Crystal Serenity accidents and incidents

15 June 2022Other Incidents

In June 2022, both Crystal Cruises' ocean ships (Serenity and Symphony) were auctioned in The Bahamas. Both vessels (being under arrest in Freeport Bahamas since February 5th) were sold via a sealed tender auction, with bids submitted to The Bahamas' Supreme Court and a 10% deposit. The financiers were presented by the Bahamian law firm Alexiou Knowles & Co.

On June 15th, Bahamian sources announced that both vessels are sold in the auction - Symphony to CSY Ltd for USD 25 million (EUR 24M / GBP 20,5M) and Serenity to CSE Ltd for USD 103 million (EUR 99M / GBP 84,6M).

January 2022Other Incidents

On January 19, 2022, after the parent company GHK-Genting Hong Kong (owner of Crystal Cruises/shipowner) filed for bankruptcy, Crystal Cruises announced that temporarily ceases operations, canceling its ocean fleet's remaining February thru April's end schedules. Crystal's riverboats were canceled thru May's end.

The cancellations affected the ships Crystal Serenity (14x voyages part of the 116-day World Cruise) and Crystal Symphony (31x voyages/Caribbean and Mediterranean), as well as Crystal Endeavor (6x voyages/including the Antarctic program from Ushuaia Argentina).

Crystal Serenity's World Cruise (Jan 17 - May 13, Miami roundtrip) was ended in Oranjestad Aruba (on Jan 30).

• All passengers transferred to RSSC-Regent's ship Seven Seas Mariner. A spokesperson for RSSC said that Mariner would be in Oranjestad on January 31st (the day after Serenity disembarks her passengers/~400).
• Seven Seas Mariner was operating the 120-day "Seasons Of Joy" world voyage (roundtrip from San Francisco) and offered Crystal tourists the option to join the ship for a 13-night voyage (Oranjestad to Miami) or the remaining 94-night segment (Oranjestad to San Francisco).
• For passengers who joined Mariner, RSSC provided a complimentary overnight hotel stay at Ritz-Carlton Aruba.

Crystal Symphony's current voyage (Miami roundtrip, 14-day "Grand Journey Lesser Antilles and the Virgin Isles") was ended as scheduled (on Jan 22nd in PortMiami).

Crystal Endeavor's Antarctic program was ended on February 4th (in Ushuaia).

On February 4th, both ships (Symphony and Serenity) were arrested in Freeport Bahamas. According to anonymous crew reports, the boats anchored off Freeport for bunkering - Symphony to load food, Serenity - for fuel. Crystal Endeavor was arrested in Ushuaia.

Note: On January 10, 2022, the two GHK-owned German shipbuilding companies MV Werften and Lloyd Werft (Bremerhaven) filed for insolvency/bankruptcy protection. Unofficially was reported that the shipbuilder has liquidity gap ~EUR 148 million (~USD 168M / ~GBP 123M).

27 June 2017Coast Guard Medevacs

On June 27, 2017, a 57-year-old male passenger with a fractured femur was medevaced from the ship, approx 20 km (12 ml) southwest from Yakutat Alaska. The man was airlifted by a USCG MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter team dispatched from Juneau AK.

16 August 2016Other Incidents

On August 16, 2016, the ship had scheduled a 32-day Alaska to New York cruise itinerary leaving from Seward AK and ending in NYC. The unique route was via Northwest Passage, instead of the traditional Panama Canal transition.

18 July 2015Crew / Passenger Deaths

On July 18, 2015, a 33-year-old male crew was found dead in an alleged suicide. The man (of UK origin) was found hanged in his cabin. He worked on the ship as a chef for 6 years. The incident occurred at ~2 pm, while the ship was navigating in French waters (Atlantic Ocean), en-route from Bordeaux to Brest.

03 August 2014Other Incidents

On August 3, 2014, both call ports in Israel were dropped from the ship’s “Holy Land” cruise itinerary (scheduled for September 20) due to violent unrest. Call ports Limassol (Cyprus) and Ashdod and Haifa (both in Israel) were replaced by Santorini (Greece), Gozo and Valletta (both in Malta) and Palermo (Sicily).

25 April 2014Structural and Technical Issues

On April 25, 2014, ~1:30 am, the vessel sustained interior damages after being hit by a rogue wave. As result, 3 of the windows in the Dining Room restaurant broke and seawater flooded the ship’s main restaurant. No injuries were reported. Repairs were done on the way, so the restaurant was operational for dinner. Since it was closed for breakfast and lunch, passengers dined at the ship’s alternative eateries.

17 June 2009Sea Pollution

On June 17, 2009, the ship was fined ~EUR 8500 for sea pollution in Croatia. The cruise company was fined for illegal dumping of ashes into the waters near Lokrum Island, right after the vessel left call port Dubrovnik. The fine was imposed by the port’s harbor master.