Crystal Cruises To Return To Legendary Northwest Passage In 2017

Beginning August 15, 2017, Crystal Cruises' award-winning ocean ship, Crystal Serenity, will sail a 32-day expedition-style voyage traversing the Arctic Ocean from Anchorage/Seward, Alaska to New York City via the legendary route (500 miles north of the Arctic Circle), first completed successfully by Roald Amundsen more than 100 years ago. The announcement comes shortly after the world's most awarded luxury cruise line's plans to reposition Crystal Serenity's 2017 voyages during the spring and summer to Alaska and coastal itineraries.

The booking window opens on March 7 with all-inclusive "Book Now" fares starting at $21,855 per person, double occupancy, if booked by April 29, 2016.

"We are thrilled to offer intrepid luxury travelers a second opportunity to explore this historical sea passage," said Crystal's CEO and President Edie Rodriguez. "Given the tremendous response to our inaugural Northwest Passage sailing in 2016, it's clear that discerning travelers continue to value rare and memorable experiences as much as they prize unmatched luxury."

Beginning August 16, 2016 Crystal will be the largest luxury cruise line to ever navigate the route, maneuvering through 900 miles of majestic waterways lined with spectacular glaciers, towering fjords, and vast unspoiled landscapes away from mainstream civilization and tourism, north of mainland Canada.

In 2017, Crystal will again partner with Expedition Voyage Consulting by EYOS Expeditions, providers of bespoke expeditions to the most remote regions on Earth in safety and luxury, for the planning of the itinerary's shore-side adventures. Additionally, the line has diligently gathered information and resources from field experts, going so far as meeting with the Inuit elders of the Arctic, to create an expedition voyage that is rewarding and thrilling for guests while also remaining respectful to the local lands and cultures.

Following in the footsteps of intrepid explorers, the journey through once-unpassable waterways employs new or enhanced approaches to itinerary scheduling, destination visits, onboard offerings, and safety standards. The first call in the Canadian Arctic is planned for the Hamlet of Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, a settlement of just a few hundred people on the shores of the Amundsen Gulf, just 1,400 miles from the North Pole.

Ports-of-Call: Anchorage/Seward, Kodiak, Dutch Harbor, and Nome, Alaska; Ulukhaktok, NW Territories; Cambridge Bay and Pond Inlet, Nunavut; Ilulissat, Sisimiut, and Nuuk, Greenland; Bar Harbor, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island, and New York, New York.

Waterways: North Pacific Ocean; Bering Sea & Bering Strait; Chukchi & Beaufort Seas; Amundsen Gulf; Dolphin & Union Strait; Coronation Gulf; Dease Strait; Queen Maud Gulf; Victoria Strait; Larsen Sound; Franklin & Bellot Straits; Peel Sound; Parry Channel; Barrow Strait; Prince Regent Inlet; Lancaster Sound; Croker Bay; Navy Board Inlet; Eclipse Sound; Baffin Bay; Davis Strait; Labrador Sea; North Atlantic Ocean.

Crystal Cruises is the world's most awarded luxury cruise line, having earned more "World's Best" accolades than any other cruise line, hotel, or resort in history. Crystal Cruises has won "World's Best Cruise Ship" in Condé Nast Traveler's Reader Choice Awards for 22 years; been voted "World's Best Large Ship Cruise Line" by Travel + Leisure readers for 20 consecutive years; and the "Best Luxury Cruise Line" by Virtuoso for two-consecutive years (2014 & 2015). In summer 2015, Crystal embarked on the most significant brand expansion in the history of luxury travel and hospitality, introducing three new classes of cruising – the recently launched Crystal Yacht Cruises (December 2015), Crystal River Cruises (July 2016), Crystal Exclusive Class Ocean Cruises (late 2018) – and Crystal Luxury Air (March 2016).

For more information and Crystal reservations, contact a travel agent, call 310.785.9300, or visit www.crystalcruises.com.