiences specially designed to showcase the elegance and history of the destinations along the Rhine and Moselle River itinerary. Among the grandest of these occasions will be a Crystal Signature Event in Amsterdam where guests will enjoy a complimentary exclusive concert at the Royal Concertgebouw, considered one of the finest concert halls in the world.

The 19th-century neoclassical theater has hosted musical greats in everything from classical to rock, from Strauss, to Louis Armstrong, to Sting; and its orchestra has been lauded for more than 125 years as one of the best in the world. Guests will tour the theater’s great hall, which is famous for its superb acoustics; then enjoy a private performance of master works in various genres in the charming “Kleine Zaal,” or the “Spiegelzaal,” two of the hall’s more intimate Baroque venues.

“It is a hallmark of Crystal shoreside experiences to showcase the rich culture and most special places unique to each destination, and an exclusive event at the Royal Concertgebouw is a truly special occasion,” says Crystal Chairman, CEO and President Edie Rodriguez. “We’re delighted to offer our guests the opportunity to enjoy some of the world’s most celebrated masterpieces in a venue as grand as the music itself.”

Crystal Bach will be the first of Crystal River Cruises’ four new luxury river yachts to launch in 2017 (Crystal Mahler) and 2018, (Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel), and Crystal’s introduction of Europe’s only all-balcony, all-suite ships in the river category. All four river yachts will offer Crystal’s acclaimed butler service in every room category, plush king-sized beds that face toward the Panoramic Balcony-Windows, walk-in closets and dual vanity in the bathrooms in most categories, ETRO robes and slippers, wall-mounted flat-screen HD TVs, and Nespresso machines. Additional enticing features include Crystal’s farm-to-table, Michelin-inspired cuisine in multiple, open-seating eateries: the elegant Waterside Restaurant, namesake Bistro cafés and the exclusive Vintage Room; and the Palm Court.

The Classical Concert at the Royal Concertgebouw is offered on all Crystal Bach voyages, which sail between Amsterdam and Frankfurt, calling in Basel, Switzerland; Antwerp, Belgium; and Nijmegen, Netherlands; Breisach, Kehl, Speyer, Mainz, Rüdesheim, Cologne, Kolbenz and Cochem, Germany. Voyages range from 10 to 14 days, with all-inclusive cruise fares starting at $3,675 per person. Crystal’s Early Booking Savings are available for 2018 voyages booked by March 31, 2017, offering additional savings of $500 per person on cruise only fares. For more information and Crystal reservations, contact a travel professional, call 888.799.2437, or visit Crystal’s website, www.crystalcruises.com.

As it expands its reach to all luxury travelers across the globe, Crystal evolves to The World’s Most Luxurious Hospitality and Lifestyle Brand Portfolio™. Crystal Cruises is the World’s Most Awarded Luxury Cruise Line™, having earned “World’s Best Cruise Ship” in Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader Choice Awards for 23 years; been voted “World’s Best Large Ship Cruise Line” by Travel + Leisure readers for 20 years; and the “Best Luxury Cruise Line” by travel professional organization Virtuoso for three consecutive years (2014, 2015 & 2016).  The newest and upcoming extensions of the celebrated Crystal brand include Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises, Crystal Luxury Air, Crystal River Cruises – The World’s Most Luxurious River Cruise Line ™, Crystal AirCruises and Crystal Exclusive Class™ with Crystal Residences.

I'm honestly a little curious, Andy, why this is posted as a dry, official press release. This is a pretty friendly forum of river cruise enthusiasts. Loosen your tie and have a conversation with us! We won't bite!

-Liz

Thanks for posting this, Andy.

The "Crystal Signature Event" perhaps will remind you and others of highly successful special evenings hosted by a certain ocean cruise line.

This particular offering is very intriguing. Will look forward to the assessments of its success.

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I'm honestly a little curious, Andy, why this is posted as a dry, official press release. This is a pretty friendly forum of river cruise enthusiasts. Loosen your tie and have a conversation with us! We won't bite!

 

-Liz

We get updates from Andy regularly on the Crystal Forum. However, anything relating to the Crystal River cruises gets banished to this thread which is why it can look out of place here.

Andy is Crystal's Social Media ambassador so is posting this in a formal capacity.

There should be a way to keep diehard Crystal cruisers happy and to provide info to those of us who really enjoy the river cruise experience. Posting here should not be considered banishment. It is interesting to read about the different lines that are sailing the rivers. Host Jazz and Host Andy, how can this be done?

That makes a little more sense. I work in social media myself (for a financial company) and like to have some real life conversation with the folks that represent other companies. Glad to see Andy here. Hope to see some non-press release comments at some point. :)

A question for Ambassador Andy. Is construction of Crystal Mahler proceeding on schedule for its Aug 29/17 inaugural? We're booked on a sailing shortly after that and don't want any surprises!

I'm honestly a little curious, Andy, why this is posted as a dry, official press release. This is a pretty friendly forum of river cruise enthusiasts. Loosen your tie and have a conversation with us! We won't bite!

 

-Liz

Hi Liz,

Thanks for your post. You are right, that I can loosen my tie. I do not bite either... having a fair amount of Cruise Critic experience, previously serving as "Host Andy" for most of Cruise Critic's existence. It was a wonderful experience, but I'm truly honored to serve in my relatively new role as Crystal's Social Media Ambassador.

When posting press releases, I do not feel it's appropriate to add personal commentary - at least in the initial post. As Jack Webb (Detective Sgt Joe Friday) said in Dragnet - "Just the fact's Ma'am" :)

With that said, I will make every effort to participate in this forum as often as time permits. IMHO, this forum should not be considered as "banishment" in any way. Cruise Critic prefers to maintain a forum for River cruising, and I completely understand their logic.

In the meantime, always feel free to post your questions in the River forum, and I will try my very best to obtain answers for the community.

Thank You !

A question for Ambassador Andy. Is construction of Crystal Mahler proceeding on schedule for its Aug 29/17 inaugural? We're booked on a sailing shortly after that and don't want any surprises!

Hi MightyQuinn,

Nice to see you on this forum. Hope all is well ! I'm pleased to see that you are sailing on Crystal Mahler. I've reached out to Senior Management in our River team. It will be my pleasure to post a reply, when I have an update. Please stay tuned !

A question for Ambassador Andy. Is construction of Crystal Mahler proceeding on schedule for its Aug 29/17 inaugural? We're booked on a sailing shortly after that and don't want any surprises!

Hi MightyQuinn,

From top management at Crystal River Cruises : Crystal Mahler's construction is proceeding on schedule. She is currently scheduled for delivery in Mid-August, with her first revenue sailing on August 29th.

Hope this is helpful. Wishing you a wonderful Crystal River Voyage !

I appreciate you checking on this Andy. You've given me the exact info I was hoping to hear. Many thanks!

I must say that I find that schedule very tight. From delivery to first revenue sailing is only 2 weeks.

Andy:

We will be on a 14-day Frankfurt to Amsterdam river cruise and are wondering if the Crystal Signature Event at the Royal Concertgebouw will be an evening event similar to the signature event at the Belvedere Palace on the Mozart -- which we thoroughly enjoyed this past fall.

We are trying to decide on our excursions while in Amsterdam during the day, so this information will be helpful. Also, do you know yet in which cities the 5-star Michelin dinners will be offered?

Thanks

Andy:

 

We will be on a 14-day Frankfurt to Amsterdam river cruise and are wondering if the Crystal Signature Event at the Royal Concertgebouw will be an evening event similar to the signature event at the Belvedere Palace on the Mozart -- which we thoroughly enjoyed this past fall.

 

We are trying to decide on our excursions while in Amsterdam during the day, so this information will be helpful. Also, do you know yet in which cities the 5-star Michelin dinners will be offered?

 

Thanks

Hello Just2guys,

I've reached out to our River team. As soon as I have a reply, I will post on this thread. Please stay tuned !

We look forward to welcoming you aboard Crystal Bach this Fall.

We are on one of the 14-day Frankfurt to Amsterdam Crystal Bach cruises this summer, and our event at the Concertbegouw is in the morning (9 am-12:15 pm). We were also hoping for an evening event because there is a lot we want to see during the day in Amsterdam. We have already bought our plane tickets; if not, we likely would have stayed an extra day in Amsterdam. I expect we will unfortunately decide to skip the Concertbegouw so we can have a day to see Amsterdam.

We were also very disappointed to see that while the Crystal brochure mentions an excursion to Trier from either Cochem or Koblenz, so far there is no such excursion listed on the website for the Frankfurt to Amsterdam cruises (it is listed only for the cruises from Amsterdam to Frankfurt). Trier was one of the places we were most looking forward to seeing on our cruise, and was one of the reasons we chose this itinerary. I hope Crystal will be adding such an excursion.

Also, a few of the excursions listed as complimentary in Crystal's brochure actually cost money (including the day on the Alsatian wine route from Breisach, the trip to Mt Pilatus from Basel and the trip to Bruges from Antwerp). There are still many other complimentary excursions which look great, however.

These are all of course small issues which I expect often come up when you are sailing on a new ship on a new itinerary. We are very much looking forward to our cruise!

...We were also very disappointed to see that while the Crystal brochure mentions an excursion to Trier from either Cochem or Koblenz, so far there is no such excursion listed on the website for the Frankfurt to Amsterdam cruises (it is listed only for the cruises from Amsterdam to Frankfurt). Trier was one of the places we were most looking forward to seeing on our cruise, and was one of the reasons we chose this itinerary. I hope Crystal will be adding such an excursion...

It is often the case that shore itineraries are different from one direction to the other, because the river current affects the speed of sailing and also the distance between ports interacts with daylight differently depending on direction.

I agree. On-line you can frequently see each direction's itinerary separately. They don't generally put both in the printed brochure.

Andy:

 

We will be on a 14-day Frankfurt to Amsterdam river cruise and are wondering if the Crystal Signature Event at the Royal Concertgebouw will be an evening event similar to the signature event at the Belvedere Palace on the Mozart -- which we thoroughly enjoyed this past fall.

 

We are trying to decide on our excursions while in Amsterdam during the day, so this information will be helpful. Also, do you know yet in which cities the 5-star Michelin dinners will be offered?

 

Thanks

Hello Just2guys,

I've confirmed with our Crystal River team, the Signature event is scheduled for the morning. As for the 5-star Michelin venue, I'm told the only location, is in Basel.

Hope this is helpful. If you have any other questions, feel free to post here, or email me. We wish you a wonderful voyage on Crystal Bach !

5-star Michelin venue?

Michelin's top rating is 3-stars and Crystal's restaurant choices are usually 1-star (they are in Vienna and Budapest).

Per the Michelin website

https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurants/Restaurants-Basel-_-Basel_Stadt-Switzerland?strLocid=31MzV3ZTEwY05EY3VOVFU1TmpFPWNOeTQxT0RBMk1RPT0=

There is one 3 star restaurant and one 1 star restaurant. The others are Michelin listed

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