Just a day after sales opened for Crystal Cruises’ “bubble” Bahamas sailings on 18MAR, the luxury cruise line reported the biggest single-day sales record in its history.
The booking boom signals “travellers’ pent-up desire to take to the seas once again,” Crystal was delighted to announce.
Within the first 24 hours of reservations opening for its new “Luxury Bahamas Escapes” itinerary aboard Crystal Serenity, 25 per cent of the 16 voyages’ combined availability was already booked. That’s the equivalent of nearly 4,000 travellers reserving staterooms or suites on at least one of the seven-night voyages that cruise roundtrip from Nassau or Bimini.
Almost 200 guests reserved back-to-back voyages, which debut 03JUL, with some planning to spend as many as 42 days on board the company’s flagship.
Crystal realized a 2,024 per cent increase in online bookings and received reservations from the biggest number of distinct travel agencies in its 30-year history.
“We are thrilled by the wonderful response to these new sailings. It’s clear that travellers have been eagerly looking forward to exploring again and are as excited to see Crystal Serenity return to sailing as we are,” said Jack Anderson, Crystal’s interim president and CEO.
As Open Jaw reported, Crystal became the first American-based cruise line to announce it would bypass the CDC’s ban on sailing in American waters by re-starting cruising from an offshore homeport. Crystal Serenity, sailing from JUL to OCT, will homeport in The Bahamas.
“After a year of uncertainty, our new Luxury Bahamas Escapes mark an important return to service for Crystal, but also a significant step forward for travel and tourism overall in the Americas,” Anderson said.
“The all-Bahamas cruises means there is no risk of border closures, alleviating concerns related to a multiple-country itinerary that may be impacted by differing travel restrictions.”
Crystal recently announced that guests must be fully inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to sailing.
Royal Caribbean International and sister line Celebrity Cruises announced Friday they would also resume cruising with offshore sailings in the Caribbean. Their sailings begin a month earlier than Crystal, in JUN, and their bookings open this week.
