The original Mitsubishi company and world's
largest shipping firm, NYK Line, is expanding its successful
business in luxury cruises. It recently placed an order for
its third luxury cruise ship in the Crystal series. The new
ship will join the Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony, operated
by an NYK Line subsidiary based in Los Angeles, Crystal Cruises.
Another NYK Line subsidiary, Tokyo-based NYK Cruises, operates
a fourth cruise ship, the Asuka, out of Japan.
NYK Line has ordered the yet-unnamed vessel from
France's Chantiers de l'Atlantique and will take delivery
in 2003. The ship will weigh in at 68,000 gross tons and will
accommodate 1,080 passengers, along with 655 crew members.
It thus will offer even more space per passenger than its
sister ships. The Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony each
weigh about 50,000 tons and accommodate 960 passengers. They
are among the most spacious cruise ships in the world and
carry the highest, six-star ratings from the industry's leading
adjudicators of floating luxury. Readers of prominent travel
magazines, such as Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure,
have named the Crystal vessels their favorite cruise ships.
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