Crystal Serenity moored in Trondheim
History
NameCrystal Serenity
Owner
OperatorCrystal Cruises (2003-present)
Port of registryNassau,  Bahamas
Ordered7 November 2000
BuilderChantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France
CostUS$350 million
Laid down13 June 2002
Launched10 August 2002
Christened3 July 2003[1] by Dame Julie Andrews
Completed30 June 2003
Maiden voyage7 July 2003
In service7 July 2003
Identification
Noteshttps://www.crystalcruises.com/[2][3]
General characteristics [4][5]
TypeCruise ship
Tonnage
  • 68,870 GT
  • 34,913 NT
Length250 m (820 ft)
Beam32.2 m (106 ft)
Draught8 m (26 ft)
Decks
  • 13 decks
  • 9 decks passenger accessible
Ice class1C
Installed power6 × Wärtsilä 12V38B (6 × 8,700 kW)[6]
PropulsionDiesel-electric; two Rolls-Royce Mermaid propulsion units (2 × 13,500 kW)[6]
Speed
  • 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) (service)
  • 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) (maximum)
Capacity1,040 passengers
Crew655

Crystal Serenity is a cruise ship owned by Crystal Cruises. Crystal Serenity was built in 2003 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in St. Nazaire.[7] She operated together with her older fleetmate, Crystal Symphony, offering around the world voyages.

Concept and construction

Crystal Serenity was ordered from Chantiers de l'Atlantique on 7 November 2000.[8] The keel of Crystal Serenity was laid on 13 June 2002 and she was launched on 10 August 2002 being completed on 30 June 2003.[9] She was formally named on 3 July 2003, by Dame Julie Andrews, in Southampton, United Kingdom.

The lead designer of Crystal Serenity was Robert Tillberg of Tillberg Design.[4] The other designers were the Italian Garroni Designers Company, Japanese Okada & Associates, American Nix Firestone Associates and II by IV design Associates, British Stephenjohn Design and was internally designed by Brennan Beer Gorman Monk (BBGM) of New York.[4]

In November 2018 she emerged from an extensive redesign at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven.[10][11][12]

Mama Lee Wachtstetter

Passenger Lee Wachtstetter, known as "Mama Lee", 88 years old in 2016, lived aboard the Crystal Serenity full-time. She was the longest permanent luxury cruise ship resident. In 2018, she reached 10 years living aboard the ship. She spent about US$170k a year to live on the ship full-time.[13][14][15][16]

Ports of call

The maiden voyage of Crystal Serenity was on 7 July 2003, 4 days after her christening. It was a 14-day round-trip cruise, departing Southampton and cruising Northern Europe. During her inaugural season, Crystal Serenity held summer cruises in Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and a transatlantic crossing. It was followed by two Caribbean/Panama Canal voyages and a combined Christmas/New Year Mexican Riviera cruise, round-trip from Los Angeles.[1]

On 14 January 2004, she embarked on her first world cruise; a 106-day voyage departing Los Angeles, which concluded on 5 May, in New York City.[1]

Crystal Serenity was the largest cruise ship ever to navigate the Northwest Passage. Starting on 10 August 2016, the ship sailed from Vancouver to New York City with 1,700 passengers and crew, taking 28 days for the journey. In the Canadian Arctic she made stops at Ulukhaktok and Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island, then passed up Franklin Strait and through the narrow Bellot Strait, adjacent to Zenith Point, the most northerly extension of North America. It explored Beechy Island where Franklin overwintered, followed by seldom visited fjords on the south side of Devon Island, plus fjords on Baffin Island and the village of Pond Inlet. On 5 September 2016 it sailed for Disko Bay in Greenland.[17] Her transit triggered comments on Canada's Arctic sovereignty.[18]

On 27 November 2021, Crystal Serenity was the first large cruise ship to exceed the size limits set by the citizens of Key West in November 2020.[19][20]

Arrest

In January 2022, a warrant was issued for the arrest of the ship should she reenter US waters.[21] On 4 February 2022, both Crystal Serenity and her sister, Crystal Symphony were arrested while in Bahamian waters. The total amount owed for fuel was reported to be about 4.6 million dollars.[22]

In June 2022 she was sold at auction to CSE Ltd., reported to be a shell corporation for the actual buyer, for $103M USD.[23]

In July 2022, the ship underwent refurbishment in Trieste, Italy.[24] After completion, the ship re-entered service on 31 July 2023.[25]

Media

Crystal Serenity was the subject of Mighty Ships season 6, episode 3, first broadcast 2012.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dame Julie Andrews Christens Crystal Serenity Amid a Flurry of Color. Press Release. Crystal Cruises. 3 July 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2010
  2. ↑ Crystal Serenity cruise review and photos Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine ShipParade. Retrieved 8 May 2010
  3. ↑ Crystal Serenity - 9243667 marinetraffic.com. Retrieved 8 May 2010
  4. 1 2 3 Crystal Serenity Fact Sheet. Crystal Cruises. Retrieved 9 May 2010
  5. ↑ "Crystal Serenity (37915)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  6. 1 2 "Crystal Serenity (9243667)". Sea-web. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  7. ↑ Technical information - STX Europe AS - Crystal Serenity STX Europe AS. Retrieved 8 May 2010
  8. ↑ Crystal Cruises Orders New Build. Press Release. Crystal Cruises. 7 November 2000. Retrieved 10 May 2010
  9. ↑ "Crystal Serenity (9243667)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "Lloyd Werft: Luxus-Kreuzfahrtschiff "Crystal Serenity" für Großumbau eingedockt - größere Luxus-Suiten, Gästezahl von 1.080 auf 980 reduziert".
  11. ↑ "Login".
  12. ↑ "Crystal Serenity Completes Most Extensive Refurbishment Ever". TravelPulse. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  13. ↑ "Woman pays $164K per year to live on luxury cruise ship". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  14. ↑ CBS This Morning (2016-08-22), 88-year-old retires and lives on cruise ship, archived from the original on 2021-12-22, retrieved 2018-04-28
  15. ↑ Wachtstetter, Lee (2016-03-07). "What it's like to live on a cruise ship for 8 years". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  16. ↑ Kickham, Debbi. "How To Retire On A Luxury Cruise Ship". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  17. ↑ "Vancouver Maritime Museum joining largest ship to sail Northwest Passage | CBC News".
  18. ↑ Mieke Coppes (2016-09-05). "Analysis: Questioning the Relevance of Canada's Operation Nanook". News deeply. Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-01-22. And although the scenario only involved a small ship of 50 people, with the Crystal Serenity (which has approximately 1,000 passengers onboard) sailing through the Northwest Passage, the Canadian military's capacity to react to this type of crisis is crucial.
  19. ↑ Citizen, SHEILA CULLEN Key West. "First two cruise ships dock in Key West". keysnews.com. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  20. ↑ Hines, Jayme Deerwester and Morgan. "Key West votes to ban large cruise ships from docking, limit cruise visitors to 1,500 per day". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  21. ↑ "Cruise diverted to Bahamas after arrest warrant issued for Crystal Symphony". WPLG. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  22. ↑ Walker, Jim (5 February 2022). "Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity Arrested in Freeport, Bahamas". Cruise Law News. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  23. ↑ Kalosh, Anne (15 June 2022). "Crystal Symphony, Serenity reported sold for $128m". Seatrade Cruise News. seatrade-cruise.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  24. ↑ "Crystal Cruises".
  25. ↑ Neumeier, Franz (2023-08-03). "Crystal Cruises ist zurück: Crystal Serenity wieder in Dienst, Reederei plant vier Neubauten". Cruisetricks.de Kreuzfahrt-Ratgeber (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-08.

Further reading

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