Top agents get up-close look at Crystal’s ambitious plans

ONBOARD THE CRYSTAL SYMPHONY — Crystal Cruises CEO Edie
Rodriguez stood in front of the cruise line’s top producers at its annual Sales
Achievement Gala, going over the company’s ambitious growth plans.

A two-ship luxury cruise line for most of its 25-year
existence, Crystal has thrust itself into an aggressive expansion into river cruising,
yacht cruising and jet tours. Plus, Crystal will sell condos on its new
oceangoing ships.

“Even knowing what I know and being part of the team,
it’s overwhelming and it’s daunting,” she said. “I know there are the
naysayers. Some people just thrive on negativity. I’m not one of those. There’s
nothing we can’t do together. I’m on a mission, we are going forward, and we
will deliver all of these in the Crystal, six-star, luxury-service style.”

Crystal’s new parent, Genting Hong Kong, disclosed that it
has purchased another airplane for Crystal’s Luxury Air jet tours, which launch
in 2017. The company previously had said it would buy a Boeing 787 to be used
for 28-day excursions. Rodriguez said the second jet will be used for shorter
programs; it will not be a 787.

Rodriguez anticipates that each of the new product lines will
sell fast when they hit the market. River cruises, which open for sale to
Crystal Society members on Dec. 1, “will be completely sold out within a month,
if that long,” she predicted. The river cruise ships are scheduled to
enter service in March 2017. 

Sellers at the meeting said Crystal’s brand standards and
agent commitment — the line noted more than once that agents account for 96% of
bookings — enable them to promote the new offerings with confidence.

“I think it’s absolutely terrific and one of the most
exciting things in the cruise industry in decades,” said Sharon Fake,
director of operations for Travel Experts in Raleigh, N.C. (No. 37 on Travel Weekly’s 2015
Power List).

Leslie Fambrini, president of Personalized Travel
Consultants in Los Altos, Calif., has booked four clients on the Crystal
Esprit, the yacht that launches this fall.

“The interest in the yacht is certainly there,”
she said. “And for me, personally, I can’t wait for the river boats.”

Rodriguez promised more to come.

Amid the excitement about the new products, executives
emphasized that Crystal wouldn’t take its eye off the Symphony and the Serenity,
its current oceangoing ships.

Crystal COO Thomas Mazloum pointed to Donna Cook, formerly
director of sales for the Western U.S. and Canada, who was promoted to a newly
created role of vice president of quality control and communications,
“prominently focusing on making sure we’re measuring the entire customer
experience.”

Victor Lawrence, a former corporate chef, has been rehired
to handle the existing ships’ culinary offerings, freeing up Toni Neumeister, vice
president of food and beverage operations, to focus on the expansion.

Crystal’s annual gala is for agents who book in excess of
$500,000 in annual sales. Ninety-nine agencies qualified for the 2015 event
(next year the threshold will be $600,000).