Crystal ships voted No. 1 and 2 medium-size ships in the world

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Crystal Cruises’ ultra-luxe Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity have been voted the #1 and 2 cruise ships, respectively, in the world (medium size category) by the refined readership of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. With overall scores of 94.5 and 94 for Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, respectively, the 2013 ratings mark the ships’ highest scores in five years, and are several points ahead of most every ship in the world.

In addition to impressive Food scores, Crystal won the top category honors in the majority of the six voting criteria, including Service, Activities, and Excursions—with Service garnering its highest score, at 98.2 for Crystal Symphony. The Crystal fleet further earned the #1 and 2 rankings for Design among all small, medium, and large-size ships in the “Top 100 Cruise Ships in the World” readers’ poll.

“We are so honored to once again be recognized for having the best ships in the mid-size ship category. We feel our ships are of such a perfect size to offer stellar Six-Star service, spacious chic spaces, abundant choices, and overall exquisite quality that is evident to the most discerning travelers,” says Crystal President Gregg Michel. “Additionally, this is a huge affirmation of the tremendous investment and refinements we continue to make in our product. From the $100 million Extreme Makeover of our ships to becoming All Inclusive, it’s clear that our attention to detail, product execution, and contemporary design continue to be superb in every way.”

Final tabulations were based on 28,876 responders voting on Service, Design, Cuisine, Itineraries, Activities, Staterooms, and Shore Excursions. The full list appears in the magazine’s February 2013 issue and on its website. Conde Nast Traveler readers also recently voted Crystal #1 in its size category for the magazine’s 2013 Gold List and 2012 U.K. and U.S. Readers Choice Awards, joining the line’s 2012 win (17th time) as Travel + Leisure readers’ “World’s Best” cruise line (large-ship).

The 922-guest Crystal Symphony and the 1,070-guest Crystal Serenity sail on luxury cruises to all seven continents. Voyages of 5-108 days are available in the Mediterranean, Western Europe, British Isles, Scandinavia/Baltic & Russia, North Cape & Arctic Circle, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, South America, Antarctica, New England/Canada, Panama Canal, Caribbean, and a sumptuous annual World Cruise.