Yamaha and Crystal Cruises Offer Music Fun at Sea

ANAHEIM, CA (June 30, 2004) — Cruising guests aboard Crystal Cruises' newest floating resort, the Crystal Serenity, can look far beyond shuffleboard for their diversions. Beginning with its "Grand Inaugural Voyage" in early July, the 68,000 ton luxury vessel offers piano instruction at sea, and Crystal has teamed with Yamaha to provide both instruments and instructors so that its "Passport to Music" program is as much fun as anything on land or water.

"Learning to play music is very much like taking a cruise," says Yamaha's Michael J. Bates, director of academic and institutional relations. "The destinations are wonderful, but you can enjoy every moment of the journey as well. With an emphasis on hands-on learning, our approach to music instruction harmonizes tradition with technology."

Onboard Crystal Serenity, a dedicated space called "The Studio" can accommodate 12 to 15 guest-students at a time, outfitted with 20 Yamaha PSR-292 digital keyboards and a CVP-208 Clavinova digital piano. During six 60-minute sessions, depending upon the length of the cruise, students will learn the rudiments of the piano and up to a dozen popular songs, with help from Yamaha's time-tested teaching method.

There are even more PSR-292 keyboards in a lending library that students can check out and use for practice in their staterooms.

The sessions are part of the cruise line's "Creative Learning Institute," which also features Berlitz foreign language instruction, fine art classes from the Parsons School of Design and Crystal's "Computer University@Sea," among many others.

"The Yamaha Passport to Music program has exceeded our – and our guests' – expectations," says Crystal vice president of entertainment Bret Bullock. "The curriculum, tailor-made for the Crystal guest, and its cadre of exceptional instructors has made the program the hallmark of Crystal Cruises' new Creative Learning Institute. Reaction from our guests has been outstanding, and we have even had guests return home to purchase a Yamaha grand piano in order to continue their newfound musical education."

Crystal Serenity's 14-day "Grand Inaugural Voyage" departed Southampton July 7, 2003, visiting Germany, Denmark, Norway, Scotland and Ireland before returning home. Certified Yamaha music teacher Debbie Culbertson Skinner of Portland, OR was on board to teach the innovative and fun sessions, which featured an emphasis on hands-on learning using Yamaha PSR keyboards and the Clavinova® digital piano.

In keeping with the setting, each segment of "Passport to Music" has a nautical title: the first experience actually working the keyboard is called "All Hands on Deck;" learning where the different keys are is called "Latitude and Longitude;" notation and the written language of music is covered in "Charting Our Course" – and a guest's first performance in front of his or her classmates is called "Walking the Plank."

Skinner also made the Crystal Serenity's second voyage, to Ireland, France and Spain, then Certified Yamaha Music Teacher Cheryl Wherry of New Paltz, NY took over when the ship explored the Mediterranean in August.

Crystal Serenity made several European cruises before crossing the Atlantic, servicing the Caribbean, and arriving in Los Angeles for a holiday-season round trip to the Mexican Riviera. More information is available online at www.crystalcruises.com.

For more information on Yamaha Clavinova digital pianos, visit Yamaha at Winter NAMM 2004 in the Marquis Ballroom at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel; write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, Professional Audio, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.