Crystal Cruises Under Genting Hong Kong: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth

Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on August 26, 2018. It has been updated to reflect what happened to Crystal Cruises after Genting Hong Kong’s collapse and the brand’s relaunch under Abercrombie & Kent.

There’s a lot to unpack in the story of Crystal Cruises under Genting Hong Kong. What started as one of the most ambitious expansion plans in the luxury cruise industry ultimately ended with bankruptcy, the breakup of the fleet and the disappearance of almost everything Genting had planned for the brand. But Crystal survived.

And now, more than a decade after Genting acquired the company, a new generation of Crystal ships is finally taking shape.

Genting buys Crystal

In 2015, Genting Hong Kong acquired Crystal Cruises from NYK Line for $550 million. The acquisition marked the beginning of an aggressive expansion plan designed to transform Crystal from a luxury cruise line into a much broader luxury travel brand. The plan included new ocean ships, a completely new expedition fleet, river cruising, luxury air travel and even its own shipbuilding operation. Genting acquired the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Germany and formed MV Werften, which would eventually be tasked with building some of these ambitious new vessels. Crystal also purchased the historic SS United States and acquired the MegaStar Taurus from sister brand Star Cruises.

At the time, the strategy looked impressive. Crystal already had an established reputation, and Genting appeared willing to invest heavily to take the brand into almost every segment of luxury travel. The first completely new ship to emerge from the plan was Crystal Endeavor.

Crystal Endeavor

Crystal Endeavor was Crystal’s first purpose-built expedition ship and one of the clearest examples of just how ambitious Genting’s plans had become. The ship was designed to PC6 polar-class specifications and was intended to combine the amenities of a luxury yacht with the capabilities of an expedition ship. Her early designs were considerably more extravagant than the ship that ultimately entered service and, interestingly enough, had some similarities to what Scenic Group eventually built with Scenic Eclipse.

The design was later scaled back, but Endeavor was still an extraordinarily ambitious ship when she entered service in 2021. Unfortunately, her timing could hardly have been worse. Genting Hong Kong was already in serious financial trouble when the pandemic hit from this aggressive expansion, and within months the company’s entire cruise operation was collapsing. Crystal Endeavor would spend very little time operating for Crystal before the company shut down.

Following Genting Hong Kong’s bankruptcy in 2022, Endeavor was sold to Royal Caribbean Group and eventually joined Silversea Cruises as Silver Endeavour.

The Diamond-Class

The most ambitious part of Genting’s Crystal plan was the proposed Diamond-class.

The original concept called for three ships of approximately 100,000 gross tons, substantially larger than Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, which measured around 68,000 gross tons. The ships were supposed to include private residences for sale, multiple helicopters and potentially even a seaplane, along with more than 1,000 passengers.

I always thought maintaining Crystal’s ultra-luxury standards on a ship that large would have been a difficult proposition. Crystal had built its reputation around space, service and a very high crew-to-guest ratio. Moving to a ship carrying more than 1,000 passengers would have been a significant departure from what made the brand successful.

After poor financial results and a change in leadership, Genting began scaling back the project. The Diamond-class ships were reduced to roughly 60,000 gross tons with around 800 passengers, and many of the more extravagant features were dropped.

The revised concept was much more realistic for Crystal. It never got built. As Genting’s financial problems continued to worsen, the Diamond-class was ultimately cancelled along with many of the other projects tied to the broader expansion plan.

The expansion became too much

Looking back, the problem with Genting’s Crystal strategy was not necessarily the desire to expand. It was the sheer number of projects being pursued simultaneously.

New ocean ships, expedition ships, river ships, aircraft, shipyards and acquisitions all required enormous amounts of capital. Crystal was being transformed into an entire luxury travel empire before many of those new businesses had a chance to establish themselves. Then COVID-19 arrived.

Genting Hong Kong entered the pandemic already under significant financial pressure, and the suspension of cruise operations made the situation considerably worse. In January 2022, Genting Hong Kong filed for bankruptcy. Crystal Cruises followed shortly afterward, leaving passengers, crew, suppliers and creditors dealing with the fallout. The Genting era of Crystal was over.

Crystal’s fleet is scattered

The collapse broke up what could have been a remarkably diverse fleet. After a layup in Bimini, the Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony were eventually acquired along with the Crystal brand by Abercrombie & Kent’s A&K Travel Group. Both ships underwent extensive refurbishments before returning to service in 2023, effectively giving Crystal a second chance.

The river ships went elsewhere. Crystal Mozart became Riverside Mozart, while several of the former Crystal river ships were acquired by Riverside Luxury Cruises. As mentioned above, the Crystal Endeavor became Silver Endeavour with Silversea.

And then there was the SS United States. Genting had acquired the historic liner as part of its broader Crystal expansion and explored plans that would have preserved the ship as a hotel and attraction. Those plans ultimately failed, and the liner’s story came to a much less happy conclusion. As for the SS United States, well, we all know what happened there.

You can read that story here: The History of the SS United States: America’s Greatest Ocean Liner.

Crystal gets a second chance

Under A&K, Crystal went back to the formula that had originally made the brand successful. Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony returned with extensive refurbishments, and rather than attempting to create an entirely new luxury travel empire, the company focused on its core business.

In 2024, Crystal announced an agreement with Fincantieri for two new ocean ships, with an option for a third. The first of those ships would become Crystal Grace, the first new ocean ship for Crystal in 25 years.

Crystal Grace

Crystal Grace is an interesting ship to consider in the context of the Genting years because, in some ways, she is what the downsized Diamond-class was trying to become.

She will measure approximately 62,000 gross tons and carry 650 passengers, putting her much closer in size to Crystal’s existing ships than the original 100,000-gross-ton Diamond concept. She will also be all-suite, with 337 suites, and will retain the high space and crew-to-guest ratios that are central to the modern Crystal product.

The difference is that Crystal Grace is a much more focused proposition. There are no helicopters or seaplanes, no attempt to create an entirely new class of massive luxury ship and no sprawling collection of side businesses attached to the project. Instead, the emphasis is on space, service, dining and the traditional Crystal experience.

Construction officially began in May 2026 when the first steel was cut at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy. Crystal Grace is scheduled for delivery in spring 2028, with her inaugural voyage scheduled for June 11, 2028. Two sister ships are planned to follow her.