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Cruise ship Celestyal Crystal: Last voyage ends in Alang
The Celestyal Crystal cruise ship is being scrapped in Alang, India. Find out more about the background and history.
Cruise ship Celestyal Crystal: Last voyage ends in Alang
The Celestyal Crystal cruise ship is being scrapped in Alang, India. The former luxury liner was beached at the shipbreaking yard on Thursday under the temporary name Sun Bright. Before the ship is finally scrapped, the last furnishings are taken off board and sold on. The Cypriot shipping company Celestyal Cruises has sold two cruise ships over 40 years old for scrap within a year, including the Celestyal Olympia, which was also sent to Alang earlier this year.
The Celestyal Crystal has a ship length of 162 meters and a width of 26 meters. It offers space in 476 cabins for up to 1,200 guests. The ship was originally commissioned in 1980 at a shipyard in Turku, Finland, under the name Viking Saga, before being converted into a cruise ship in 1988. Since 2007, the ship has sailed initially as MS Crystal for Louis Cruise Lines and from 2014 as Celestyal Crystal for Celestyal Cruises. The last trip with guests ended in Thessaloniki, Greece in August 2023.
Fate of former ships
Like the Celestyal Crystal, the former cruise ship Song of America is being scrapped in Alang, India. This ship was commissioned in 1982 and last sailed under the name Celestyal Olympia until 2023. When it was put into service, the ship had a tonnage of 37,584 GRT and could carry up to 1,575 passengers. It was christened on December 3, 1982 in Miami by American opera singer Beverly Sills. Former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn were among those on board for her maiden voyage.
After being retired by Royal Caribbean in 1999, the Song of America was renamed Sunbird and used for the British market. She later changed operators and names several times until she came to Greece in 2012 and sailed under the Celestyal Cruises brand as Celestyal Olympia. At the end of 2023, Celestyal Cruises decommissioned the ship and replaced it with the former AIDAaura, which sails as Celestyal Discovery. In January 2024, the Celestyal Olympia was sold, renamed Bella Fortuna and flagged to Liberia. Finally she made her final journey to Alang in India under the name Fortu.
These two cases illustrate the fate of older cruise ships, which can often no longer be operated profitably due to their age and changing market conditions. Especially in ship-breaking yards like Alang, they receive a final end after many years of sailing the world's oceans. The fate of the Celestyal Crystal and the Celestyal Olympia shows how dynamic and fast-moving the cruise industry is.