Current occupancy levels of Crystal Symphony and Serenity

[Psoque]

We used to take cruises on Crystal ships before bankruptcy, but as of now, we are in a wait-and-see approach to see how the new management is doing with the Crystal brand/product, and to make sure the new Crystal is going to survive.

 

After doing an enjoyable but somewhat disappointing cruise on Oceania recently, we are more eager to give the new Crystal a try.  However, it appears the pricing is a bit higher than what we used to see in the past.  Is this because of inflation?

 

I have heard from people here and elsewhere that both Symphony and Serenity are sailing with a lot of empty cabins.  I’m not sure if is in fact true or not, since I don’t have a first hand knowledge of this.  I wonder if Crystal is intentionally sailing with limited number of passengers as they re-boot the brand with both old and new crew.

 

Either way, I’m hoping that Crystal will start sailing with full ships, and that would translate to lower prices in the future.  I don’t have any time off that I can use for another cruise until 2025, so I have more time to wait.

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Psoque

[Keith1010]

The occupancy has varied on the Crystal ships since it restarted.  On the current voyages of Serenity occupancy was low. On the one before it the occupancy was high. On the Holiday Cruise it is either sold out or almost sold out.  I am reminded that on Serenity they did change the itinerary that is being sailed now and broke it into smaller segments.

 

The reality is by the time they came out with their sailings for this year many people had plans with other cruise lines. They knew this would be the case. 

The key will be how things go next year.

 

I do know lots of people who are booked on Crystal voyages particularly on all or portions of the World Cruise and for the Alaska season. I know some on Symphony but not to the extent that I hear about Serenity.

 

Time will tell.

 

Keith 

[ryndam]

Onboard Serenity now. Depending who you talk to, occupancy is 250-285+/-. Captain said at last nights reception there are 565 crew onboard. The next 2 7-nighters are low occupancy. Was told the Xmas cruise is nearly sold out and over 600 pax expected for the January 2024 cruises.

 

Pricing for everything is higher than pre-Covid. Restaurants. Theater. Food. Fuel. Utilities. Water. Land packages. (Have you checked either A&K or Tauck’s per-firms for 2024? Makes Crystal seem a bargain!) And, yes, cruise prices across all lines are up, or prices have been “unbundled” so there’s a lower base price, and virtually everything else is a up charge. This is the new reality. I’m not expecting any significant price adjustments on Crystal anytime soon.

 

Rob

[BWIVince]

I don't honestly think we're going to have an accurate picture of "success" as it pertains to occupancy until we reach a peak month, which doesn't happen until early next summer.  Trying to read success on low occupancy months is incredibly subjective and off-peak months in an inaugural year are pretty much ignored on sales tracking when there are months ahead that can be better benchmarked.  I guarantee their sales team has their eyes glued to summer 2024 stats right now, though.

 

IMHO the real barometer is the new ship order.  If/when they sign the MOU(s) with the shipyard(s), that will show their confidence in the future and what kind of a plan they see moving forward.  From everything I've read so far, they see the current fleet as a bridge to the future state, so the financial commitment of those new builds, how they spec out, and their timeline will tell the REAL story of Crystal's future.

 

Vince

 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by BWIVince

[Texas Tillie]

34 minutes ago, ryndam said:

Onboard Serenity now. Depending who you talk to, occupancy is 250-285+/-. Captain said at last nights reception there are 565 crew onboard. 

 

Rob

 

Wondering if 250 is the number of paying guests and 285 includes the entertainers, lecturers, Ambassador Hosts, etc. ?

 

Patty

[travelberlin]

3 hours ago, BWIVince said:

I don't honestly think we're going to have an accurate picture of "success" as it pertains to occupancy until we reach a peak month, which doesn't happen until early next summer.  Trying to read success on low occupancy months is incredibly subjective and off-peak months in an inaugural year are pretty much ignored on sales tracking when there are months ahead that can be better benchmarked.  I guarantee their sales team has their eyes glued to summer 2024 stats right now, though.

 

IMHO the real barometer is the new ship order.  If/when they sign the MOU(s) with the shipyard(s), that will show their confidence in the future and what kind of a plan they see moving forward.  From everything I've read so far, they see the current fleet as a bridge to the future state, so the financial commitment of those new builds, how they spec out, and their timeline will tell the REAL story of Crystal's future.

 

Vince

 

 

Which months are “low occupancy months”? Do you mean there are some months in which cruise lines do not sell well?

 

I think that the Serenity will continue to attract guests in North America. The challenge is to get new clients who will like the product so much that they will return many times. 
 

Now the Symphony will sail probably mainly in Europe, Asia and Africa. It needs imho a very good market strategy. The challenge is to convince guests from those continents that Crystal is, despite the age of the ships, a unique experience worth the price. 
 

Ivi
 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by travelberlin

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

Which months are “low occupancy months”? Do you mean there are some months in which cruise lines do not sell well?

 

I believe now (between US Thanksgiving and Christmas) is always a low occupancy period, if not the lowest of the entire year...

[Roland4]

16 minutes ago, BEAV said:

 

I believe now (between US Thanksgiving and Christmas) is always a low occupancy period, if not the lowest of the entire year...

Actually now until almost the end of January, at least up here in the (currently not-so-much) Frozen North. Been doing this for almost 20 years and January is usually my slowest month for departures.

[Cruise-y]

A couple of the Serenity January cruises are nearly sold out. The Panama Canal transit has only a few cabins left. Is it better/worse to be on a full ship (crowds) or a nearly empty one (some venues not always open)? 

[ryndam]

Onboard Serenity now. Depending who you talk to, occupancy is 250-285+/-. Captain said at last nights reception there are 565 crew onboard. The next 2 7-nighters are low occupancy. Was told the Xmas cruise is nearly sold out and over 600 pax expected for the January 2024 cruises.

 

Pricing for everything is higher than pre-Covid. Restaurants. Theater. Food. Fuel. Utilities. Water. Land packages. (Have you checked either A&K or Tauck’s per-firms for 2024? Makes Crystal seem a bargain!) And, yes, cruise prices across all lines are up, or prices have been “unbundled” so there’s a lower base price, and virtually everything else is a up charge. This is the new reality. I’m not expecting any significant price adjustments on Crystal anytime soon.

 

Rob

[ryndam]

This is probably totally politically incorrect, but we are onboard now and who-the-f-cares about any of this future speculation. We’re have a fantastic time with 250-280 +/- guests (and the “real” number is irrelevant). Just book and go. Or not. The online chatter is irrelevant. End of rant. We’re having a fantastic time. 
 

Rob + 250-280+/- happy cruisers.

[BWIVince]

8 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Which months are “low occupancy months”? Do you mean there are some months in which cruise lines do not sell well?

 

I think that the Serenity will continue to attract guests in North America. The challenge is to get new clients who will like the product so much that they will return many times. 
 

Now the Symphony will sail probably mainly in Europe, Asia and Africa. It needs imho a very good market strategy. The challenge is to convince guests from those continents that Crystal is, despite the age of the ships, a unique experience worth the price. 
 

Ivi
 

 

 

 

October, November, December, January and February are generally considered off-peak for leisure travel for US consumers. October, November and parts of January are strong for business travel, and kind of buoy the industry, and the crazy peaks of leisure travel for the holiday periods save November and December from being a complete loss, but as Brian points out, the highest peaks of the year also create the biggest valleys of the year.  The first two weeks of December are the US travel industry’s worst nightmare.  It’s generally when the travel industry tries to hold its industry events because all of the suppliers can leave their quiet businesses/properties with confidence, and there is surplus space everywhere to host things.

 

March and April as whole months start to turn positive again, and June, July and August are when the lions share of money is spent.

 

This just speaks to when US consumers spend their travel money, obviously the game then becomes pairing the ships with a North American-accessible market where there is sufficient demand during the slow months, to attract enough customers.

 

Ideally, as you point out, you can tap overseas markets when the US market is slow, and that’s probably one of the biggest advantage brought to us by the huge conglomerates.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen in the first year for a US cruise line though — it took old Crystal 4-5 years to get the resources to do that.  Fortunately A&K has some of the infrastructure for that in place, but it still requires distraction of resources from the main launch to do the training and brand changes needed even if the sales infrastructure is in place in the alternate countries, so you normally can’t just enter multiple markets at once and have the same success as if you build the markets separately.  That’s usually where the “expanded too quickly” pitfall of the travel industry comes into play (more often than just too much inventory, which is the conventional wisdom culprit).

 

International markets for US cruise lines have to be done carefully for small lines like Crystal, too…. There are lots of dangers.  You have to select culturally and linguistically similar markets where you don’t have to change the product too much, or you risk losing your primary market passengers that serve as your foundation.  Small lines don’t have the resources to base ships in an international market full time and have entire regionally focused operations, like the big conglomerates.  
 

For decades before the consolidation, cruise lines tried basing a surplus ship during the slow months in other countries, but what they found is that while the local demand was there, you can’t just have a temporary operation there to harness it seasonally…. It takes a locally based staff to make it work, even for the next season, and having the local staff year round burns up more than the money than you make during the operating season.  I expect within a few years, we’ll see a similar hybrid strategy with A&K to what Crystal used, where they have a couple of regional teams in compatible counties selling Crystal year-round globally.

 

Vince

[Emdee]

Next cruise on Serenity more…around 300 pass. One 100 passengers will be b2b.
Then the ship is full over the holidays and going into the WC.

 

I am just so happy Crystal is back. The number of passengers is irrelevant to me. Hopefully they are here for the long term.

[Ibis]

This year’s Holiday cruise is definitely Sold Out as we tried to book it while on board in November and have also tried to book since disembarkation with our TA. Sold Out and most categories have 6 to 10 on waitlists. Subsequently, we have booked Toulon/Fort Lauderdale in May 2024; last segment of the World Cruise and Holiday cruise 2024. We’re thrilled Crystal is back and in many ways better than ever! Take one of the previous poster’s advice..just book, go and enjoy! Don’t waste time counting current passenger numbers.. pack your bags instead😊

[Ibis]

Oops.. Toulon-Miami 😔

[travelberlin]

Although I understand that it is great to enjoy the moment and I am sure I will do that on my next cruise, it is good for me to know occupancy numbers. I do not like ships which are too full or too empty.  Specially I don’t like when because of lower occupancy, venues are closed. But I understand that this is not the case on Crystal now independently of the number of passengers.

 

Ivi

[Emdee]

37 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Not if they are sailing half empty for much longer.

I'm sure the owners would like a little higher occupancy rate.

It's a work in progress.

Crystal was late into the game so naturally many of us made other plans. We will be on two long Regent cruises next year.

However we decided to come on board in September and after really enjoying our trip did a b2b these 2  weeks. Now thinking of another Crystal cruise next year besides the ones we have already booked in 2025. So as passengers return and enjoy what they have always loved about Crystal bookings will increase. 
 

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

Not if they are sailing half empty for much longer.

I'm sure the owners would like a little higher occupancy rate.

It's a work in progress.

As we've said more times than I can count on my fingers. Crystal knew this year would be like this and has said so publicly. They announced 2023 and 2024 itineraries when others were out two to three years already.

 

They are in this thing for the long-run.

 

This is not their first rodeo.

 

 

[TRIPACIAN]

2 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Although I understand that it is great to enjoy the moment and I am sure I will do that on my next cruise, it is good for me to know occupancy numbers. I do not like ships which are too full or too empty.  Specially I don’t like when because of lower occupancy, venues are closed. But I understand that this is not the case on Crystal now independently of the number of passengers.

 

Ivi

We were on a back to back with first cruise 220 passengers and the second 540.  There was not any difference in activities on board and all venues were open at all times.  Don't worry you will have a great time.