Construction Begins on Crystal Endeavor

German shipyard MV Werften commenced construction on Crystal’s new luxury expedition yacht Crystal Endeavor on Monday.

Set to debut in 2020, Crystal Endeavor has been hailed as the largest and most spacious purpose-built Polar Class cruise ship. Measuring 600 feet (183 meters) long, the 25,000 gross ton newbuild will feature 100 guest suites.

Named after Captain James Cooks’ research ship HMS Endeavour, which discovered Australia and New Zealand nearly 250 years ago, the newly built vessel will be designed for global expedition in Arctic, Antarctic and tropical regions. The megayacht will have Polar Class 6 designation so will be able to cruise in polar regions during the summer and autumn in medium “first year” ice which may include old ice inclusions. 

Crystal Endeavor will initially cruise the Artic; then follow the route of migrating whales along the coast of the Americas and Europe to Antarctica during the winter. Along the way, she will visit remote islands in the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Expedition cruises will also be organized to see sunken galleons, warships and passenger ships, such as the Titanic at 12,500 feet, and with dynamic positioning, she will just hover over deep sunken attractions without using anchors.

Crystal Endeavor is also expected to cruise the Northwest Passage, offering more itinerary flexibility that the larger Crystal Serenity which pioneered the route in 2016. Crystal Endeavor can carry about 200 passengers, significantly less than Crystal Serenity's 1,000. 

“We look forward to this innovative expedition yacht with great anticipation in the Stralsund shipyard,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, CEO of Genting Hong Kong. “A highlight is our investment of over 20 million euros ($24.5 million) in new equipment so that the Stralsund shipyard will be able to build cruise ships efficiently in the future.”