Third Luxury River Ship delivered to Crystal River Cruises at MV Werften
Today (March 8), MV Werften ceremoniously handed over “Crystal Debussy”, the third of four Rhine Class ships, to the client Crystal River Cruises. The handover took place ahead of schedule.
Numerous representatives from the State Government, the Hanseatic city of Wismar, Genting Hong Kong, and Crystal Cruises attended the celebratory flag-changing ceremony at the dock hall in Wismar, with the state police orchestra performing as the shipyard flag was lowered and Crystal flag was raised.
“Today is a special day for Genting Hong Kong in many respects,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Chairman and CEO. “We are not only handing over the third ship built at our shipyards to Crystal but are also starting production in both Wismar and Rostock on the first 204,000 GT Global cruise ship.”
“With ‘Crystal Debussy,’ another luxury river ship has left our shipyard,” said MV WERFTEN CEO Jarmo Laakso after the flag-changing ceremony. “We would like to thank our employees for their service and commitment to this ahead-of-schedule delivery, as well as the Crystal team for their continued outstanding cooperation. We wish the ship and her crew safe journeys, and may there always be water beneath her keel.”
The construction of the 135-meter-long, 11.40-meter-wide ship took approximately one year. First steel was cut in January 2017, with the keel laying in May. Equipped with state-of-the-art safety and navigation systems and an optimized bridge design with a single operator’s platform, “Crystal Debussy” meets the highest technical standards. With her elegant and comfortable facilities, she also sets new standards for design and ambience in the river cruise market. Fifty-three generous suites ranging in size from 17.5 to 70 square meters – all of them outside-facing suites with panoramic balcony windows – a spacious wellness and fitness area and designated spa, three gourmet restaurants, and the multiple award-winning Crystal service round out the travel experience for a maximum of 106 guests.
As Tom Wolber, president and CEO of Crystal, said: “Today we proudly welcome the fourth member of our Crystal River Cruises fleet, the arrival of which has been eagerly awaited by both our company and our guests. With a combination of the highest levels of comfort and elegance, ‘Crystal Debussy’ will offer all guests a superb river cruising experience that is unmatched. Once again, the experts at MV WERFTEN have demonstrated their masterful skills and attention to detail. We offer our deepest thanks for their hard work.”
“Crystal Debussy” will embark on her seven-day maiden Crystal River Cruises voyage on April 9, and will sail routes between Amsterdam and Basel visiting the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland along the Rhine and the Moselle.
Crystal’s fourth identical ship, “Crystal Ravel”, will be handed over in April, bringing the Crystal River Cruises fleet to five. MV WERFTEN’s order book includes five more ships, to be completed by 2021; the company began construction on the first of its expedition mega yachts in Stralsund this past January. In addition, production kicked off today in Wismar and Rostock on the first of two Global Class cruise ships.
