Open Booking Deposit Program

[Ice Bear]

Hopefully, this will follow the 2021 timeframe.

 

Initial Announcement in late March/early April. Reservations accepted in early April.

Boarded Serenity on July 3.

Symphony’s initial sailing in early August.

 

It’s time for Crystal to communicate with Crystal Society members rather than relying upon trickle-down snippets from travel agents.

[Embowaf]

27 minutes ago, Ice Bear said:

Hopefully, this will follow the 2021 timeframe.

 

Initial Announcement in late March/early April. Reservations accepted in early April.

Boarded Serenity on July 3.

Symphony’s initial sailing in early August.

 

It’s time for Crystal to communicate with Crystal Society members rather than relying upon trickle-down snippets from travel agents.

It won't be that fast. 2021 was a restart that was planned and had some light refurbs and most of the same staff and crew and a continuation of pretty much all the pre-pandemic logistics. This is, while in some ways, a continuation of Crystal, a far far far more disruptive restart. They will need more than a 3 month announce to start time.

[Keith1010]

6 hours ago, Ice Bear said:

Hopefully, this will follow the 2021 timeframe.

 

Initial Announcement in late March/early April. Reservations accepted in early April.

Boarded Serenity on July 3.

Symphony’s initial sailing in early August.

 

It’s time for Crystal to communicate with Crystal Society members rather than relying upon trickle-down snippets from travel agents.

I know it's frustrating but until dates are locked down I do not see us receiving any communications.  TA's are asking on behalf of clients so they are trying to provide what they can to them.  I expect when things are ready to go that's when we hear whether that is through one or more of the following: the TA first, e-mail(s) to Crystal Society Members, the Crystal website, PR announcements.  No inside information but logic tells me this is how it goes.  I do think we are inching towards the start date and yes it is testing our patience but in the scheme of things I believe it won't be that much longer.

 

Keith

[Mr Luxury]

I would recommend that everyone should keep cruising if they can while you wait for the new company to get going.

There are some very good options available to all of us.

Life can tend to pass you by if you're not careful.

[Keith1010]

8 hours ago, Embowaf said:

It won't be that fast. 2021 was a restart that was planned and had some light refurbs and most of the same staff and crew and a continuation of pretty much all the pre-pandemic logistics. This is, while in some ways, a continuation of Crystal, a far far far more disruptive restart. They will need more than a 3 month announce to start time.

Which is why many "speculate" late Summer..  We'll know soon enough.

 

Keith

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Which is why many "speculate" late Summer..  We'll know soon enough.

 

Keith -- unpack the bags....the clothes are getting wrinkles from being folded in the suitcase this long.

 

OTOH, the toothpaste, shoes and razor don't really mind.

 

🙂

 

 

[ctjon]

A couple of issues that Crystal will face the longer the wait:  People are doing cruises on other lines and enjoying them from posting here and elsewhere  - so now they know they have a choice.  Second people who cruise probably have made their 2023 plans and some 2024 plans and when Crystal opens will they change plans or??

Hopefully, we'll all know soon

[Keith1010]

30 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Keith -- unpack the bags....the clothes are getting wrinkles from being folded in the suitcase this long.

 

OTOH, the toothpaste, shoes and razor don't really mind.

 

🙂

 

 

And my Paddle Tennis Racquet should be OK too.  Glad not at the airport this moment though. 
 

Keith

[cruisr]

Both ships will have dedicated single cabins.  Didn't say in which category or categories though. 

[Txcotn]

2 hours ago, ctjon said:

A couple of issues that Crystal will face the longer the wait:  People are doing cruises on other lines and enjoying them from posting here and elsewhere  - so now they know they have a choice.  Second people who cruise probably have made their 2023 plans and some 2024 plans and when Crystal opens will they change plans or??

Hopefully, we'll all know soon

It seems to me that Crystal could send out an email to a couple hundred thousand Society members and save themselves the trouble of answering thousands of phone calls from TAs. Just MHO.

 

[Keith1010]

3 hours ago, ctjon said:

A couple of issues that Crystal will face the longer the wait:  People are doing cruises on other lines and enjoying them from posting here and elsewhere  - so now they know they have a choice.  Second people who cruise probably have made their 2023 plans and some 2024 plans and when Crystal opens will they change plans or??

Hopefully, we'll all know soon

What you say is correct about the challenges.

 

I do think though we all need to step back.

 

Crystal was only bought at the end of June.  A little over six months ago.

 

They bought assets.  Not a company.  

 

No people.

 

No itineraries.

 

No nothing beyond ships.

 

I just can't imagine.

 

They have to start from scratch.

Decide what to do on ships at a high level, then detailed designs, then all the details which goes into this including cost and schedules and everything else.

Start hiring people executives and then some people.

 

Even the itineraries.  They have to be developed but then they have to determine if the ports are available 

 

The list goes on and on.

 

And when they do publish them and everything that goes with them they have to do it right and that includes not cancelling cruises because ships not ready and not cancelling ports because it turned out they were locked in or that the planned itinerary won't work.

 

I guess what I am getting at is this is a massive undertaking because they didn't buy a company.

 

I agree.  The longer it takes the more people have locked in plans but.............It's only been six months plus two weeks.

 

Keith

[tryber]

Everything you say makes sense to me.  I never expected them to be up and running by now.  But they created that expectation by asking people to make deposits, and promising actual itineraries at the beginning of 2023.  I'm as anxious as anyone to go back to Crystal (I tried Seabourne last September and it made me miss Crystal even more), but it seems like a bad idea to take people's money and promise something they can't deliver.  

[Keith1010]

8 minutes ago, tryber said:

Everything you say makes sense to me.  I never expected them to be up and running by now.  But they created that expectation by asking people to make deposits, and promising actual itineraries at the beginning of 2023.  I'm as anxious as anyone to go back to Crystal (I tried Seabourne last September and it made me miss Crystal even more), but it seems like a bad idea to take people's money and promise something they can't deliver.  

I hear you.  

What they did say in the items I printed off when I did my open deposit is you get priority access to book once our itineraries are released in early 2023.  I know it's semantics but if it comes out in a few weeks that's till early 2023 but I know it could have been taken as early January.

 

Hopefully it will be soon.

 

Keith

[Roland4]

To me, the driving factor in this is the state of the two ships. Until the changes/updates are set, and they release the new deck plans, how can they take bookings? More importantly, as anxious as we all are to be onboard, I personally would rather they take the time they need and do it right. The last thing they need is to start taking bookings prematurely, and then have to change/cancel sailings because the ships are not going to be ready on time.

[H2O Polo Willie]

They may know the deck plans and cabins but we sure do not.  I think things will finally get moving once the final deck plans are set in stone and the ships are in the yard undergoing refurbishment.  But it seems that they may not be that far down the trail.  And Keith is spot on about the amount of work that has to be completed before they post itineraries.  I would rather have them do it right than quickly which might cause a "do over".  The problem right now is that people are feeling that they have "over promised and under delivered".  Patience is what we need  to practice here. 

[ctjon]

The ships have been docked for almost 5 months I wonder if that long a docking causes problems for equipment, steel etc.  I'm sure they are maintaining them as best as can.

[Keith1010]

2 hours ago, ctjon said:

The ships have been docked for almost 5 months I wonder if that long a docking causes problems for equipment, steel etc.  I'm sure they are maintaining them as best as can.

All of this was considered when they decided to bring the ship over to Italy.

 

Keith

[sullaRaffaello]

9 hours ago, cruisr said:

Both ships will have dedicated single cabins.  Didn't say in which category or categories though. 

How did you learn this?

[cruisr]

1 hour ago, sullaRaffaello said:

How did you learn this?

It was in the email sent to my TA

[History&Wine]

19 hours ago, tryber said:

Everything you say makes sense to me.  I never expected them to be up and running by now.  But they created that expectation by asking people to make deposits, and promising actual itineraries at the beginning of 2023.  I'm as anxious as anyone to go back to Crystal (I tried Seabourne last September and it made me miss Crystal even more), but it seems like a bad idea to take people's money and promise something they can't deliver.  

The early deposit program is there to provide interest free loans to the new Crystal.  I reread the open booking letter.  It did not say the beginning of 2023.  It stated "early" 2023.  i suppose as late as June could be considered "early"....

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, History&Wine said:

The early deposit program is there to provide interest free loans to the new Crystal.  I reread the open booking letter.  It did not say the beginning of 2023.  It stated "early" 2023.  i suppose as late as June could be considered "early"....

 

Do the math.  If you compare the amount of money received from early deposits to the amounts needed to refloat Crystal Cruises, you'll find several orders of magnitude of difference.  Ten thousand deposits only equals five million dollars.  Twenty thousand yields ten million.  And I sincerely doubt that they are reaching those kinds of numbers.

 

I firmly believe it was a way to establish engagement with "new Crystal" and move the company towards top of mind.

 

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by FlyerTalker

[floatsam sam]

On 11/22/2022 at 11:28 AM, Keith1010 said:

No right or wrong like most things in life.

 

My life is an open booking.

[History&Wine]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Do the math.  If you compare the amount of money received from early deposits to the amounts needed to refloat Crystal Cruises, you'll find several orders of magnitude of difference.  Ten thousand deposits only equals five million dollars.  Twenty thousand yields ten million.  And I sincerely doubt that they are reaching those kinds of numbers.

 

I firmly believe it was a way to establish engagement with "new Crystal" and move the company towards top of mind.

 

 

That's all true. But everything counts.  Most deposits will come from Americans.  A & K is private, but Zippia estimates revenue (not profit) for A & K in the US at 1.1 million for 2021.  Five to ten million would be several times that figure. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, History&Wine said:

That's all true. But everything counts.  Most deposits will come from Americans.  A & K is private, but Zippia estimates revenue (not profit) for A & K in the US at 1.1 million for 2021.  Five to ten million would be several times that figure. 

Looks like you're citing an inaccurate source.

 

Here are sources that say A&K USA's revenue was $559 million.

https://www.zoominfo.com/c/abercrombie-kent-usa-llc/462535

https://rocketreach.co/abercrombie-kent-profile_b5c65e90f42e0cac

 

The $1.1 million may very well be the revenue of A&K  Philanthropy, Inc.

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/364222228 

Edited January 12, 2023 by njhorseman

[PaulMCO]

1 hour ago, History&Wine said:

That's all true. But everything counts.  Most deposits will come from Americans.  A & K is private, but Zippia estimates revenue (not profit) for A & K in the US at 1.1 million for 2021.  Five to ten million would be several times that figure. 

You all are simplifying a complicated issue of holding companies none of which are public.

 

Abercrombie and Kent -- the travel seller

A&K Travel Group Ltd the holding Company which is jointly owned by Mr. Kent and the Heritage group who's CEO is Manfredi Lefebvre.

Crystal Cruises Ltd (Bahamas) -- the new Crystal owned by the Travel Group.

 

The ships are owned by the group (at present).

Edited January 12, 2023 by PaulMCO