Crystal Cruises’ river luxury cruise ships are being sold resolving the fate of another piece of the former Genting Hong Kong fleet. The river cruise ships have been laid up for a year since the financial collapse associated with Crystal Cruises and its parent company Genting Hong Kong and were not included in the previous sale of the Crystal Cruise trips brand and its two large, ocean-going cruise ships.
Reports from Germany indicate that the four 443-foot vessels built by MV Werften for Crystal in 2017 and 2018 are now being offered to a newly formed brand called Riverside Luxury Cruises. The water cruise company is the particular offshoot of the Seaside Collection, the German organization that owns and manages boutique hotels in Europe and the Maldives. Their goal is to start a luxury lake cruise brand name.
Plans with regard to Riverside were announced in October 2022 when the particular company purchased the Amazingly Mozart , the first associated with Crystal’s river cruise liners. The Mozart , a well-known vessel, had been acquired in 2015 and was used in order to launch Crystal’s river cruises in 2016. She has been joined simply by the 4 newly built ships, Bach , Ravel , Mahler , plus Debussy , to build out Crystal’s river program. Reports show that Riverside has now obtained the four newer boats which will again run alongside the Mozart .
The particular Mozart had been originally constructed in 1987 and sailed for many years with the German business Deilmann Cruise trips. When she was built, with a length of 395 feet and a 75-foot beam, she was the largest river cruise ship, a title she would hold regarding nearly 30 years. She was designed to operate on the Danube capable to navigate the water from Passau in Germany to Budapest in Hungary.
Crystal refurbished the Mozart which has accommodations for approximately 150 passengers. Among her unique features will be an indoor swimming pool. Riverside experienced previously announced that they would start operations in April sailing the Danube using the Mozart .
The 4 smaller ships measure 443 feet in length and had been designed to fit through the locks on the particular Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and get around central European rivers. They were constructed at a cost of approximately $18 million each and carry 110 passengers in luxury accommodations.
“We are thrilled by the expansion of our navy to include these storied vessels, ” said Gregor Gerlach, founder of the firm. “This acquisition allows us to expand our itinerary offerings, showcasing a level associated with space, personalized service and elegance not really found with any other lake cruise ship. ”
They plan to restart the newly renamed Riverside Ravel operating on the particular Rhône plus Saône through Burgundy in order to Provence, while the recently renamed Riverside Debussy will also cruise around the Rhine between Amsterdam and Basel. The remaining two vessels will return to service within 2024.
The sale of the river cruise ships completes the disposition from the Crystal fleet, leaving only 2 larger cruise trip ships previously operated by Dream Cruises to be resolved. Genting Hong Kong’s World Dream cruise ship was recently offered for sale in an auction run by the court in Singapore. Reports are indicating that the ship failed to attract bids while the older Explorer Desire cruise liner remains laid up in the anchorage at Port Klang, Malaysia.