MAHE, Seychelles — Crystal Cruises christened its
62-passenger Crystal Esprit mega-yacht, the first of several extensions of its
core cruise product that Crystal expects to roll out over the next two years.
The yacht, which received a three-month makeover before
entering service for Crystal, was dedicated in a dockside ceremony attended by
Genting Hong Kong chairman and CEO KT Lim.
Also on hand were a dozen top-producing travel agents for
Crystal. The ship’s godmother was Lady
Gaenor Anne Meakes, who is the fiancée of competitive sailor and yachtsman Mark
Richard, who is CEO of Grand Banks, a yacht manufacturer based in Australia.
A large bottle of Louis Roederer champagne thumped off
the ship’s hull on initial impact, but shattered in a spray of bubbly on the
rebound.
In remarks before the christening, Crystal CEO Edie
Rodriguez predicted that the small size of the ship would foster an “esprit de
corps” among its passengers, who are being encouraged to regard the ship as a
“home away from home.”
“To say today is a special day is an understatement,”
said Rodriguez, who helped engineer the $550 million sale of Crystal to Genting
in March.
Backed by Lim, Crystal plans to add a river cruise ship
next year and a luxury air tour business in 2017, in addition to three new oceangoing
ships, the first of which is scheduled to sail in late 2018.
Crystal officials hinted after the ceremony that more
products are coming, possibly ones that will be ready for use before the first
of five river cruise ships makes its debut in July.
The Crystal Esprit is scheduled to sail mostly in the
Seychelles, north of Madagascar, this winter before moving to the Adriatic Sea
in the spring.