The new Plaza on Crystal Cruises Symphony Award-winning Crystal Symphony has emerged from a two-week, $20 million-plus dry dock redesign with reimagined spaces, indoors and out. Crystal Cruises unveiled the ship’s new look on September 27, as guests embarked on an eight-day Hamburg-Lisbon voyage, greeted by contemporary and elegant new designs in the Crystal Plaza and adjacent Crystal Cove Bar area – the ship’s main activity “hubs”. Luxury travelers on board will also experience a new outdoor “Fitness Garden” spanning three aft decks; top of the line indoor fitness equipment; redesigned spa and casino spaces; additional PURE allergy-friendly staterooms; and technological upgrades throughout the ship.

“We continue to invest in creating a contemporary and sumptuous environment that meets the travelers’ desire,” says Crystal President and COO, Edie Rodriguez. “The new features and spaces added during this dry dock are astounding, and offer our guests the relaxed, yet luxurious comfort that they have come to expect and enjoy on Crystal Cruises.”

Highlights of the redesign include:

•Fitness spaces – A brand new outdoor Fitness Garden was added to decks 7, 8 and 12 aft, featuring a “Curated Self-Guided Movement Journey” utilizing the glass-blasted, stainless steel equipment, with adjustments for virtually every fitness level. Deck 12’s indoor Fitness Center boasts new equipment from Technogym — the official choice for Olympic and World Cup competitors – including brand new cardio equipment plus an expanded collection of Technogym’s Kinesis™ strength training equipment. This new addition makes Crystal an industry-first to feature the top of the line Artis equipment at sea. The new indoor fitness experience is the most technologically-advanced available with an intuitive, tablet-like Unity™ interface programming system enabling guests to connect to music, data, workout-tracking, or TV-watching.
•Crystal Plaza – The main lobby area (including the Reception, Front Desk, and Concierge sections), and the bustling “hub” on board, boasts a new towering waterfall, a rich color palette of indigo and bronze, bespoke carpets, new upholstery and tables for fresh flowers complementing the existing marble floors and wood balustrade and stair details. These contemporary designs were all inspired by designer Christopher Farr.
•Cove Bar – New and up-cycled furniture, contrasting indigo and cream color palette, artwork and metal-work cocktail tables reflect an elegant luxury yacht setting, while a revised layout allows for more social group seating and places the bar as the centerpiece of the new space. New sculptural furniture pieces, drapery, artwork, and a large scale custom carpet design reflect a fluid and flowing design concept, and carry the design across the space.
•Stateroom upgrades –48 newly converted PURE hypoallergenic luxury staterooms are now available on the ship, offering a comprehensive, chemical- and odor-free indoor environment solution. With a state-of-the-art medical grade air purifier discreetly installed to filter out 99.9% of all airborne impurities on an ongoing basis.
•Spa and Salon – Colorful new tiles adorn the steam room and changing areas in the men’s and women’s spa facilities, while the salon has been upgraded with a new pedicure area and wall coverings.
•Casino – The port side wall was removed to create a more open, accessible space, showcasing a modified layout, and new slot machines.
•The Bistro – New seating and decor reflects a European bistro in a modern way, bringing fresh life to one of the most popular meeting and dining spots on the ship.
•Tech upgrades – New digital signage will display important cruise and programming details throughout the ship on 14 flat screen monitors near the ship’s lounges, theatres, dining and sales areas.
•Indoor & outdoor refreshments – Deck 10 staterooms and Penthouses now sport new verandah furniture, while carpets for all deluxe staterooms (415 in all), as well as guest corridors on four decks, were replaced.
•Shopping – Facets now features watches from luxury designers Hublot, Jaegar LeCoulture and Zenith.

Until October 31, all-inclusive, value-priced “Book Now” fares start at $1,730/person.

Crystal Cruises is the world’s leading luxury cruise provider, having earned more “World’s Best” awards than any other cruise line, hotel, or resort in history.

Crystal Cruises, 888-799-4625, www.crystalcruises.com