Crystal Cruises said it had recorded its biggest booking day in company history in the first 24 hours its Bahamas cruises on the Crystal Serenity opened for sale.
Crystal earlier this month said it will resume sailing on July 3 from the Bahamas on Bahamas-only itineraries.
The luxe line said that nearly 25% of the combined availability on the 16 seven-day, roundtrip cruises from Nassau or Bimini was booked, about 4,000 cabins or suites. Almost 200 guests reserved back-to-back voyages, with some planning to spend 42 days on the Serenity, Crystal said.
"It's clear that travelers have been eagerly looking forward to exploring again and are as excited to see Crystal Serenity return to sailing as we are," said Jack Anderson, Crystal's interim CEO. "We are incredibly grateful to our loyal Crystal guests and our valued travel partners for their support as we begin to emerge from what has been an unprecedented year for everyone."
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Crystal said that 80% of the Serenity's Crystal Penthouses, its largest suites, had been reserved for the Bahamas season and that there is "tremendous interest" in other top suite categories including Penthouse and Seabreeze Penthouses.
Anderson said that the "all-Bahamas cruises means there is no risk of border closures, alleviating concerns related to a multiple-country itinerary that may be impacted by differing travel restrictions."
Crystal's Bahamas Escapes cruises will operate from July through October, visiting Harbour Island, Great Exuma, San Salvador Island and Long Island.
Royal Caribbean International also said today that it will resume cruising in North America from the Bahamas, starting June 12 with seven-day sailings from Nassau on the Adventure of the Seas that will spend two days at its private Bahamian island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, and call at Grand Bahama Island and Cozumel, Mexico.
Royal CEO Michael Bayley said he expects demand for the sailings to be strong, based on the remarkable success of its sailing in Singapore and sales for its upcoming Israel cruises.
"We're pretty confident that Adventure is also going to generate a huge amount of demand," he said.