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Former Crystal Mozart - able to book, now Riverside Luxury Cruises

Coral

By Coral,
in River Cruising

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gnome12 Excellent Advice! Rare

gnome12

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, NJCruiserBoy said:

 

We sailed Crystal on the Danube, Rhine and Moselle, which was delightful and not offered by many in the way Crystal sailed it.  So now a ship will do the Rhone, which was no big deal to us because we've already done that with Uniworld.   I'm just saying it just sounds like more of the same.  And 3 day cruises?  Who wants to fly all the way to Europe for a 3 day cruise?  

They are obviously not marketing the 3 day cruises to North Americans, but there are lots of Europeans close by. 

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

Posted
Posted
Just now, Host Jazzbeau said:

Germans, who already live in Europe?

Indeed. Germans, Austrians, Swiss, all with a bit of extra cash for indulgence over a long weekend. And others who think the trip is worth their while. The operator is based in Hamburg. Quite a few three night cruises and many four night cruises are offered on the European market by German language operators and CroisiEurope. That company is of course French but offers German, English and French on their itineraries (not necessarily all together).

 

notamermaid

 

 

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AllisonJames

AllisonJames

Posted
Posted

This is wonderful news! I am glad these vessels will be all together and cruising the rivers again! We were booked on our very first river cruise, Crystal Bach, for June 2020…well, we all know what happened with that plan. Thought we had missed our opportunity to experience those gorgeous boats…now, who knows? Might get to try them after all! Will be anxiously awaiting reviews and photos!

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Host Jazzbeau Great Review Rare

Host Jazzbeau

Posted
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5 hours ago, notamermaid said:

The page has been updated, new version: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ship-operations/its-official-crystal-river-vessels-are-going-riverside-luxury-cruises

 

notamermaid

21% commission for TA bookings – certainly worth asking yours to share with you!

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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2 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

It's definitely confirmed by Riverside.

 

steamboats 

seatrade-cruise was picking it up but could not confirm it through their own sources it seems. The updated website appeared a couple of hours after I had posted that one with the doubt. All sorted and hooray for those that want to experience the luxury of Crystal under new people.

 

I do wonder if they will put a ship back onto the Seine. At the time I thought Crystal may have taken them from that river as the 135m ships were in the focus for not being able to dock in Paris (the "Viking problem" that could not be solved with the authorities) although as far as I remember they declared it was because of more demand coming from the Rhine and Danube lovers. Whatever happened - 125m is now the "most economic" length to go for on the Seine - I think the Seine has got potential for luxury cruises for sure but for the new operator it may be better to wait and see how it plays out elsewhere. Love the idea of a luxury food cruise on the Rhone.

 

It really sounds as if they got a good deal in the end. Good luck to them, taking five ships is a task. That price segment is not for me but it will be good to see the ships back on the rivers and hopefully some renewed employment for the highly trained staff of Crystal.

 

notamermaid

 

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

Posted
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6 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Did Crystal have a vessel on the Saone & the Rhône?

Good question. I think I chose my sentence badly. I do not recall if they actually sailed on the Seine and the Rhone. The plan was to put the ships on the Seine and Rhone, the French name ones. Was it that they stopped it just before the season and put them on the Rhine and Danube? Perhaps someone remembers this better than me.

 

notamermaid

 

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steamboats Great Review Rare

steamboats

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I think the main problem will be to sell the ship right now... the first cruises start in April on two ships, then in May the third is to follow. Even with a handful of loyal Crystal customers (who won´t fly over for 3 nighters) and a large customer base from their hotel business it might be a bit challenging to fill the three ships with such a short notice and being a newcomer on the market.

 

steamboats

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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1 hour ago, steamboats said:

I think the main problem will be to sell the ship right now... the first cruises start in April on two ships, then in May the third is to follow. Even with a handful of loyal Crystal customers (who won´t fly over for 3 nighters) and a large customer base from their hotel business it might be a bit challenging to fill the three ships with such a short notice and being a newcomer on the market.

 

steamboats

I know they had put together Marketing and Sales people last year as I am following one of them who is in charge of North America sales (working with agents). I think their plan all along was to get the other 4 vessels, it just took longer as the team they put together was too large for just the Mozart.

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Host Jazzbeau Great Review Rare

Host Jazzbeau

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Crystal originally announced that the two ships with French names would be less than 135m (I forget exactly what size) and would sail in France. But before they were built it was changed to 135m for all four ships and all sailing the Rhine/Danube. I never heard an explanation for the change. 

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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7 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Scenic’s vessel and I think it was AMA (I could be completely wrong here) were taken there on the sea version of a low loader.

I do not recall Scenic but remember seeing the footage of the Ama ship being transported via sea to the Rhone. The name eludes me.

 

notamermaid

 

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steamboats Great Review Rare

steamboats

Posted
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13 hours ago, Coral said:

I know they had put together Marketing and Sales people last year as I am following one of them who is in charge of North America sales (working with agents). I think their plan all along was to get the other 4 vessels, it just took longer as the team they put together was too large for just the Mozart.

 

I´m pretty sure they do have a team. And yes, they were interested in the other four vessels from the beginning. It was a matter of pricing... Seems like they now got the price they wanted to pay.

 

It´s just that it might not be easy to sell the two additional boats on such a short notice especially on the North American market. Here in Germany with the pandemic the people are booking river cruises on a shorter notice. But we don´t need any flights. 

 

steamboats

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Canal archive

Canal archive

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Posted (edited)

I’ve searched for the film but basically two river cruise vessels sail into the lowered centre of the carrying vessel this is sealed then raised and sailed through the Channel (La Manche) through the straights of Gib into the Med then into the Rhône. 
 

There is some quite heavy advertising of river cruises by Tui and a couple of other companies in the U.K. at the moment.

Edited by Canal archive
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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

I´m pretty sure they do have a team. And yes, they were interested in the other four vessels from the beginning. It was a matter of pricing... Seems like they now got the price they wanted to pay.

 

It´s just that it might not be easy to sell the two additional boats on such a short notice especially on the North American market. Here in Germany with the pandemic the people are booking river cruises on a shorter notice. But we don´t need any flights. 

 

steamboats

I also wondered if the sale was delayed due to financials. The other Crystal ships were probably paid for but these were brand new (almost) and had loans against them. I wonder if the process took longer due to that. Just guessing.

 

I am not surprised that they can't get all ships going in 2 months. 

Edited by Coral
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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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6 hours ago, steamboats said:

The AmaKristina was moved from the Rhine river to France.

 

steamboats

Thanks, that is the one I meant.

 

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I also wondered if the sale was delayed due to financials. The other Crystal ships were probably paid for but these were brand new (almost) and had loans against them. I wonder if the process took longer due to that. Just guessing.

Yes, I recall there being the mention in articles of the banks in the background. It will have made it more complicated. Not a straightforward sale for sure.

 

notamermaid

 

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tfred

tfred

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Posted

its nice to see those Crystal River ships again.  Really one of the best cruises I have been on - twice as a matter of fact

 

it would be interesting to see if the soft product matches what Crystal did .  I see some pricing but not any of the details of what is included.  Excursions, booze?

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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8 hours ago, tfred said:

its nice to see those Crystal River ships again.  Really one of the best cruises I have been on - twice as a matter of fact

 

it would be interesting to see if the soft product matches what Crystal did .  I see some pricing but not any of the details of what is included.  Excursions, booze?

'Aggressive' fares and 21% commission

Riverside will launch at 45% lower fares than Crystal's 2019 brochure rates because 'We're a new brand. We're late to selling ... The pricing is to say take a chance on us.'

For example, Mozart's first cruise, a five-night round-trip Vienna on April 4, is priced starting at $2,310 per suite. The 'premium all-inclusive' rate, bundling in transfers, a beverage pakage and excursions, starts at around $3,000 per suite.

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