Widgety recently caught up with Stephen Joyner, Senior Sales Manager UK & EIRE at Crystal. Stephen shared more about the new Crystal Trade Society, in partnership with Aspire. Stephen also emphasised the many unique selling points of Crystal, including a butler service for every guest, exclusive culinary partnerships, pre-paid gratuities and the largest amount of space per guest at sea, after an $180 million refurbishment.
Emma: You have recently launched a new trade engagement programme in the UK, initially targeting eight agencies. Can you tell me more about this and how it will be shared with agents across the UK?
Stephen: So this was an initiative that was launched in conjunction with Aspire. The Crystal trade society was built on the success of the A&K travel group advisory board that we recently launched, but as a more localized version, dedicated to Crystal.
It’s really to make sure that Crystal is positioned as the most trade-friendly ultra luxury cruise line in the UK market. This will enable us to have meaningful conversations with that initial group, to understand how we can support their growth and help those partners grow. It won’t just affect those eight partners, it will then ripple through and effectively change the way that we work with all of the trade to become better, more efficient. Hopefully it will help everyone else’s engagement and increase growth for Crystal too.
That’s fundamentally why we set this up, this is to help us roll out new initiatives and ways of working to put out better structured campaigns and ultimately improve communication lines, and show the trade that we want to work with them. Recently our VP Sales Luke Smith announced SLAs which are trade service level agreements and partner tiering systems, which is designed to support further enhancement of communication lines to showcase those updates and be easy to work with.
We’ve also just announced a partnership with Tremendous and this is where agents can create bookings and earn lifestyle vouchers for every booking they do, and just send us their confirmation through to ukincentives@crystalcruises.com. So there’s a multitude of different initiatives that have taken place to make sure that agents have the visibility of Crystal.
Emma: In 2023, you relaunched Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony with reduced passenger capacity and increased staff to guest ratio, can you tell me more about this?
Stephen: The refurbishments happened back in 2022. Both ships went into dry dock for about 13 months and were completely refurbished down to the steel, including a refresh of the classic designs and a number of new cabin grades as well, combining smaller rooms and increasing the size of those suites.
The emphasis is certainly on those newer sapphire grades because they are beautiful, and in my opinion they are the sweet spot that anyone who wants to sell Crystal should pitch at.
The sapphire ocean view or the sapphire verandas are 420 square feet. They’re gorgeous. Part of that refurbishment included introducing two new guest room categories. The junior penthouse was introduced and also a single guest room was introduced. For more than three decades, Crystal’s been providing exceptional award-winning voyages. There’s been a significant investment since 2022 with Abercrombie & Kent acquiring the Crystal brand.
Obviously, we’ve got the two gorgeous ships, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony which have gone through a complete makeover, a huge amount of surgery, if you like, with that $180 million. And they continue to be updated and evolved, not just in terms of the hardware, but also the software, future proofing them with technology including shoreside power.
Obviously, Crystal is home for many people, but there’s also a lot of firsts on board as well, you know, Crystal is home to the first-ever Casino de Monte-Carlo at sea as part of an exclusive partnership with Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), and world- class dining includes Umi Uma®, the only dining experience at sea by Michelin-rated chef Nobu (Nobuyuki Matsuhisa), and the only Beefbar on the ocean, a collaboration with visionary restaurateur Riccardo Giraudi, and a specially curated Osteria d’Ovidio menu by famed Italian chef Massimiliano and celebrated restaurateur Raffaele Alajmo.
The ships also feature cutting-edge wellness at the Aurōra Spa, and spectacular entertainment including Broadway-standard shows. With a legacy of unrivaled service and commitment to sophistication and elegance at every touchpoint, once onboard guests feel as if they are perfectly at home.
So, there are some really exciting times coming up as well, especially when we look at the new ships coming in as well, including Crystal Grace launching in the first quarter of 2028. We’re really excited about the investment that’s been spent and what we’re doing with the brand itself.
Emma: You are one of a few ocean cruise lines to offer a butler service for every guest, regardless of whether they are staying in a suite or not, can you tell me more about this?
Stephen: Yeah, of course, you’re right. That’s probably one of the biggest standouts for Crystal for every guest, no matter what grade they are in. You’ve fundamentally got five different grades. You’ve got the penthouse, the junior penthouse, the two different variations of the sapphires, the aqua, and then the double guest rooms. But every single customer will still take advantage of having the mini bar and obviously, of course, the service.
If they like having the butler come in and provide them with appetizers, or they’ve got certain dietary requirements, they can bring certain foods in. They can unpack, they can pack, they can choose pillow menus. It doesn’t just mean it’s for the elite or for those higher grade cabins. It’s for everyone to experience. And it is phenomenal, it is a fantastic feature of Crystal and a clear standard. I mean, there’s plenty of them, but I would definitely say the butler service is a fantastic addition to those unique selling points.
There’s a lot of different elements as well to this and I’ll probably jump the gun a little bit with any other questions that you ask, but yes, we talk about the butlers and how incredible they are and again it comes down to how that makes you feel on board. The butlers are there to help you whether it be unpacking, packing, or creating this incredible experience for those guests. But obviously this is all layered over on top of our all-inclusive program that gives the customers that sense of freedom and space is a big thing on board. But also the peace of mind that knowing that everything is taken care of.
From the complimentary meals, we’ve got nine different restaurants and it’s not just the main dining room but also the fine dining establishments that we’ve got. We alluded to earlier Chef Nobu with a Peruvian Japanese fusion creation in Umi Uma®. That’s all part of the allotment or part of the allocation. The same with Osteria D’Ovidio which is our fine dining Italian. And we have Beefbar that’s unlimited. You can go there as many times as you like. And if I would definitely urge agents if they haven’t yet been to Beefbar or even Nobu, they’re world-renowned Michelin Cuisine restaurants.
When you look at the breakdown and look at the premium rate or the value of going out for dinner or going to a Broadway style show or going to the the gym or going to the cinema once you start to add up what this would cost you back home and you start to break down the cost then that’s where Crystal really comes into itself.
We talk about every show and every workshop and every yoga class and we talk about the butler and gratuities included and 24-hour in suite dining and the champagne is flowing and there’s wine and spirits and beers, and you’ve got Wi-Fi and everything else that you would expect from an ultra luxury six-star cruise is included.
We come back to the whole freedom and choice piece with all the different dining outlets. I think the emphasis has to be that everything is taken care of for the guests. In terms of the crew to guest ratio, the reduction of the passenger count on a slightly larger scale ship. None of the drawbacks that you would find on a smaller ship because the space isn’t at a premium.
We’ve got the space so we can have a 3,000 square feet gymnasium and spa area. We can have multiple dining outlets and an Avenue Saloon which is a gorgeous little cocktail bar, or even the Broadway style shows. There’s so much going on throughout the day and TED talks and so forth but there’s lots of entertainment as well that’s been crafted for the evening. If guests want to stay up all night long, there’s something for them.
We’ve even got the nightclub, we’re not even talking about the daily activities and programs going on throughout the day as well. There’s a lot going on and I think for agents reading they need to realise or understand and break down that value of what’s actually available for the guests and they can take as much or as little as they want in that sense.
Emma: So you’ve kind of covered my next question, but if there’s anything else you’d like to add, what are other USPs that agents should focus on? I know you’ve just said a lot of them.
Stephen: There’s the standout ones, we talk about the butler service. We talk about in-suite dining. We talk about the gratuities that are paid for, the unlimited champagne and wine and spirits, the specialist dining that’s included. Chef Nobu’s Peruvian-Japanese-fusion creations at Umi Uma® and our newest dining establishment, Beefbar. Waterside’s à la carte dishes made from superb local and seasonal produce. The most exquisite patisserie at afternoon tea, and wines, spirits and Jacquart champagne* in every bar, whenever you like. Dining is done by allotment and by duration. Depending on how long a customer travels for they get different allotments for that.
If they’re going on a seven night cruise, they would get two allotments. They could go one in each or they could go twice into Nobu if they wanted to. Outside of that, there’s a plethora of other different options available to them and still gorgeous food. They just pay the $75 supplement for outside of their allotment. They’re probably the big ones. But there’s also everything you would expect from a 6 star cruise with pillow menus and the butler.
I think the big emphasis here, and the standout thing for me, is the crew to guest ratio of that near 1:1. Let’s talk about Crystal Symphony with 606 guests, she can take almost a thousand. We’ve reduced that passenger count, taking off 250 cabins, to create this unparalleled experience and space, but without risking anything else because you’ve got so many different venues and outlets and enrichment programs. I think that’s something to really kind of emphasize on the larger cabins, definitely the more dining options, the inclusions that are there, the Broadway style shows, the pickleball courts and table tennis and the enlarged pool on the top deck.
It’s a very tranquil, very relaxed environment, but there’s a lot of choice for customers depending on what they want to do in terms of enrichment or excursions or TED talks. You just don’t get that with other cruise lines and I think that’s a real big standout for Crystal and that’s a testament to them of what they’ve delivered, and that’s on top of the hardware and what they’ve done with the ship as well.
Emma: “Crystal has worked with Widgety for several years, What does working with Widgety mean for Crystal?”
Stephen: It enables agents to access through the API feed and Widget all our content, digital brochures, the itineraries, the pricing.
So it just gives us a better visibility on the brand. Now, whilst we’ve been around for 30 years, there is still much to be done under our new ownership – we’re still in our infancy.
What this enables us to do is to spread our wings and use Widgety to help us showcase the beautiful product and the content and also the pricing. It enables agents to be able to get that feed, get as much information as they can about our ships and what life is like on board very easily. It’s an accessible point for them very quickly to be able to gain access to that information, showcase it on their website and as a front door if you like to their customers. It’s a great tool and we’re privileged to work with you.
Emma: Sandra [Widgety’s Sales Director] was wondering when you’d like to go paddle boarding with her?
Stephen: I love paddle boarding, I love kayaking and I’d love to do that with Sandra. We’ve got CLIA Southampton coming up in June and I’m looking forward to spending time with Sandra and getting to know what new initiatives are coming out from Widgety and how we can help support you and how that effectively supports the agents that we work with, the more we can do and collaborate together, the better.
And on top of that, it’s a bit of fun that I could actually hopefully get out on the water with Sandra and have a bit of time with her. And the same with Damian. Crystal are here to help support and give that visibility back to our customers through the API and Widget.
Emma: What’s your favourite part of working for Crystal?
Stephen Joyner: I knew you were going to ask me that. It’s so difficult. Even my wife and even my friends go, “What is it? What draws you to Cruise?” I mean, cruise just runs through the veins. It runs through the blood. Crystal, without sounding really, well, it’s going to whichever way I say it because it’s going to be the strap line, isn’t it? It is truly exceptional. It is a phenomenal product which just makes it easier to sell. And with so many repeat bookings and repeat customers, we know that if a customer goes on board, they’re more likely to rebook whilst they’re on board again, which obviously goes back to the agencies.
But what do I really love about the brand? I love being on board. I love the team. I love the faces. I love how happy and smiley they are. And they just want to just please everyone on board. And that really makes a difference to your holiday. So the product, the service, the quality is phenomenal and I love that. So, that’s a clear standout for me obviously because it makes my job easier to sell something you’re passionate about.
I love being part of the collaboration, the open discussions of where we go with the brand and who sells and how we sell that and and I love being part of the trade, getting out to see the trade being involved with the trade, showcasing how passionate I am about crystal and seeing them share that story. And from what I’ve said, sharing that with the customers and seeing them produce year after year, customers that keep coming back and booking with Crystal and that gives me a real sense of pride.
We know that the product is beautiful. We know that people will continue to book, but it’s just working with those agencies, working with the trade, sharing those stories and taking them on the journey with us.
I feel an immense pride of being part of that journey and feel really passionate about that, sharing that with the trade. I love it all. I love the brand. I love working with the trade. We’ve got three ships coming. The first one will be in 2028. So, I’m so excited about sharing the new developments on this ship and what that looks like and the deployments as well because the more capacity we have, the more we can sell, which is great.
Emma: And finally, this is a question I ask everyone, what is the one thing people get wrong about Crystal, or the one thing they don’t realise until they step on board?
Stephen: That’s a good question. So, let’s break this down maybe into three elements. Yes, they are more traditional ships but they’ve been fully renovated. We’ve spoken about that in terms of the amount of investment that’s been spent, what they’ve changed on board, but it still hasn’t changed the Crystal ethos and the vision of Crystal, what it stood for in terms of that highest quality of service and product, but it is evolving.
So I think for one one part what people get wrong is don’t think too heavily about the age of the ships. They are fully refurbished and they are gorgeous ships.
Next is passenger count, they are midsize ships. Don’t let that put you off because of the guest reductions, emphasis on the larger suites, they will not hesitate. In my opinion, if agents highlight that in terms of the guest to crew ratio, the most amount of space per guest at sea, the size of the cabins, and what is available on board, that will kind of highlight that objection. So, I think that’s something to highlight because there’s basically none of the drawbacks of a smaller vessel because we’ve got the space to deliver oodles of entertainment, with different venues on board as well. And then the third one I would probably highlight is how you sell it.
We might not be the cheapest but it’s incredibly good value for money. We come back to that whole break down what you’re getting for your money and then you can see the real value. There’s probably three lines in this top tier that deliver this kind of product and service and Crystal is totally up there in terms of the hardware, the service, the quality that’s on board. But it’s how it makes you feel. Crystal has a very unique feel, not just because of what we just mentioned, but also about the staff. The staff are the stars in that sense. So, I would definitely say once you’ve been ‘crystal-ized’, excuse the pun, they will remain ‘crystal-ized’ and they will keep coming back. So to end that point, the price is what you pay, value for money is what you get!”
All Crystal ships, brochures, trade resources, videos and itineraries can be found on your Widgety dashboard – log in to the dashboard here
