Crystal River Cruises Takes Delivery of Crystal Ravel

The fifth luxury ship for Crystal River Cruises was officially handed over to the company this month in Wismar, Germany. The line’s president and CEO, Tom Wolber, took the “keys” to Crystal Ravel, welcoming the ship to the fleet ahead of its maiden voyage in May.

The handover ceremony took place at MV Werften shipyard, where each of her predecessors were built. “We are thrilled to welcome Crystal Ravel to the fleet, which will further expand the many choices our guests have for experiencing luxury on the rivers of Europe,” Wolber said. “Since launching Crystal River Cruises two years ago, our ships and their dedicated staff and crew have consistently raised the bar of excellence in the industry. Once again, I thank the experts at MV Werften for their continued partnership and for sharing our commitment to building and delivering award-winning vessels.”

Crystal launched their first river cruises in 2016 with Crystal Mozart and was quickly voted “Best River Cruise Line” by Travel + Leisure readers in the magazines 2017 World’s Best Awards after only one year in operation. The ships are all-suite, all-balcony, all-butler ships – the first and only on Europe’s rivers like that.

Ravel joins the fleet about one month after her sister ship, Crystal Debussy, was received by the company at the shipyard. Debussy embarked on her maiden voyage on April 9, 2018 from Amsterdam. Crystal Ravel will embark on May 10 from Basel to Vienna, and sail itineraries alone the Rhine, Danube, Main, and Moselle rivers.

Some features of the brand-new vessel include farm-to-table cuisine in multiple eateries, enrichment presentations, the Palm Court space for entertainment, and over 200 shore excursions included in the voyage.

Photos: Crystal River Cruises