Who now owns Crystal Harmony?

[jantre]

On March 16 I saw Crystal Harmony next to us when we pulled in early morning to port in Seoul, Korea on Oceania's Nautica and then again two days later in port in Beijing.

 

The ship seemed to be in good condition with the familiar aqua stripe but new logo on the stack which I did not recognize.

 

No Crystal passengers, crew or staff were around either walking about or on balconies in both ports so could not ask any questions about how it was on board, who was the owner, itineraries, etc. Ship seemed uninhabited.

 

Anyone have information?

 

Thanks.

[jantre]

Sorry folks.

 

Forgot to add in my question regarding owner of Crystal Harmony that the ship was named Amadeus when I recently saw her in Seoul and Beijing.

 

I did some research on the name but couldn't find anything.

 

Hope someone has current info on this ship.

 

Thanks.

[BruceMuzz]

NHK, the Japanese Holding / Shipping company that owns Crystal Cruises, always has owned Crystal Harmony - and still does.

Last year they renovated her and transferred her to another of their lines, renamed as Asuka II.

You saw Asuka II in Seoul and Beijing.

[BruceMuzz]

Oops. Sorry for the error.

That should read NYK, the initials of Nippon Yusen Kaisha.

[chasetf]

NHK, the Japanese Holding / Shipping company that owns Crystal Cruises, always has owned Crystal Harmony - and still does. Last year they renovated her and transferred her to another of their lines, renamed as Asuka II. You saw Asuka II in Seoul and Beijing.

We saw her in Sydney Feb the day before we boarded the Sapphire Princess. Here is a picture I took of her.....:D

[Mark]

That ship looks very much like an older Princess Ship and also the old Royal Viking Line ships....I think one of them is now called Blackwatch. I think the Japanesse must have copied the design for one or both of those ships to build this one!:cool:

[Druke I]

Crystal Harmony's design was based on the Royal Princess, although much improved.

 

Allegedly there was a suit brought by Princess of NYK "pirating the design",l but I don't know if that was just rumor or not. Princess did have an option for a 2nd ship of the same design (as RP), but it was not exercised, and was never built.

[dougnewmanatsea]

I think the ship jantre saw must have been AMADEA, the former ASUKA... About half the size of CRYSTAL HARMONY but very similar in design.

 

NYK sold her to the German cruise line Phoenix Reisen and replaced her with the larger former CRYSTAL HARMONY, now ASUKA II.

 

As for the resemblance between CRYSTAL HARMONY/SYMPHONY and ROYAL PRINCESS, this is indeed far from coincidental as they were all designed by the naval architecture firm Knud E. Hansen A/S in Copenhagen, as were, I might add, the original Royal Viking ships (I don't think ROYAL VIKING SUN was, though, but I'm not sure).

[Mark]

I knew it...I was on the old Royal Viking Ships when they sailed under the NCL flag...one was the Westward...I think it is not the Black Watch...anyway I could see how the lines of the ships resemble each other! Thanks Doug!:cool:

[jantre]

Thanks to all of you who took the time to answer my question. All very informative responses.

 

Yes, Host Doug is correct. The ship that I saw in port was named AMADEA not Amadeus as I incorrectly reported.

 

And, yes, it was the former ASUKA.

 

As always, I learned so much from the terrific folks on Cruise Critic.

 

Thanks again.

 

Janet

[jacksan1]

Crystal Harmony is now indeed called Asuaka II. As others have mentioned, she is owned by Nippon Yusen. You can meet her here:

 

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/

 

Crystal Harmony was heavily modified for the very limited Japanese cruise market to include, among others:

 

1) Large public bath spa - considered essential for Japanese passengers;

 

2) The "Fantasia" on Deck 11 changed to a tatami room;

 

3) Washlet (spray) toilets installed for all bathrooms (standard issues in most Japanese homes these days);

 

4) Normal passenger capacity reduced to between 720 and 800 (primarily because they could not find enough crew to serve!).

[PennyAgain]

I would really love to travel on the former Crystal Harmony (Asuka 2) again, but can't read Japanese on the WEB site. Has anyone done so?

[jacksan1]

There is a tiny bit of info in English (saling schedule) here:

 

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/contact/img/ASUKAII_Schedule.pdf

[jacksan1]

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/deckplan/a2_12deck3.html (Grand Spa)

 

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/deckplan/a2_11deck5.html (Tatami Room)

 

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/deckplan/a2_11deck2.html ("Umihiko" Restaurant)

 

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/deckplan/a2_6deck16.html (Mahjong Salon) :p

[PennyAgain]

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/deckplan/a2_12deck3.html (Grand Spa)

 

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/deckplan/a2_11deck5.html (Tatami Room)

 

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/deckplan/a2_11deck2.html ("Umihiko" Restaurant)

 

http://www.asukacruise.co.jp/deckplan/a2_6deck16.html (Mahjong Salon) :p

 

This information is very interesting to me.