Crystal Cruises Is Pure Gold Atop 2013 Conde Nast Traveler Gold List

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Dec 18, 2012, 02:53 ET

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Conde Nast Traveler magazine readers have voted Crystal Cruises first in Service, Cuisine, and Design, and #1 overall, among all small-, mid-, and large-size cruise lines in the magazine's 2013 Gold List. Crystal's Service and Design scores are not only its highest ever, the ultra-luxe line was also named a "superstar" in the U.S. magazine's "Platinum Circle" for having made the Gold List every year for the past five years running. The full list appears in the magazine's January 2013 issue and on its website.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121218/LA31819)

Crystal earned its highest scores in years in all of the seven voting categories:

Service: 97.7
Cuisine: 96.5
Design: 96.4
Itineraries: 94.5
Activities: 94.2
Staterooms: 91.6
Shore Excursions: 88.4

"Our highest-ever scores in Design and Service -- tabulated in the same year we completed our $100 million, multi-year extreme ship makeover, and made so many service and product enhancements, like All Inclusive -- affirms how much our guests appreciate our eye for contemporary design and our Six Star attention to detail," says Crystal President Gregg Michel. "We are always looking at ways to rethink our product, while still continuing to deliver the sophisticated travel experience discerning world travelers have come to expect from the Crystal brand. It's wonderful to know guests recognize our devotion to making their vacations extraordinary in every way."

The Conde Nast Traveler Gold List selects the "gold standard" in travel with a carefully-reviewed roll call of the "World's Best Places to Stay" (hotels, resorts, and cruise lines).

Crystal has been rated "World's Best" more than any other cruise line, hotel, or resort in history, with the latest Gold List honors joining several others in the line's size category from the U.S. magazine in 2012, including the top #1 and 2 Cruise Ships, #1 Cruise Ship Spa, and Readers' Choice for Best Cruise Line, both in the U.S. and U.K.. With two dozen awards given this year by the travel industry, trade associations, the design community, cruisers themselves, and more, 2012 has been Crystal's most decorated in years.

Luxury cruises of 5-108 days, up to early 2015, on the line's Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, are available in the Mediterranean, Western Europe, British Isles, Scandinavia/Baltic & Russia, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, South America, New England/Canada, Panama Canal, Caribbean, and a sumptuous World Cruise. Until December 28, all-inclusive, value-priced "Book Now" fares start at just $1,365 per person, double occupancy.