LOS ANGELES, - For summer 2008, Crystal Cruises has expanded its Jewish Heritage programs in Northern Europe. The luxury line has set five excursions, including a new tour in Berlin that transports guests on a heartrending excursion to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Orianenburg, which served as a prototype for all the camps that followed. These thought-provoking and eye-opening excursions – which will prove fascinating to Jews and non-Jews alike – are also available in Dublin, St. Petersburg and Stockholm aboard virtually all of Crystal Symphony’s Northern Europe itineraries from June through August.
“Our experience is that these Crystal Adventures sate guests’ interests in their roots and culture, as well prove captivating to many of our intellectually curious travelers who want to delve more deeply into Jewish history and the Holocaust,” said John Stoll, director, land programs. “This is just one of the many special interest areas we’ve explored and expanded with niche excursions. In 2008, we’re even offering a Jewish heritage tour in Mumbai, which showcases an array of Indian synagogues and other important Judaic cultural sites. For many, this kind of experience provides a common bond among global travelers.”
The tours, which feature in-depth visits to Jewish Old Towns, museums, synagogues and Jewish families, include:
Berlin (from the port of Warnemunde)
NEW Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp & Berlin Highlights – Visit Sachsenhausen, the camp that housed political prisoners and dissidents beginning in the 1930s, where thousands of prisoners perished from starvation.
Echoes of the Past: Berlin’s Jewish History - Explore Berlin’s Jewish heritage, visiting the Jewish Old Quarter and the New Synagogue, whose stone was laid in 1988, exactly 50 years after the “Night of Broken Glass.”
St. Petersburg
The Jewish Highlights of St. Petersburg – Travel to the Great Choral Synagogue, the second largest in Europe, listening to a concert performed by the synagogue’s cantor, and visit a local family active in the Jewish community.
Stockholm
Jewish Stockholm – Pass through the walls of the 19th-century, 1,000-seat Great Synagogue, with a memorial wall to 8,500 victims of Jewish relatives residing in Sweden, continuing on to one of the few the Jewish museums in Scandinavia.
Dublin
Historic Jewish Dublin – Browse through the Irish Jewish Museum, formerly an old synagogue, officially opened by President Chaim Herzog of Israel, who was raised in Dublin, and travel on to President Herzog’s former home and site of the first Jewish Day School.
The Jewish Heritage Crystal Adventures are priced from $75 per person to $421 per person and are available aboard Crystal Symphony’s seven Northern Europe itineraries, with fares starting at $3,395.
The Crystal Difference
Aboard the ultra-luxurious Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, refined elegance meets casual simplicity. With an emphasis on innovative product differentiation, the renowned Crystal experience is distinguished by classic service, abundant space, extensive choices and superior quality, providing worldwide vacations of seven to 100+ days that bridge the best of land and sea. Grounded in more than a decade of accolades, Crystal has been voted “World’s Best” by the readers of Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler more than any other cruise line, hotel or resort in history.
For additional information and Crystal reservations, please contact a travel agent 877-325-7522. Visit the luxury line’s website at http://www.chtravel.com/crystal_cruise.htm
