If someone had to take over the Crystal brand, travel industry insiders say, there’s no better candidate than A&K chairman Manfredi Lefebrvre d’Ovidio. But still, there’s a long road ahead before travel advisors and their customers are made whole.
The announcement last week that Heritage Group, owner of A&K Travel Group, will acquire Crystal Serenity, Crystal Symphony, and the rights to the Crystal brand—and last week’s news that it also is interested in Crystal Endeavor—was music to the ears of those who still hope to receive some commissions and sell the line again to its loyal customers.
Serenity and Symphony, purchased from Genting Hong Kong for a reported combined $128 million, are expected to resume service under the Crystal Cruises name next year after undergoing extensive refurbishment. And, on Thursday, Seatrade Cruise News quoted Lefebrvre d’Ovidio as saying, “The logical thing would be for us to have the ship [Crystal Endeavor]. Why take pieces out of it?”
“Manfredi is an entity we know that did some great things at Silversea and understands luxury cruising and has a passion for it—much more of a passion than the owners of Crystal had,” Signature Travel Network CEO Alex Sharpe told TRO. “It’s an incredible brand that has delivered wonderful cruise vacation experiences for three decades. Those who know and love Crystal are as loyal customers as I’ve ever seen; there’s a core that would book a Crystal tag on a tugboat.”
Still, he noted, it’s unfortunate that the deal didn’t take place six months ago “before the final nail was in the coffin.”
A brand ethos isn’t about the hardware, Sharpe said, “it starts with the crew. Had they sold the company 13 months ago, or even six months ago, the crew would have been more or less intact—and the customers and travel advisors who are so passionate about it would have been taken care of. They’ve certainly lost some of the shine on the brand. Now they will have to invest in ships that have been sitting empty, recreate a crew and a culture onboard, reassemble a shoreside team and find a way to change hearts and minds.
“He’s got to find a way to make everybody whole or it will be impossible for us to support him; because frankly we’ve had other great partners who supported us, and we have to support our customers. I haven’t talked to him about that specifically, but he understands that much of the brand is in the hearts and minds of travel advisors and he has to repair that and restore the product to its once glory.”
Frankly, Sharpe noted, “he got a heck of a deal, so I’m anxious to see how it all works out.”
Travel advisors are rooting for the brand’s revival and hoping Heritage and A&K can pull it off. But once burned, many are cautious for now.
Under a subject line “happy, happy, happy,” Philip Archer of Roaming Richly Travel in San Francisco emailed me, “I have to be honest, I thought Crystal was LONG GONE at this point. I figured the ships would be absorbed into another brand. I am just BEYOND excited that a brand we love, Abercrombie & Kent, has purchased these truly amazing vessels. We plan to let ALL our former Crystal Cruises clients know to expect the brand to be back in the water in the future and we know they will be thrilled. It takes a special brand to operate a line like Crystal Cruises, who have been renowned for their attention to detail and service for so many years. I do not like to speak in absolutes and am known for saying ‘perfection is a goal, not a reality,’ but I have to admit the combination of these two iconic luxury providers would appear to be perfect. I cannot WAIT to get back on a Crystal ship, once A&K gets them sailing again.”
And yet, “A&K and Crystal are both premium brands—but buying hardware is just one small piece of the experience,” says Mitch Krayton, of Krayton Travel in Denver. “You need a team and a service level that comes from experience. Those are business decisions to be made. And it’s just not easy to buy a 25-year-old ship and compete with the new builds that are also luxury lines, and try to leverage the old reputation without the old staff and crew. They have to incorporate this well to pull it off. Hope they can.”
“An upper premium cruise line just hired 18 ex-Crystal call center staff; not only did wait times drop from three hours to five minutes, but the agents answering knows what they are doing,” says Paul Barton. “A&K staff know how to fulfill the needs of luxury clients. Hopefully they will rehire the ex-Crystal crew, otherwise they have a long uphill battle to emulate the old Crystal product.”
And, of course, many hope A&K will honor Crystal FCC’s and pay the commission due—something insiders said is undecided at this point.
“We are happy to see that Crystal ships have found a new home, but a lot of questions remain in terms of the impact on advisors and their passengers,” said Travel Leaders Group president John Lovell. “Many things still need to be worked out to enable them to move forward.”
“If they don’t do anything, I’m guessing agents are not going to jump on the bandwagon booking them again so fast,” says Sue Bohrer of Take Flight Travel in Bayside, NY.
“As a large Crystal seller and supporter over the years, I would say we have to wait and see. It’s a long shot,” says Scott Cadow of Legendary World in Las Vegas. “What made Crystal ‘Crystal’ was the people, not the older ships and small cabins. Most have moved on, and my first instinct was ‘it’s too late.’ That said, A&K and Manfredi know luxury and if anyone can pull this off it is them. I would speculate that this is the entry into the market, and new builds would be ordered ASAP! They will need to make clients and agency groups whole to have a chance of our support. Wait and see for sure.”
Interestingly, many travel advisors applauding the deal championed the A&K brand rather than Crystal.
“My vote is simple—I believe in A&K,” said Gail Woloz of Gail’s Travel & Safaris in Manhattan Beach, CA. “They know what they are doing! Excited to see the future of this acquisition!”
“A&K is a great purveyor of luxury travel, and if anyone should be able to pull this off, it’s them,” said Lucille Ebbe Pucciarelli of Clark Travel in Branchburg, NJ.
“I think with the experience and luxury service A&K bring to this industry, they will be able to only enhance the Crystal cruise ships. They will integrate these well with their tours,” says Adrienne Sasson of Rubinsohn Travel in Jenkintown, PA.
And indeed, says Stacey Francesconi Batt of TravelStore in Los Angeles, why use the Crystal brand at all?
“Crystal is long gone in my eyes. My Crystal clients probably will not sail on a Crystal flagged ship again, too much bad blood. Why not just have A&K Cruises?! It’s a fantastic brand with a rich history in service. Combine the cruise with an amazing tour. Win-win! I would sell it!”
While you’re at it, says Terri Lynn Goodrich, make some “aesthetic changes on the ships to give them a new sophisticated look, a less high-brow color palette.” Offer packages with pre- and post- hotels. “And for God’s sake keep those dance floors.”
For those considering selling Crystal again, Sharpe noted he was “pleasantly surprised” that the ships will not return to service until 2023, giving them “time to do the work and put the teams together, rather than push it out there quickly and cobble it together.”
Still, he added, “I’d say be cautious. We need to make sure we are made whole first. There’s no reason to rush. Let’s see what they do to restore this brand.”
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook.
As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.
