Crystal celebrates keel-laying for river ships at MV Werften

MV Werften laid the keels for Crystal River Cruises’ two new Rhine Class river ships at its yard in Wismar, Germany on 24 May 2017.

The keel laying ceremony was attended by Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chairman and chief executive of Genting Hong Kong; Jarmo Laakso, managing director of MV Werften; Josef Lumetsberger, Crystal River Cruises’ general manager of operations; Manfred Korous, managing director of future development at Crystal River Cruises; and Harry Glawe, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Economics Minister.

Lim and Glawe placed traditional lucky coins on each of the 170-ton keel blocks before they were laid in position.

“We are pleased to celebrate this important milestone, the start of the block assembly, for two more ships for our brand Crystal River Cruises today at our own shipyard,” said Lim. “These ships will offer their guests the highest standards in luxury cruising on Europe's most beautiful river routes.”

Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel are the latest in a series of Crystal River Cruises ships to be built at Genting Hong Kong-owned MV Werften. Sisters Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler are currently under construction at the yard and will debut on the Rhine, Main, Moselle and Danube rivers in 2017.

Both Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel will be around 135 metres long and will accommodate 106 guests in suites with balconies, all above the water line. Each suite will have a king-sized bed, walk-in closets, panoramic balcony windows, a dual vanity in the bathrooms, wall-mounted flat-screen HD TVs, and Nespresso machines. Guests will also have access to Crystal’s signature butler service.

Other onboard highlights will include the Waterside Restaurant, Bistro cafés, the Vintage Room, Palm Court, and Crystal’s farm-to-table, Michelin-inspired cuisine.

Beginning in spring 2018, Crystal Debussy and Crystal Ravel will sail 7-, 10- and 14-day itineraries between Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Basel in Switzerland and Vienna, Austria.