Crystal River Cruises took delivery of the Crystal Bach on
Thursday. It is the first of the river cruise ships the company has built from
the ground up.
The vessel was delivered to Crystal by the MV Werften shipyard
during a handover ceremony in Wismar, Germany.
The 106-passenger Crystal Bach is scheduled to sail its
maiden voyage on Aug. 13, after which it will sail cruises on the Rhine,
Main and Danube rivers. It is the first of four new ships that
Crystal calls its Rhine-class river yachts.
The Bach's launch follows 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 features 53 suites, all with balconies and
all located above the waterline -- most river cruise ships feature some cabins
that are partially below the water line with smaller porthole windows just
above the water. There are walk-in closets in all the suites.
The vessel was built to have 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 onboard such as electric bicycles, kayaks and water
scooters.
The Crystal Bach will be followed by the launch of the
Crystal Mahler in September and the Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel in 2018.