Should HAL Buy the Crystal Ships?

[OlsSalt]

55 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

HAL has gone in a totally different direction than Crystal.  I don't see Crystal's ships fitting in to the HAL model.

 

That said, it would be nice to see another major line enter the expeditionary market.  Celebrity has a good thing going with their small expeditionary ships so if HAL got their hands on the Crystal Endeavor, they could start to compete in that venue.  

 

HAL Madam tried to fill a quasi expedition ship niche when they offered their In-Depth cruises with Zodiacs. Only problem is few stops allowed use of the Zodiacs so they mainly sat on deck - don't know what the problem was but that would put a stop to any forays into "excursion" type cruising, as well as whatever ice restrictions there might be.

 

However, there are plenty of other off the beat track and longer more wandering cruises, like the Prinsendam offered, that still has strong appeal to the HAL passenger base. Barcelona to Athens with wandering around the Black Sea ports out to Sochi Russia with overnights in Istanbul before heading back to Athens - my own fond Prisendam memory.

 

We needed to be flexible on that cruise due to weather,  as well as the captain also willing to be flexible when there were extras to add in the neighborhood or earlier than planned arrivals giving extra port time. A small ship could pull that off.

[rkacruiser]

If my dates are correct, Carnival Corporation acquired Royal Viking Sun when she was 11 years old.  She was 14 when she became HAL's Prinsendam and sailed for 17 years for HAL.  Crystal Serenity is 19.  That's only 5 years before the most recent Prinsendam entered the fleet.  How as she been maintained?  What's the condition of her hull and machinery?  Can the interior spaces be re-fitted with the current entertainment venues of the new ships?  Many questions to be answered, but I think Crystal Serenity's addition to the fleet to replace Prinsendam as being less expensive than a newbuild.  But, where is the money going to come from in order to make that purchase?  Or, would a charter from the Genting Group be a possibility?  

 

Crystal Symphony?  Too much water has passed under her keel to be considered, I think.  

[jeh10641]

CruiserBruce,

Most cruise lines today are bleeding money so their pockets are not deep any more. Even CCL needs its cash to keep their fleets under sail. Fuel efficiency also is a major concern. Just look at gas prices for cars.

 

Jim

[Nymich]

The Business Plan was to dump the small ships so it would be quite the turn-around to go and purchase what they just got rid of.  

[chengkp75]

9 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

CruiserBruce,

Most cruise lines today are bleeding money so their pockets are not deep any more. Even CCL needs its cash to keep their fleets under sail. Fuel efficiency also is a major concern. Just look at gas prices for cars.

 

Jim

While most of what you say is correct, fuel prices for ships bear no resemblance to "gas prices for cars".  In fact, bunker prices are down about 10% from this time last year.  And the only real fuel efficiency that has been realized in ships over the last 20 years has come at a major capital cost at construction.

[silversneakers]

15 hours ago, dockman said:

Yes they all have problems but CCL seems to have more cash and assets than others....I just hope that the crystal brand somehow survives with a new owner that has the resources to return the brand to former glory days...i was lucky to sail on crystal over a dozen times back when it was THE choice for luxury cruising and won just about every award in the book.  

I would think a company like Ritz Carlton would be interested in the Crystal brand.  I seem to recall RC was either entering the cruise business or looking at the possibility. I might be wrong.

[CruiserBruce]

12 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

CruiserBruce,

Most cruise lines today are bleeding money so their pockets are not deep any more. Even CCL needs its cash to keep their fleets under sail. Fuel efficiency also is a major concern. Just look at gas prices for cars.

 

Jim

I am totally aware of that. My post was sarcastic. I don't see any available cash for HAL or CCL to acquire any Crystal assets, or to spend refitting old ships.

 

I don't really see the demand for HAL to get into this market, and not sure I see it from other cruise operators. It would take years of recovery to see the demand to fill these ships.

 

Many people like to dream about things like this. But most of those people don't have realistic views of the current financial outlook, or what would be required to fulfill the dreams being discussed here.

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, silversneakers said:

I would think a company like Ritz Carlton would be interested in the Crystal brand.  I seem to recall RC was either entering the cruise business or looking at the possibility. I might be wrong.

Ritz has been looking into the cruise business. Not sure they are thinking now is a really good time to invest in something like that.

[iancal]

18 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

If my dates are correct, Carnival Corporation acquired Royal Viking Sun when she was 11 years old.  She was 14 when she became HAL's Prinsendam and sailed for 17 years for HAL.  Crystal Serenity is 19.  That's only 5 years before the most recent Prinsendam entered the fleet.  How as she been maintained?  What's the condition of her hull and machinery?  Can the interior spaces be re-fitted with the current entertainment venues of the new ships?  Many questions to be answered, but I think Crystal Serenity's addition to the fleet to replace Prinsendam as being less expensive than a newbuild.  But, where is the money going to come from in order to make that purchase?  Or, would a charter from the Genting Group be a possibility?  

 

Crystal Symphony?  Too much water has passed under her keel to be considered, I think.  

And what would HAL do?  Run Serenity into the ground, spend as little as possible on it, then flog it five years later? 

 

 That may attract some very loyal and nostalgic HAL customers for a time but I cannot see any former Crystal, or any Regent, Silversea, or Seabourne customers falling for that gag.

 

The thing is .....it is more than than the ship.  It is the entire package that is required.

Edited January 21, 2022 by iancal

[MarkWiltonM]

We never sailed on Symphony but enjoyed Crystal Serenity very much. But it's not the ships that are wonderful: it's the service and the food, which are far superior to anything not in the luxury class. It's sad that Crystal wasn't able to implement a new-build program. Oceania came into the market at a lower price point and appears to have been very successful with similar-size ships. Their forthcoming ship, Oceania Vista, looks like just the kind of ships Crystal should have built. 

[OlsSalt]

The recent introduction of Viking Cruise ships was a game changer for the high end market. 

[kangforpres]

I don't think HAL has enough money right now to buy Lobster tails for Gala nights. So I'm guessing buying a used small ship is out of the question right now.