NEWS FACE TO FACE EDIE RODRIGUEZ


Crystal Cruises


them our thanks and support. “Just four to six per cent of our guests are direct, which shows our dedication to travel agents.” Rodriguez says that while the


line’s passenger numbers would increase, it would never reach mass-market levels. “On our ocean ships we carry


well over 50,000 guests a year,” she says. “Obviously, with our yachts, the figure is much less: Esprit carries 62 guests. Even when all four are in the water, we are talking about 424 guests a week on seven-night itineraries. “In terms of river, our new ships Bach and Mahler, which carry 106


Crystal Cruises launched its first purpose-built river ship this week. Here, its president and chief executive tells Natasha Salmon about the line’s expansion plans


T


he boss of Crystal Cruises says its continued expansion could see a dedicated


UK office opening in two years. President and chief executive


Edie Rodriguez says UK sales are “robust enough to open Crystal’s own UK office tomorrow”. Crystal Cruises currently sells


in the UK through the Cruise Portfolio, part of Mundy Cruising, which has been its general sales agent for 27 years. The luxury line is also planning


to launch seven ships between next summer and 2022. “We have so many other things


on our plate right now and a UK office isn’t urgent because Cruise Portfolio is a great partner doing great things,” Rodriguez says. “Obviously the next logical step


would be an office in the UK, and Cruise Portfolio will be the first to know.


“It’s a longer-term plan which


we wouldn’t look to do for another two years at least.” This week Crystal Cruises launched its first purpose-built river ship, Crystal Bach, having earlier in the month taken delivery of Crystal Skye, a Boeing 777 for its AirCruises fleet. The 106-passenger ship, the


first of its four new Rhine-class vessels, sailed from Amsterdam on


August 13 on its maiden voyage. A sister ship, Mahler, will launch


in September, followed by Debussy and Ravel next April and May. Rodriguez says the Crystal


brand needs agents’ support more than ever as it continues to build new ships. “We will continue to need our


agent partners and to support them,” she says. “We have programmes in place to show


CRYSTAL’S EXPANSION SCHEDULE


Aug 2017 Crystal Skye – Crystal AirCruises Crystal Bach – Crystal River Cruises


Sep 2017 Crystal Mahler – Crystal River Cruises Oct 2017 Reimagination of Crystal Symphony – Crystal Cruises


Apr 2018 Crystal Debussy – Crystal River Cruises


May 2018 Crystal Ravel – Crystal River Cruises


Nov 2018 Reimagination of Crystal Serenity – Crystal Cruises


2019


2020 2021 2022


Crystal Endeavor – Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises (CYEC) Second CYEC mega-yacht Third CYEC mega-yacht


Crystal Exclusive Class with Crystal Residences – Crystal Cruises


guests, are smaller in capacity than Mozart, which carries 154. “This may mean our passenger numbers are lower than the mass market but 76% of our river guests are new to cruising, so we are raising the profile not only of Crystal but of cruising.” As well as an influx of


new-to-cruise passengers, Rodriguez says the line’s repeat customer base remains strong, despite geopolitical uncertainty in the last year. She says: “We have been very


fortunate as our guests are usually already world travellers in some form, so when they hear about these geopolitical situations, perhaps they are not as intimidated as somebody less travelled. “With regards to Brexit, Brits are


still going to travel, particularly the luxury British guest. “I think the Brits, much like Americans, are very resilient and they will find a way to make the best of the situation.”


12 travelweekly.co.uk 17 August 2017

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