Crystal Grace: The First Cut

Read all about the steel-cutting ceremony of our first new ocean ship in 25 years, Crystal Grace.

With a shower of golden sparks and rousing applause, a dream became reality as the first piece of steel for Crystal Grace was cut in Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy yesterday, May 27. This momentous occasion marks a huge milestone for Crystal, as years of meticulous planning and engineering transformed into something tangible, taking us one step closer to the arrival of our first newbuild ocean ship in 25 years.

For CEO of AKTG Cristina Levis, it was a particularly proud moment. “Those who have known me and who have worked with me for over 15 years appreciate how emotional it is for me to be here today,” she told the guests assembled in Fincantieri’s renowned shipyard near Venice. “It is not the first time that I have worked on a new build, but this is the first time I am granted the honor of attending a steel-cutting ceremony.”

As executives, engineers, workers, and journalists looked on, Levis together with Marco Linardi, SVP of Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Luigi Matarazzo, General Manager of Merchant Ships Division at Fincantieri, and Bernie Leypold, SVP Global Hotel Operations for Crystal, pushed the button to activate the laser that made the first cut.

“The steel cutting in reality is not really a cut but a symbolic bridge between the work of the mind and the work of the hands,” Levis explained. “It is the precise moment the ingenuity of the naval engineers melts with the craftsmanship of the workforce and become one.

“Thank you to everyone who has dreamt with me and is waking up to a beautiful new beginning.”