By Our Correspondent
Royal Caribbean has received the go-ahead from courts to acquire the CRYSTAL ENDEAVOUR, an expedition vessel belonging to the now defunct Crystal Cruises, which it won in the auction, according to FleetMon.

It stated: “Royal Caribbean has stated that they have received the go-ahead from courts to acquire the CRYSTAL ENDEAVOUR, an expedition vessel belonging to the now defunct Crystal Cruises, which it won in the auction. The ship is to begin operations by sailing to the arctic in November 2022.

“The vessel was one of the most hotly contested assets of Crystal Cruises as it is the most expensive cruise ship designed in the expedition segment based on the cost per berth. The price per berth for this vessel is around $2 mn, which is great compared to the average cost per berth of $1 mn on vessels in the same segment.

“This, in addition to the fact that the vessel is only a year old, and most of this time, the vessel was laid up as the parent company Genting Hong Kong was going bankrupt, made the vessel very attractive to prospective buyers. The ship was built by MV Werften for $385 mn, which made it a profitable purchase for Royal Caribbean, which acquired it for $285 mn.

“The vessel will be renamed SILVER ENDEAVOUR and become a part of Silversea Cruises. It will also be modified to be more in tune with the Royal Caribbean brand. Royal Caribbean has also stated that they might add more cabins as the vessel is spacious. They remove and repurpose the spaces allotted to the casino, the passenger submarine, and the helicopter as these features do not conform to the Silversea program.

“In an effort to attract former passengers, Royal Caribbean is giving preference to the former crew of the vessel. They are also offering to protect the payments made by the passengers for the cruises on this vessel that were canceled and offer cruises on one of the group’s other brands in exchange.”