''Crystal Serenity'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

owned by

Crystal Cruises } Crystal Cruises is a cruise line now headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following i ...

before the line went out business. ''Crystal Serenity'' was built in 2003 by STX Europe in St. Nazaire.Technical information - STX Europe AS - Crystal Serenity
''STX Europe AS''. Retrieved 8 May 2010 She operated together with her older fleetmate, ''

Crystal Symphony ''Crystal Symphony'' was a cruise ship owned and operated by Crystal Cruises before the line went out of business. She was built in 1995 at Kværner Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland. She was the oldest vessel in the Crystal Cruises fleet. ...

'', offering around the world voyages.

Concept and construction

''Crystal Serenity'' was ordered from

Chantiers de l'Atlantique Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It is one of the world's largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire river and ...

on 7 November 2000.Crystal Cruises Orders New Build
Press Release. ''Crystal Cruises''. 7 November 2000. Retrieved 10 May 2010 The keel of ''Crystal Serenity'' was laid on 13 June 2002 and she was launched on 10 August 2002 being completed on 30 June 2003. She was formally named on 3 July 2003, by

Dame Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

, in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The lead designer of ''Crystal Serenity'' was Robert Tillberg of Tillberg Design. The other designers were the Italian Garroni Designers Company, Japanese Okada & Associates, American Nix Firestone Associates and II by IV design Associates, British Stephenjohn Design and was internally designed by Brennan Beer Gorman Monk (BBGM) of New York. In November 2018 she emerged from an extensive redesign at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven.

Mama Lee Wachtstetter

Passenger Lee Wachtstetter, known as "Mama Lee", 88 years old in 2016, lived aboard the ''Crystal Serenity'' full-time. She was the longest permanent luxury cruise ship resident. In 2018, she reached 10 years living aboard the ship. She spent about US$170k a year to live on the ship full-time.

Ports of call

The maiden voyage of ''Crystal Serenity'' was on 7 July 2003, 4 days after her christening. It was a 14-day round-trip cruise, departing Southampton and cruising Northern Europe. During her inaugural season, ''Crystal Serenity'' held summer cruises in Europe, the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, and a transatlantic crossing. It was followed by two Caribbean/

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

voyages and a combined Christmas/New Year Mexican Riviera cruise, round-trip from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. On 14 January 2004, she embarked on her first world cruise; a 106-day voyage departing Los Angeles, which concluded on 5 May, in New York City. ''Crystal Serenity'' was the largest cruise ship ever to navigate the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

. Starting on 10 August 2016, the ship sailed from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with 1,700 passengers and crew, taking 28 days for the journey. In the Canadian Arctic it successfully made stops at

Ulukhaktok Ulukhaktok (Kangiryuarmiutun (Inuit languages, Inuit language) spelling ''Ulukhaqtuuq'' () and known until 1 April 2006 as ''Holman'' or ''Holman Island'') is a small Hamlet (place)#Canada, hamlet on the west coast of Victoria Island (Canada), Vi ...

and

Cambridge Bay Cambridge Bay (Inuinnaqtun: ''Iqaluktuuttiaq'' Inuktitut: ᐃᖃᓗᒃᑑᑦᑎᐊᖅ; 2021 population 1,760; population centre 1,403) is a hamlet located on Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest settl ...

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

, then passed up

Franklin Strait The Franklin Strait is an Arctic waterway in Northern Canada's territory of Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories ...

and through the narrow

Bellot Strait Bellot Strait is a strait in Nunavut that separates Somerset Island to its north from the Murchison Promontory of Boothia Peninsula to its south, which is the northernmost part of the mainland of the Americas. The and strait connects the G ...

, adjacent to Zenith Point, the most northerly extension of North America. It explored Beechy Island where Franklin overwintered, followed by seldom visited fjords on the south side of Devon Island, plus fjords on

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

and the village of

Pond Inlet Pond Inlet ( iu, Mittimatalik, lit=the place where Mittima is buried) is a small, predominantly Inuit community in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada, located on northern Baffin Island. To the Inuit the name of the place "is and always h ...

. On 5 September 2016 it sailed for Disko Bay in Greenland. Her transit triggered comments on Canada's Arctic sovereignty. On 27 November 2021, ''Crystal Serenity'' was the first large cruise ship to exceed the size limits set by the citizens of

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

in November 2020.

Arrest

In January 2022, a warrant was issued for the arrest of the ship should she reenter US waters. On 4 February 2022, both ''Crystal Serenity'' and her sister, ''

'' were arrested while in Bahamian waters. The total amount owed for fuel was reported to be about 4.6 million dollars. In June 2022 she was sold at auction to CSE Ltd., reported to be a

shell corporation A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...

for the actual buyer, for $103M USD. Since July 2022, the ship is undergoing refurbishments in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, Italy.

Media

''Crystal Serenity'' was the subject of ''

Mighty Ships ''Mighty Ships'' is a documentary television program produced by Exploration Production Inc. in Canada and aired on Discovery Channel Canada and also broadcast around the world. Each episode of the series follows a particular sea-going vessel ...

'' season 6, episode 3, first broadcast 2012.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crystal Serenity Cruise ships Ships built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique 2002 ships