One of many huge questions journey advisors have in regards to the new Crystal cruise line is what kind of synergies it can have with its sister model, luxurious tour operator Abercrombie & Kent (A&Ok).
The reply is that the road, which relaunched this month in Europe after shutting down in early 2022, will ultimately provide quite a lot of unique A&Ok excursions.
Abercrombie & Kent Journey Group had lower than a yr to rent workers, construct itineraries and safe excursions after buying the belongings of the collapsed Crystal Cruises final summer season. That left the cruise line scrambling to safe excursions that different traces had booked years forward of time.
However with the primary of the reborn model’s two ships now again in operation and the second launching Sept. 1 from Athens, the seeds are being planted to supply excursions designed by A&Ok, stated Jacqueline Barney, senior vp of worldwide advertising and marketing.
Nevertheless, it can take till 2025 for these luxurious excursions to completely flower. In 2024, some Crystal excursions will probably be curated by A&Ok, and in 2025 the corporate could have excursions designed by A&Ok particularly for Crystal voyages. For now, Crystal excursions will probably be typical of what a visitor can count on from a luxurious line, stated Barney.
The eventual objective is to offer unique occasions and experiences that Barney described as “tremendous mind-blowing.” The excursions will probably be geared toward serving to folks cross experiences off their bucket lists, Barney stated, and will probably be obtainable throughout the globe. For instance, a world cruise may embody overland journeys that take friends off the ship for a number of days to climb Machu Picchu or go to the Galapagos, she stated.
A objective can be to supply new, one-of-a-kind experiences annually, including a way of exclusivity to the Crystal cruise product. Whereas A&Ok presently supplies excursions for different cruise traces, Crystal will provide a spread of A&Ok experiences that will probably be unique to the road, she stated.
Crystal additionally hopes to offer what Barney referred to as “tailored” individualized excursions pushed by the needs of particular person friends. Barney stated there is no such thing as a timeline for that product, though the road is aiming for 2025.
