The recent launch of integrated itineraries from sister companies Crystal and Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) is “just the start” of an era of collaboration between the two, according to AKTG SVP Marketing Strategy Kate Thompson.Crystal’s By Abercrombie & Kent collection launched earlier this month. The partnership blends luxury cruising with deeply immersive land experiences that tap into A&K’s on-land expertise through pre-, during and post-cruise journeys, offering guests the chance to “combine the best of the A&K experience with the best of Crystal.”“We built the itineraries and we built the experiences to fit that cruise client,” Thompson told LATTE in a conversation at Virtuoso Travel Week.Although the collaboration was first announced by AKTG CEO Cristina Levis two years ago, the companies were careful not to rush the new offering. “We needed a little bit of time just to work out how this would work best,” Thompson said.Guests can now cruise from Lisbon to Cape Town, disembark for a Botswana or Kenya safari, and then “rejoin the ship back in Mombasa,” she explained. The add-ons will span a broad range of ports.Subscribe to LATTE Cruise’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury cruise space.A new ‘Experience Finder’ tool on Crystal’s website allows users to search by destination. “If you’ve always wanted to do a safari, you find the safari first,” Thompson said. “Then it says, you want to do this cruise to match with that.”The collaboration extends to expedition cruising as well, combining A&K Expeditions-style voyages with a Crystal itinerary, according to Thompson. “Guests will enjoy three nights in Rome, with the full A&K expedition team with you on board a Crystal ship.” These partnerships will offer daily briefings, cultural immersions, experts and experiences in each port.It will be easy to distinguish the new offerings, with the collection marked clearly in the Experience Finder. “When you go into the Experience Finder, you’ll see the ‘By A&K’ collection,” Thompson pointed out. “Overland adventure by A&K, pre-cruise trip by A&K… when you see the ‘By A&K’ badge, that’s when you know.”Following a “record July”, Thompson said the partnership represents part of a “really big growth phase. All the signs are really positive,” she added.Thompson also hinted that the ‘By A&K’ program for Crystal would likely be extended beyond pre-cruise, post-cruise and overland options, to day trips and tours in due course.
