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Special Report:
A Custom Boeing 777-200LR;
84 Club Seats Convert To Beds;
Global Journeys From 15-29 Days;
An In-Flight Restaurant, Bar and Lounge;
From Local Experiences to Culinary, Culture and Adventure, and
Custom Charters Too!
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Special Report: Crystal AirCruises - December 2016
A Crystal Clear Evolution…
For a quarter century Crystal Cruises was owned by Japanese container shipping giant NYK lines. Despite just two ships, it was often referred to as “the most awarded cruise line” for its continuous nods from the likes of Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. It brought a Four Seasons level of service back to the high seas, combining friendly staff (which many lines have) with polish and refinement. It channeled a bit of Ritz-Carlton (Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen). When you want to move from the bar to dinner, a waiter will bring your drinks with you. Crew get lots of training, even smaller things like speaking English properly that make them more confident with the high-powered guests, which often includes Forbes list families.
Customers came back again and again, but
NYK was never able to move Crystal beyond two ocean ships even though its well
traveled clients kept telling management they wished there were more ways they
could vacation the Crystal way.
That changed in May 2015 when hospitality and gaming giant Genting Hong Kong (It owns Asia’s largest cruise line, Star Cruises, and Resorts World, which is expanding to Las Vegas.) bought Crystal from NYK and charged its new CEO Edie Rodriguez with expansion.
In short order, it has launched on-demand
charter with a Bombardier Global Express XRS outfitted in Crystal style,
it converted a 62-passenger vessel into a yacht-style ship (Esprit) with water
sports deck, wave runners and mini-submarine. It launched a river cruise
division (I’m aboard its Crystal Mozart sailing the Danube as I write this –
more in a future issue) and next August it will launch Crystal Air Cruises,
offering global luxury tours aboard a Boeing 777-200LR configured with just 84
club seats that convert to flat beds, a sleek bar, dining tables, a lounge,
wine cellar, etc. Airlines typically have 300 + seats in this type of aircraft.
Private jet vacations have become a hot category (TCS, Four Seasons, Abercrombie & Kent, Travcoa, Presidential Private Jet Vacations all offer them) as they provide a great way to see more in less time than if you were covering the same itinerary using commercial airline flights.
Crystal AirCruises offer will be both set itineraries aboard its Boeing 777 and on-demand, custom-designed trips on both the Boeing 777 and Global Express. Our full report is below.
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All the best,
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DG Amazing
Experiences
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In This Issue:
1. Overview
2. On The Ground
3. On The Aircraft
4. Who’s Flying The Aircraft?
5. Current Itineraries For Sale
6. Questions You Might Have
7. Recent Awards
8. Key Contact
9. DGAE Special Reports Library
Our Security Reports (Links Below):
Should you drive a car in Cuba?
How to survive a terrorism attack
Preventing A Robbery While Traveling
Crystal AirCruises Launches With Six Itineraries
1. OVERVIEW
The biggest news in luxury travel next year won’t be a new hotel or resort. In my opinion, it’s an aircraft. And specifically, in this case, it’s a Boeing 777-200LR that is being configured with just 84 lounge seats that turn into flat beds, an extensive bar area and wine cellar, plus four full dining tables that seat 6-8. Owned by Crystal AirCruises, a subsidiary of gaming and hospitality giant Genting Hong Kong, the aircraft is part of the company’s massive expansion beyond ocean cruises to yacht cruises, river cruises, on-demand charter (it has a single Bombardier Global for now) and what it terms air cruises.
Air cruises are a great idea if you want to cover more ground in less time. For
example, a 16-day “Savoring the Winelands” itinerary that visits Chile,
Argentina, South Africa, Italy and France would take at least 21 days if you
flew via commercial airline flights, and I know for a lot of you five days is
quite a bit of time to waste.
There is competition. Crystal will set itself apart by owning the plane it is flying. It is also a wide body aircraft. Four Seasons, TCS, A&K all charter the planes they use, mainly reconfigured 757s, while nice lack lounge space and maybe a bit confining for long flights.
Albert Herrera, SVP with Virtuoso, a group that
The actual Crystal AirCruises aircraft has two missions I
think you will find relevant. Firstly, it will operate luxury tours, ranging
from 15-29 days. Itineraries include the aforementioned wine tours, safaris, iconic
sites around the world (Easter Island, Uluru, Victoria Falls, etc.) exotic adventures
and the inaugural (Sept. 1 , 2017), which will visit all 10 Peninsula hotels
around the world (details below).
When the Boeing 777 isn’t doing these trips, it will be available for full charters, and Crystal AirCruises has already received requests for
birthdays, anniversaries and company incentives spanning 1-2 weeks. Planning
requires about two months advance for unique access, and particularly for
sourcing hotel rooms for groups of 84. For these missions, Crystal will put
together a full itinerary, or if you have a simple mission, such as taking 80
friends to a football game, to see you compete in a marathon or maybe Art Basel, that can be done too.
On the flip side, if being on the Boeing 777 with other people is not what you want, Crystal Luxury Air can put together exclusive vacations for you using its Bombardier Global Express, which can sleep up to six when converted for beds.
Normally, I would say one negative of these private jet tours is that you are somewhat stuck with the same itinerary, however, as Crystal AirCruises offers multiple tracks everyday, and the opportunity to customize your own private excursions, there really isn’t that downside.
2. ON THE GROUND:
Of the itineraries Crystal AirCruises has announced typical
journeys include 2-3 nights in each destination at 5-star hotels, resorts,
safari lodges, etc. In each destination there is a choice of four different
programming tracks focused around adventure, personal connections to locals,
cultural discoveries and gastronomy.
On the inaugural trip there are 91 different experiences
that can be combined in 331 different ways. These are all included. Typical
group size will be 8-12 people. You can also split up from your partner.
For example, in Scotland one of you might want to
play The Old Course in St. Andrews while another option could be a day trip to
Paris for VIP shopping. You can also have Crystal design something for you in
any or all destinations at an additional charge. Other experiences include
things like dining atop the Great Wall of China, tours of vineyards by the
owner, private entrance to castles not open to the public, dining in Michelin
restaurants hosted by the chef and so on.
3. ON THE AIRCRAFT:
There is global WiFi. The anticipation is many
participants will be active owners/CEOs of businesses with the need to be in
touch whenever necessary so there is phone call capability as well.
Extensive in-flight entertainment includes
24" monitors, unlimited complimentary global Skye-Fi, Bose® Noise
Cancelling headphones, Apple iPads® preloaded with your personalized itinerary.
There is a “cruise” director, ground operations
manager, chef and doctor onboard at all times. There is also a “proactive”
security program for every destination, which starts during the planning stages
and monitors the situation right through arrival and departure.
Having seen the renderings and seen how Crystal
outfitted the Crystal Mozart, I believe the finishes and attention to detail,
both with service and fixtures will be exciting to see.
4. WHO’S FLYING THE AIRCRAFT?
Comlux Aruba NV is a division of Zurich-based Comlux, which since 2003 has significant experience in private aviation operations and management, particularly for large aircraft such as the Boeing 777. I checked out its current fleet and found in recent months they have operated jetliners into places as diverse as Singapore, New York-JFK, Almaty, Astana, Lusaka, Windhoek and Bangor, Maine. To oversee its aviation division, Crystal AirCruises tapped Marc Cavaliere, a top executive with South African Airways, American Airlines and Pan Am.
On
the in-flight side, it is bringing onboard cabin attendants (trained for air
safety) from its ships to ensure same level of service.
5. CURRENT ITINERARIES FOR SALE:
August 31, 2017:
The Peninsula Grand Inaugural Crystal AirCruise
October 21, 2017:
Around the World: Iconic Sites & Legendary
Locales
June 1, 2018:
Savoring the Winelands
June 23, 2018:
Sacred Sites, Seashells & Safaris
September 8, 2018:
Exotic Adventures
October 13, 2018:
South Pacific Explorer
6. QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
DGAE:
How does the seating work on the aircraft?
Crystal AirCruises:
Seat assignments are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis once
a guest has made a deposit. We try to accommodate everyone’s request, but
seat assignments are not guaranteed as there may a rare occasion we need to
specifically allocate seats.
DGAE:
Can you make table reservations for the dining tables?
Crystal AirCruises:
We will be serving meals in the main (seating) cabin and, depending upon
the duration of the flight, in the lounge/dining area. Given that we can accommodate 24 guests at a time at the dining tables, we will take requests
(reservations) from guests in the cabin on a rotating basis so that everyone
will have an opportunity to dine in the lounge area during the journey.
DGAE:
Can people buy segments?
Crystal AirCruises: Each AirCruise is made available only for the entire
journey rather than individual segments. If guests wish to voluntarily
leave the tour prior to the end, they can do so, but there are no refunds for the unused portion.
7. RECENT AWARDS:
Condé Nast Traveler Magazine - Gold List – World’s
Best (1997-2014), Reader’s Choice Award – Best Cruise
Line (1992-1993, 1995-2005, 2007-2015), Reader’s Choice Award – Best
Cruise Ship - Crystal Serenity 1st, Crystal Symphony 2nd (2006,
2008-2010, 2012); Crystal Symphony 1st, Crystal Serenity 2nd (2013),
and Reader’s Choice Award – Best Cruise Line Spa: Crystal Serenity (2002, 2004,
2007, and 2012)
Travel + Leisure Magazine - World’s Best Cruise
Line (1996-2015), World’s Best Service (2005; 2012-2013)
U.S. News & World Report - Best Luxury Cruise Line (Gold Award: 2014,
2015), Best Cruise Line for Romance (Gold Award: 2014, Silver Award:
2015), Best Luxury Cruise Ship: Crystal Symphony (Gold Award: 2013), Best
Cruise Ship for Couples, Europe, the Pacific, and Caribbean: Crystal Symphony
(Gold Award: 2013)
Robb Report - Best of the Best 2016 - Cruises -
Crystal Esprit (2016)
Cruise Critic - Editors' Pick - Best Cruise Line
for Luxury (2015), Cruisers’ Choice – Best Service: Crystal Symphony
(2014), Cruisers’ Choice – Best for Fitness: Crystal Symphony, Crystal Serenity
(2014)
Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice – Best Dining: Crystal Serenity (2013-2014);
Crystal Symphony (2012), Cruisers’ Choice – Best Entertainment: Crystal
Serenity (2013); Crystal Symphony (2012 & 2014)
Virtuoso – Travel Advisors - Peer-To-Peer Awards:
Best Luxury Cruise Line (2015-16)
Stern’s Guide to the Cruise Vacation
Six+ Stars (1998–2015)
Money - Platinum Award - Best in
Travel (2016)
8. KEY CONTACTS:
Edie Rodriguez, Chairman, Crystal Luxury Corporation, Ltd. at erodriguez@crystalcruises.com or Marc S. Cavaliere, Sr. Vice President, Crystal Luxury Air and CrystalAirCruises at mcavaliere@crystalcruises.com
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