Crystal River Cruises has pushed back by one month the
launch of its first two new river cruise vessels to allow for more time to "prepare
the vessels," the company told Travel Weekly.
Crystal has postponed the originally scheduled launch of the
Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler, initially set for June and August,
respectively. Their new maiden voyages along the Rhine and Danube rivers will
now take place on Aug. 13 for the Crystal Bach and on Sept. 30 for the Crystal
Mahler.
Although Crystal did not specify the precise reason for the
delay, the company said its focus is on "ensuring seamless delivery"
of the vessels. The Crystal Mahler and Crystal Bach will sail on the Rhine,
Main and Danube rivers and have been deemed Rhine-class river yachts. They are
being built at 443 feet in length with 53 suites for 106 guests.
Crystal has promised that the new river cruise ships will be
all-balcony, all-suite river vessels with all staterooms located above the
waterline -- most river cruise ships feature some cabins that are partially
below the water line with smaller porthole windows just above water.
The Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler are also expected to
feature multiple dining venues, a Palm Court with a dance floor and a
glass-domed roof, a library, a fitness center, a spa, and sporting equipment
such as electric bicycles, kayaks and water scooters. There will also be
walk-in closets and what the company has described as "cutting-edge
technologies" in all suites.
The vessels will be Crystal's first new river ships,
following last year's launch of the Crystal Mozart, a former Peter Deilmann
river cruise ship that Crystal purchased and transformed from a 203-passenger
vessel into a 160-passenger one.
The Crystal Bach and Mahler are to be followed by the
Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel, slated to launch in 2018 and to sail the
Rhine and Danube rivers.