Keith1010

We would put one or two of those battery operated flickering candles in the bathroom. Learned this from Ilene on WC 2015. Keith

Correction to Muriel's post. No smoking on the Promenade Deck on either side. On Serenity my favorite of the two are the Classic Aquamarine suites. There are two desks and lots of storage. If I went with the Sapphire I would also go with the classic. I have stayed in both. The tradeoff is that the Sapphire has a larger living area and you can separate it with a curtain if one gets up earlier but the storage in a Classic Aquamarine and the two decks are a plus. In the Sapphire the make up desk has very little depth whereas the one in the Aquamarine is much larger. Classics of both have tubs. The more updated versions do no. On Symphony which you are not asking about I would recommend other alternatives. Keith

I have used Luggage Free several times and next time we will use Luggage Forward as Crystal on board concierges work with them. Both are very good. I send it earlier than is required just in case there are delays.Both have good websites with Q&A's and the ability to price it. I would not do it on your own for several reasons including if there are issues with luggage held up in Customs in Europe. Keith

This is who you can contact at Crystal. It is for on board guest services. E-Mail address: obgs@crystalcruises.com List out all three voyages and ask which nights are formal. Keith

Gary you could do this and I know of at least one person who posts on this board who boarded without the e-tickets. I bring mine though just in case there is an issue with phone. Keith

On our previous cruises with New Crystal I had not seen this before in "my account". For an upcoming cruise I now see under my reservations (this would be within 120 days of your cruise) a tab at the top that says "View Itinerary Dress Code". It provides the evening attire for each evening of the cruise. Keith

David, when the ticket information is added to "my account" you will find it under the tab titled reservation documents. As to luggage tags I was told but have not followed up that they were going back to mailing them to your home. That was the case early on but it stopped later last year. Has anyone who has recently sailed gotten them at home? Regardless, as Rob said they will be available at the pier. Keith

Yes. Keith

While they are permitted on most excursions, if there are restrictions they normally advise and that includes clothing and baseball caps. For example, if you went into a church a baseball cap wouldn't be appropriate in many places around the world. Keith

Treasure Hunter, Patty gave you great information. Let me add that it is a short cruise such as a 7 day cruise with high occupancy where most reservations could be booked for Umi Uma and Osteria. But if occupancy is lower there can be times that they are not all booked up. In addition, on longer voyages there is likely more openings for people to book when they are on board. Butlers are very helpful and will save you time to see the specialty restaurant. Keith

These are the features. https://www.crystalcruises.com/cruises/none-csy-012-240413?menu=suites_and_guest_rooms Regardless of room you can make reservations 120 days before the cruise begins for the specialty restaurants. Keith

Correct and mentioned more than once.The original footprint was enormous to begin with and each ship is carrying far less guests than originally designed to carry. Another evolution which took place before NC came along was the reduction of sea days. There was a time even on a 7 days cruise which was rare years ago that a short cruise of seven days had three to four sea days. These days most of the cruises have one sea day so less time at sea and less time to operate the casino. Keith

Part of this discussion we had with Old Crystal, particularly in the summer months when fairly often Waterside was closed during port days. Over the years old Crystal was had moved to fewer sea days and that has continued with new Crystal. It's not just a matter of giving people off. The number of crew members on-board is less than it was because of fewer guests. On top of this some crew positions have been reallocated. For example, less waitstaff in Waterside due to increase in the number of butlers and runners. There are also regulations that govern how many hours crew can work. And as we've discussed over the years and on numerous threads part of the evolution of cruising is that there is less demand for lunch at Waterside versus other areas including The Trident Grill, Tastes and Marketplace on port days. Just like on land not everyone agrees with the evolution of a product or the evolution of trends. Remember when one got dressed up to go to a Broadway show? How about baseball games when fans would arrive all dressed up? Forma nights without the word optional. Semi-Formal nights? Land based restaurants requiring men in a tie and jacket? Assigned dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner on cruise lines? Life moves on. Keith

Pam, in almost all cases they come to your account. There are a few exceptions where they come via e-mail. Keith

We arrived to Bordeaux August 2023 on Serenity in the early evening Some views from the ship. Next morning we walked to many nearby sites. n Beautiful Park within a nice walk from the pier. And there was lots of time to visit chateau's as we have done several times. I never like to say the best because to me there are some other very nice places we have docked allowing us to walk right into cities. Sydney, San Francisco, Cape Town (the time we were docked in a location no longer used for the medium and larger ships, Barcelona when we've been there on the smaller ships rather than where the larger ships dock. And several more. And the sail away from Bordeaux. Keith