Crystal Endeavor, the world’s largest and most luxurious expedition yacht has welcomed her first guests on board in Reykjavík, Iceland. The new expedition yacht will take guests further than ever before on bold adventures offering explorations, enrichment and immersive experiences beyond anything they’ve experienced before. The ship offers the unwavering, unparalleled standard of personal service, excellence and luxury Crystal is known for.
Only a few weeks after Crystal Endeavor was officially named in Stralsund, Germany., the officers and staff of the world’s largest expedition yacht have welcomed their first guests in Reykjavík, Iceland for her maiden voyage, a 10-night circumnavigation of Iceland. The inaugural voyage marks the first in a series of five Luxury Iceland Expedition sailings round-trip from Reykjavík exploring Iceland’s dramatically beautiful and fascinating locales and featuring expedition experiences from Zodiac adventures to kayaking excursions launched directly from the ship.
The 20,200 GRT Crystal Endeavor is the most spacious, fastest and most powerful expedition ship in the industry and the first polar class luxury expedition yacht “Made in Germany” featuring a PC6 classification that enables her to sail in Arctic and Antarctic waters. At 100 gross tons and 10,000 cubic feet per guest and a passenger space ratio of more than 100, she has the largest space per guest of any ship at sea. Designed to offer discerning travelers elegantly expansive private and public spaces, the ship accommodates just 200 guests in 100 well-appointed all-verandah, all-butler serviced suites, ranging between 28 and 105 m², making them the largest and most spacious in expedition cruising. Six gourmet restaurants and a casino, a glass-covered, two-storey solarium, a spa and a fitness centre, as well as various lounges and shopping possibilities are provided on board. A one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio delivers the personal and genuine service for which Crystal is known.
The ship’s marina features the “toys” found aboard a private yacht including 18 Zodiacs, a fleet of sea kayaks (14), snorkel gear, and a six-guest submersible and two helicopters in select regions of the world. Exploration equipment aboard the ship includes a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) to view the sea at a 300-meter (almost 1,000 feet) depth and a Gimble long-range camera mounted on the mast that can zoom in to view wildlife and scenery over a mile away (90 X zoom).
The camera system shoots 4K video that is streamed directly on the HD TVs throughout the ship including public areas and guest suites, and on the large 65-inch screens in Palm Court, the 86-inch screens in the Expedition Lounge and on the Cove’s video wall, with a massive 218-inch center screen and two 145-inch side screens. Camera operator control locations in the Palm Court and in the Expedition Lounge also offers interactive activity between the camera operator and guests, who can point out sights they would like to see up close.
All ports of call for Crystal Endeavor’s Iceland voyages feature complimentary excursions led by naturalist experts from the ship’s expedition team including sea kayaking on the waters of the Westfjords in Patreksfjörður, an Arctic Circle walkabout on Grimsey Island, and Zodiac cruising amid mountain landscapes in Djúpivogur. Crystal Endeavor’s expedition leaders and guides for its Iceland voyages include a marine biologist, ornithologist, geologist/glaciologist, historian, two professional photographers, polar expedition specialists and an artist-in-residence who will instruct and encourage guests to capture travel memories with snapshot sketches and drawings.
Sailing responsibly and Crystal Pristine
As part of its ongoing commitment to sailing responsibly through its Crystal Pristine program, the company has equipped Crystal Endeavor to connect to shore power while in port and cleans exhaust emissions through a Selective Catalytic Reductant system. The ship is outfitted with offshore dynamic positioning capabilities, enabling the vessel to remain in one place utilizing GPS and its thrusters, rather than dropping anchor, avoiding any potential damage to delicate reefs.
The ship deploys state-of-the-art underwater sonar technology, providing real-time 3D images of the terrain and activity along the ship’s route up to 1,000 meters ahead of the vessel and to a depth of up to 50 meters, with a mapping range up to eight times the water’s depth. Such vision enables the captain and bridge officers to detect potential hazards and sea life far in advance to navigate appropriately.
For more details on Crystal Endeavor’s Inaugural Voyages to Iceland, the Arctic Circle and Europe visit crystalcruises.com.