MIAMI — To help travellers navigate through this uncertain time, Crystal has unveiled its new Crystal Confidence 2.0 policy across all its brands as well as enhanced health & safety protocols that span every part of the cruise journey.

Available with Crystal Cruises, Crystal River Cruises, Crystal Yacht Cruises and Crystal Expedition Cruises, Crystal Confidence 2.0 allows travellers 90 days from the time of booking to place their deposit on all new 2020-2023 reservations. In addition, the company is relaxing final payment deadlines for all its current savings programs.

“We understand that many travelers are eager to begin planning vacations and exploring the world again but may be hesitant to make commitments of travel time and resources during this challenging period,” said Carmen Roig, Crystal’s senior vice president of marketing and sales. “The expanded window for deposits and relaxed final payment schedules offer them an opportunity to look forward to future journeys and book their dream vacations with ease.”

The 90-day extended commitment window for deposits complements the already generous peace of mind booking policies available. Details of policies include:

• Crystal Confidence Update: Relaxed Final Payment and Cancellation Policy for All 2020 Voyages – Final payment is now due 30 days prior to first date of service; guests will now receive a full refund (less admin fees) for cancellation of 2020 voyages up to 30 days prior to first date of service. Guests can also cancel up to seven days prior to first date of service and receive a 100 percent Future Cruise Credit for monies paid, redeemable through the end of 2023.
• New Crystal Confidence 2.0: Relaxed Final Payment and Cancellation Policies – Now extended through April 2021, Crystal Confidence 2.0 offers both relaxed cancellation terms and a final payment of 60 days prior to departure (previously 120 days prior) for all new bookings.
• Extended Early Full Payment Savings Program– Early payment has now been extended to 180 days prior to first date of service (the previous payment window was 270 days) to receive an additional 2.5% in savings for all experiences including Ocean, River, Yacht and Expedition.
• Advance Purchase Savings (Crystal River Cruises) – For a limited time, guests booking one of more than 60 sailings from March through December 2021 will now have 90 days from the time of booking to place their non-refundable full payment of US$3,699 per person – a savings of up to 50% – for the best available suite at the time of booking. As per the original program parameters, guests have the flexibility to change their first date of service to another applicable sailing with no penalty before Dec. 31, 2020.
• Crystal’s Easy Book Program– For all 2021-2023 bookings, guests can book with a reduced deposit of 15%, regardless of voyage length, and receive waived administrative fees. The new 90-day deferred deposit applies.

In addition to these flexible policies, Crystal has launched Crystal Clean+, considered the 2.0 version of its already stringent health and safety policies. Announced on July 22, the new protocols were developed with the latest data from health experts and will be continually evaluated as new information about the COVID-19 pandemic become available.

The initial measures can be found onboard Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, and are currently in development for Crystal River Cruises, Crystal Yacht Cruises and Crystal Expedition Cruises.

Protocols span the entire cruise experience, from pre-boarding and embarkation to excursions and onshore activities, and include such measures as increased disinfection and enhanced air filtration, capacity controls and social distancing, temperature checks and mandatory masks in venues where proper distancing is not possible, contact-free dining service, smaller excursion group sizes and mandatory crew testing.

For a full list of protocols go to https://www.crystalcruises.com/crystal-clean.