• NEWS
    • SUBSCRIBE TO TD
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • EVENTS
    • THIRSTY THURSDAY
      • RSVP PORTAL
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
    • COMPETITIONS
    • TRAINING
    • CONFERENCES
  • JOBS
    • SEARCH FOR JOBS
    • POST A JOB
  • EVERYTHING TD
    • About TD (Travel Daily Media)
    • Advertise with TD
    • What is Native Content?
    • Executive team
      • Gary (Founder/CEO)
      • Chris (GM & Managing Editor)
      • Mali (Finance Mgr)
    • Content team
      • Kristin (Senior Editor)
      • Kanchan (Editor)
    • Sales team
      • Anthony (Regional Director-APAC)
      • Paul A (BDM-Asia)
      • Martin (BDM-Asia)
      • Paul M (BDM-Bangkok)
    • Events team
      • June (Director)
      • Arlene (Snr Events Mgr)
      • Krystal (Attendee Relations)
      • Zy (Snr Sales Mgr)
      • Mary (Snr Sales Mgr)
      • Arjay (Snr Sales Exec)
  • SELF SERVICE
    • 2023 TD Media Kit
    • Submit Press Release
    • Self Service portal
    • Upload your Travel Blog

Travel Daily Travel Daily - Informing, connecting and developing the world’s travel industry professionals.

  • MARKETS/SECTORS
  • FEATURES
    • Partner Articles
      • Airlines / Airports
      • Car Rental
      • Conferences
      • Cruising (Ocean)
      • Cruising (River)
      • Destination Management (DMC)
      • GDS / CRS
      • Hotels & Resorts
      • Hotel Management Company
      • Hotel Technology
      • HR / Appointments
      • Insurance
      • Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions (MICE)
      • Travel Agents (all)
      • Travel Technology
      • Tourism Boards
    • Interviews
    • Industry appointments
    • Podcasts – Features
    • Guest Writers
    • E-Turbo News
    • PR Newswire
  • TRAVEL GUIDES
    • Destination NaJomtien BanAmphur BangSaray *NEW*
    • จุดหมายปลายทาง นาจอมเทียน หาดบ้านอำเภอ บางเสร่ *NEW*
    • South Australia Rewards Wonders *NEW*
    • Ponant Yacht Cruises and Expeditions
    • Encore Tickets (Chinese Guide)
    • Affordable Luxury in Thailand by Centara Hotels
    • Rising Above the Oridinary by Conrad Bangkok
    • The Best of Thailand
  • IWTA SERIES
    • Who is IWTA
    • Meet our featured leaders
    • Refer Someone
    • Refer yourself
  • IWTA AWARDS
    • Awards site
    • Nominate
    • Buy tickets
    • Sponsor
Travel Daily
InterviewsUnited StatesFeatures

Crystal Cruises reborn: TD speaks with Tony Archbold on A&K Travel Group’s acquisition and relaunch

By Anthony Gallagher On Apr 27, 2023
Guest Contributor

Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly

Share
Crystal Symphony & Crystal Serenity

After rough seas, Crystal Cruises was born again, offering a perfect opportunity to re-enter the cruise market with its new family.

Travel Daily (TD): With A&K’s history and unrivalled reputation in the travel industry, what does the future hold for Crystal Cruises, now a family member?

Tony Archbold (TA): Being a part of A&K Travel Group is an enormous benefit for Crystal. We will be working together to curate shore excursions that will be unmatched, as well as pre-and post-cruise, land-based opportunities.

TD: With the marriage of two iconic brands, what has A&K already achieved?

TA: As you mentioned, A&K Travel Group has added an iconic brand to its already highly-rated portfolio of travel entities. Crystal guests will see the immediate impact of the partnership with the curated shore excursions being created by the A&K team. However, we believe the focus is more long-term than immediate. Over the coming years, the trade and our guests will see more synergies appear between all the brands of the A&K Travel Group. We are fortunate that all our bands operate in the same market segment, and that gives us a real focus and, as a result, real strength in a very competitive market with very high guest expectations.

Tony Archbold

TD: What key message and new opportunities can you share with travel agents?

TA: Travel advisors are an absolutely key ingredient to the success of our business. We rely on the relationships our trade partners have with our guests to plan memorable cruises. We recently announced global collaborations with Signature Travel Network and Virtuoso® and are always open to working with all local consortia, agency networks and individual agencies who wish to support us.

TD: Can you share some key responsibilities of your new role and what you have achieved so far?

TA: I am excited to join the Crystal brand and bring my 40 years of travel experience to this brand. My goal is to grow overall brand awareness and sales for Crystal throughout the APAC region. My immediate focus is setting up an effective and efficient distribution system across the region through the agency network, utilising the incredible network of travel professionals that operate in our market segment.

TD: What do you aim to achieve with Crystal Cruises in the next five years?

TA: Our first achievement will be relaunching a brand in under a year, and we are very excited about that. Over the next five years, we will continue to deliver unique service to our guests both at sea and on land. We will achieve this by offering Exceptional Service, Exceptional Dining, Exceptional Suites and Exceptional Experiences.

What the next five years will actually look like is hard to predict, but we will continue to evolve by listening to our guests and travel partners and offer the first-class service that made the previous company award-winning for nearly 30 years.

TD: Are there new itineraries to talk about?

TA: We just announced that our 2024 World Cruise is officially open to book, and guests are very excited about this popular voyage. We will be announcing our 2025 itineraries in the coming months.

TD. With such an established brand in the Northern American market, what new markets are emerging?

TA: The UK and EMEA are becoming very important regions for the Crystal brand. Of course, there is strong interest in Australia, and always has been, and across Asia, where the attraction to outstanding service and experience of the type Crystal delivers is growing very rapidly.

TD: Will we see more Crystal Ships in the future?

TA: Right now, our current focus is getting ready for Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony to make their long-awaited return to sea.

 

Tony ArchboldCrystal CruisesA&K Travel Group
Share
You might also like
Cruise

Crystal and Nobu announce return of UMI UMA by master chef Nobu Matsuhisa

Cruise

Crystal: Exceptional at Sea

Global

A&K Travel Group invests in Ecoventura

Cruise

First ship to restart cruising from Boston, Crystal Symphony steers towards recovery

Prev Next

Comments are closed.

POPULAR STORIES

GetYourGuide secures USD194 million in funding

Travel demand continues strong in April: IATA

Rosakue Hospitality launches Rosa Vaydantaa in the ‘Queen of…

The UK’s Most Tech-Savvy Towns Revealed

Prev Next 1 of 5,886

PARTNER CONTENT

  • The Pavilions Phuket: A 5-star personal experience in a tranquil and romantic location

    Read More...
  • Unleash your inner explorer: Aurora Expeditions’ Antarctica 2024-2025 Season offers 25 adventure-packed itineraries

    Read More...
  • How short-term rental platforms in Asia can protect their hosts and customers

    Read More...
  • Exploring Europe seamlessly with Rail Europe’s point-to-point journeys

    Read More...
  • The Role of a Revenue Manager in Uncertain Economic Times

    Read More...
  • The ultimate guide to the 5 best resorts in the Maldives

    Read More...
STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST TRAVEL NEWS, JOBS & EVENTS!
Join over 180,000 travel agents, professionals and executives subscribed to our daily newsletter.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Search
MENU
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

MARKETS

  • Asia
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • India
  • Middle East
  • UK & Europe
  • USA

SECTOR

  • Airlines
  • Airports
  • Cruise
  • Hospitality
  • HR & Careers
  • Luxury Travel
  • MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions)
  • Travel Tech
  • Tourism
  • Travel Agents
About
  • BOOK A SALES CALL
  • About TD (Travel Daily Media)
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2023 - Travel Daily. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up here to get the latest news, updates and special offers delivered directly to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Close

Welcome, Login to your account.

Forget password?

Sign in with Google

Powered by wp-glogin.com

No account? Sign Up
Sign in

Recover your password.

A password will be e-mailed to you.

CREATE A NEW PROFILE
SIGN IN TO EXISTING PROFILE
back

LOG IN

Welcome back, Log in to your account.

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
Continue with Twitter
Continue with LinkedIn

OR
Log in using your email
Forgot password?
back

Recover your password.

back

SIGN UP FOR FREE

(New User)

Be part of our community of seasoned travel and hospitality industry professionals from all over the world.

I want to
Only letters and numbers are allowed
Please enter a valid email address
Must be between 6-8 characters
Must be the same with Password
  • LOGIN / SIGN UP
  • NEWS
    • MARKETS
      • Asia
      • China
      • Pacific
      • India
      • Middle East
      • UK & Europe
      • USA & Canada
    • SECTORS
      • Airlines
      • Airports
      • Cruise
      • Hospitality
      • HR & Careers
      • Luxury Travel
      • MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions)
      • Travel Tech
      • Tourism
      • Travel Agents
    • FEATURES
      • Partner articles
        • Airlines / Airports
        • Car Rental
        • Conferences
        • Cruising (Ocean)
        • Cruising (River)
        • Destination Management (DMC)
        • GDS / CRS
        • Hotels & Resorts
        • Hotel Management Company
        • Hotel Technology
        • HR / Appointments
        • Insurance
        • Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions (MICE)
        • Travel Agents (all)
        • Travel Technology
        • Tourism Boards
      • Interviews
      • Industry appointments
      • Travel Bloggers
      • Podcasts – Features
      • Mergers & Acquisition
        • Buyers/Investors wanted
        • Business for sale
        • News
  • EVENTS
    • Thirsty Thursday
      • RSVP Portal
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Competitions
    • Conferences
  • JOBS
    • Search for Jobs
    • Post a Job
  • TRAVEL GUIDES
    • Destination NaJomtien BanAmphur BangSaray *NEW*
    • จุดหมายปลายทาง นาจอมเทียน หาดบ้านอำเภอ บางเสร่ *NEW*
    • South Australia Reward Wonders *NEW*
    • Ponant Yacht Cruises and Expeditions
    • Encore Tickets (Chinese Guide)
    • Affordable Luxury in Thailand by Centara Hotels
    • Rising Above the Oridinary by Conrad Bangkok
    • The Best of Thailand
  • IWTA SERIES
    • Who is IWTA
    • Meet our featured leaders
    • Refer Someone
    • Refer yourself
  • IWTA AWARDS
    • Awards site
    • Nominate
    • Buy Tickets
    • Sponsor