Catching Up with Crystal’s Matias Lira on Crystal Grace and What Else Is New

Crystal (formerly Crystal Cruises) has never been better positioned since its restart than it is in 2026. With most headwinds behind it and a travel trade that’s fully onboard, Crystal is enjoying the benefits it reaps from its association with A&K Travel Group (AKTG), celebrating its first-full year of best-in-class itineraries, and looking forward to its first new ship in decades.

This is part two in a two-part series in which TMR speaks with AKTG Americas’ senior vice president of trade sales, Matias Lira. In part one, we spoke with Lira about the headwinds the brand faced when it relaunched, how it reassured advisors the brand was safe to work with, and what he believes differentiates Crystal from other luxury cruise lines.

One key differentiator Lira didn’t speak about in part one is Crystal’s ownership by and partnership with the A&K Travel Group, which gives the cruise line access to a massive network of regional DMCs.

In regions where AKTG has a DMC, Crystal prioritizes the use of that DMC to help with its turnaround operations, from embarkation and disembarkation transfers to pier and check-in staff.

For shore excursions, Crystal uses AKTG DMCs to create its higher-end options.

“Not all of our tours are done by A&K. We want to make sure that we’re also strengthening the A&K brand name, because it’s not one everybody can afford,” Lira said.

AKTG shore excursions include insider access and behind-the-scenes options, among others.

Crystal also offers some AKTG-created pre- and post-cruise tours, as well as mid-land adventures when feasible.

Lira pointed out Crystal’s AKTG offerings are strongest in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, Africa, Latin America, and some Northern Europe and Mediterranean ports.

Being associated with A&K Travel Group has also helped Crystal attract some new-to-brand guests, those whom Lira refers to as “low-hanging fruit.” These include clients that have previously sailed on cruise brands like Silversea Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Explora Journeys and have done an A&K land tour before.

The most successful new-to-cruise crossover has come with A&K X Crystal, a series of cultural expedition voyages, the first of which is operating this year and sold out within weeks of being announced. These branded itineraries operate essentially as a partial charter of a Crystal sailing, with exclusive amenities, onboard programming, and shore excursions for the A&K X Crystal guests.

Lira told TMR he’d like to see more advisors trying to convert their land-loving – and never-cruising – clients to cruise.

“I like to challenge advisors to identify what are objections for that client. It’s unfair of them to discard cruising from the repertoire of travel… It’s about educating clients about the different levels of cruising, the different inclusions, the different cultural and like-minded individuals that may be onboard different cruise lines.”

(He suggested advisors check out his webinar, “I will never cruise again,” available through Crystal’s travel advisor portal.)

Looking Forward to Crystal Grace

Crystals first newbuild in decades – Crystal Grace – is scheduled to debut in June of 2028, with the ship going on sale “sometime in the second quarter of this year.”

When asked what he’s most excited about for Crystal Grace, Lira enthused about how seamless Grace’s integration into the fleet will be. Particularly because both Symphony and Serenity have been so extensively upgraded that they compare favorably to new ships.

“I think we’re at 230 million euros of renovation costs on both ships. It’s insane. Nobody has ever invested that much on a dry dock, at least in the luxury segment.,” he said.

That makes selling Crystal Grace simple for travel advisors, he added.

“When you sell Symphony and Serenity, you’re going to be able to easily sell Grace in the sense that the deck plans are going to be quite similar. They’re all veranda suites, all butler service. All of the famous restaurants that you love onboard Symphony and Serenity will be onboard Grace as well.”

“With other brands, if you sell a new-to-brand passenger on a new ship that was launched this year and then onboard they, they love the experience and rebook something else on one of their older ships. When they get on that older ship, they get this shock,” Lira added. “Like where am I? This is not the same world that I initially went on. You won’t have that problem on all Crystal’s three ships.”

Speaking of what’s onboard Grace, he did hint at some culinary “enhancements” to “be confirmed at a later date.”

Crystal’s Itineraries Finally Where They Should Be

With Crystal Grace’s arrival still more than two years away, Lira said he’s currently most excited about Crystal’s latest itineraries, which he believes are the best the cruise line has come out with since returning to operations in 2023.

“Our itineraries have gotten tremendously better.  For 2023, which was a quarter of the year, and 2024 and 2025 itineraries, they were not the best considering that we were very late to the game,” he explained. “Our itinerary planning team was booking slots in early 2023, which by that time 2025 was completely booked up and on sale for all the other cruise lines. We were left with unfavorable itineraries…”

For 2026, Crystal was finally on the same planning timeline as everyone else.

“We’ve been able to obtain much better itineraries, berth spaces, and much better priority for most destinations. Itinerary wise, we’re in the right places during the right time periods of the year.”

Some of the itineraries he’s most excited about include ones that sail down the West Coast of the U.S. and then turnaround in Guayaquil, Ecuador, giving guest the opportunity to do a pre- or post-cruise to the Galapagos or Machu Picchu.

Updated Travel Advisor Portal

Cruise ships and itineraries aren’t the only things Crystal is improving. The brand’s travel advisor portal has also received some love. What was originally a read-only resource now has a full booking engine and resource center, which includes educational webinars and marketing materials.

“It is a platform that is continuously getting enhancements,” Lira told TMR.