Downers Grove, Illinois-headquartered luxurious cruise line Crystal is reportedly going to add casinos back to its two ships that have been relaunched recently. The casinos from the two cruise ships, viz. Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, were removed in 2022 when the company suspended its operations. The company relaunched the two ships on 31st of July this year, after getting rebranded as Crystal. However, the company, which is now owned by the A&K Travel Group, excluded the casino operations. However, that is going to change as the company has decided to restore the casinos by the third quarter (Q3) of 2024.

According to available information, the Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony ships were refurbished before their relaunch earlier this year. The refurbishment will add several new amenities, including world-class dining & entertainment options, fitness facilities, spa and a large swimming pool.

After the refurbishment, both award-winning cruise ships are finally ready to sail around the globe and welcome guests to the world’s most attractive locations. The addition of casinos will obviously add a new amenity that will keep the guests busy and entertained during long voyages. Crystal claims to offer a supreme experience.

After being acquired by A&K Travel Group last year, Crystal Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cristina Levis told reporters that the company considered the previously available casino space too large to be used only for gaming purposes. The space could be utilized for some other purposes as well. Thus, the company removed the casinos from both ships. There were a number of options in front of the company to utilize that space, including the cooking demonstration lounge. While the company has decided to relaunch the casinos on both ships, they will most probably not be as large as the previous ones.

However, the company’s decision of excluding casino operations raised concerns that it might affect the experience of the guests familiarized to this line’s feature. CEO Levis also admitted that the company surveyed several past customers to assess the necessity of relaunching the casinos back on the cruise ships but she claimed that just around 5 per cent were explicit about the necessity of having a casino amenity to enhance their sailing experience. Still, some of the analysts are of the view that the popularity of casinos on cruise ships forced the company to reconsider restoring of the gambling facilities on the two ships.