Crystal Bach

Got word today from our TA....this boat is not sailing on schedule and who knows when it is, nor do I care. We were booked in July; we all have been cancelled and offered compensation but......... Crystal has lost our business permanently. They had previously, without notifying us, downgraded our cabin on this cruise. Now this. They used to be so good, but seem to have lost their way and focus.

I am soooo glad I went with my gut feeling on this and booked a Tauck cruise instead of Crystal. I think they could be a little over ambitious with the myriad of projects they've taken on. I would like to eventually try them out once they're really up and running on a river itinerary that interests me.

Since the big announcement in the summer of 2015 they have consistently missed the deadlines promised - are the ocean ships now 7 years out from the announcement date????

I wonder if the delays will extend beyond this initial cancelation of voyages. Any idea as to what is causing the delay in delivering the vessel. Were you given any additional information from Crystal when informed your sailing was indeed affected? May I ask if you are planning to rebook a replacement Crystal itinerary or has this truly soured you completely from their product? I do know the Aug 27th sailing is oversold and I would imagine may of the itineraries are heavily booked offering little choice to those affected. I will hold off on purchasing my air until we see some announcement for expected delivery of Bach and Mahler. I sincerely hope Crystal puts out a press release of some substance to help passengers decide if they want to hang in there or book something else. My biggest concern is I did not wish to be on the inaugural or the voyage immediately following. I would prefer to join the vessel later in the schedule after initial problems have been addressed. Time will tell...

I am booked on the Mahler for September 30, which apparently now will be the maiden voyage. I specifically do not want to be on a maiden voyage because there most likely will be unexpected issues that will need to be addressed.

It doesn't suprise me that there is a delay, as Crystal has blundered mightily in its overly ambitious campaign to build a "brand." Airplanes, yachts, expedition vessels, river boats, residences at sea....too much at once! Instead of improving their core business and slowly expanding, they may soon realize that they have bitten off more than they can chew.

My biggest worry now is that this delay is just the first in a series of delays, and that my September 30 sailing will be canceled, possibly on short notice. I have already spent thousands of dollars in airfare and trip insurance and Crystal will be on the hook for that if this trip doesn't come off as scheduled. I also will never sail on any Crystal vessel again if that happens. I am pi$$ed!

Skybluewaters: I am booked for 1 Nov on the Mahler and am also hoping that there won't be any further delays!

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I am soooo glad I went with my gut feeling on this and booked a Tauck cruise instead of Crystal. I think they could be a little over ambitious with the myriad of projects they've taken on. I would like to eventually try them out once they're really up and running on a river itinerary that interests me.

Luckily our TA was able to get us on a similar Tauck cruise yesterday.

Luckily our TA was able to get us on a similar Tauck cruise yesterday.

Love a happy ending after such disappointment! Thx for sharing

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Luckily our TA was able to get us on a similar Tauck cruise yesterday.

Awesome!

I am booked on the Mahler for September 30, which apparently now will be the maiden voyage. I specifically do not want to be on a maiden voyage because there most likely will be unexpected issues that will need to be addressed.

 

It doesn't suprise me that there is a delay, as Crystal has blundered mightily in its overly ambitious campaign to build a "brand." Airplanes, yachts, expedition vessels, river boats, residences at sea....too much at once! Instead of improving their core business and slowly expanding, they may soon realize that they have bitten off more than they can chew.

 

My biggest worry now is that this delay is just the first in a series of delays, and that my September 30 sailing will be canceled, possibly on short notice. I have already spent thousands of dollars in airfare and trip insurance and Crystal will be on the hook for that if this trip doesn't come off as scheduled. I also will never sail on any Crystal vessel again if that happens. I am pi$$ed!

We got notice 2 weeks before the final payment was due. Obviously, it affects lots of our plans around this cruise. Spent the weekend rebooking flights, rearranging other plans, rebooking hotels, etc. etc. etc.

I wonder if the delays will extend beyond this initial cancelation of voyages. Any idea as to what is causing the delay in delivering the vessel. Were you given any additional information from Crystal when informed your sailing was indeed affected? May I ask if you are planning to rebook a replacement Crystal itinerary or has this truly soured you completely from their product? I do know the Aug 27th sailing is oversold and I would imagine may of the itineraries are heavily booked offering little choice to those affected. I will hold off on purchasing my air until we see some announcement for expected delivery of Bach and Mahler. I sincerely hope Crystal puts out a press release of some substance to help passengers decide if they want to hang in there or book something else. My biggest concern is I did not wish to be on the inaugural or the voyage immediately following. I would prefer to join the vessel later in the schedule after initial problems have been addressed. Time will tell...

I have to see what they are offering in compensation. Have not received any information on that yet. I certainly wouldn't book a river cruise again unless the boat had been in operation for over a year which good reviews.

Harpy3

Talk to your TA - I'm pretty sure they got full details of the compensation offer last Friday afternoon for those with clients on impacted cruises

Not so great for those abandoning ship and moving to other lines I believe - of course that doesn't stop you taking their offer and booking an alternate provider - if you can squeeze it all in

The sooner the better as that's a busy time of the season to be looking for alternatives

Here's a story on Cruise Critic with some more information:

Crystal Cruises Delays Launch of Its Two New River Ships

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7663

I am soooo glad I went with my gut feeling on this and booked a Tauck cruise instead of Crystal. I think they could be a little over ambitious with the myriad of projects they've taken on. I would like to eventually try them out once they're really up and running on a river itinerary that interests me.

I did the same thing :) I had originally booked Crystal and my gut told me to get out and go with Tauck. Leaving for the Danube next month. A woman's intuition is usually correct ;)

Crystal's statement regarding the delays in launching the two river vessels included the following, "...we feel that the adjustments to the launch timeline are in the best interest of our guests, as well as our travel partners."

What do they mean by "travel partners"?

What do they mean by "travel partners"?

Travel Agents

Here's a story on Cruise Critic with some more information

Another interesting report which includes comments from Crystal on the River ships delay @ http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/crystal

Interesting comment that Edie is quoted as saying "Rodriguez also noted that six total sailings are affected with just over 600 guests impacted"

Harpy3

Talk to your TA - I'm pretty sure they got full details of the compensation offer last Friday afternoon for those with clients on impacted cruises

Not so great for those abandoning ship and moving to other lines I believe - of course that doesn't stop you taking their offer and booking an alternate provider - if you can squeeze it all in

The sooner the better as that's a busy time of the season to be looking for alternatives

Unfortunately my TA left on Monday leading a tour out of country, back on Mar 28. She did, however, go to her office on Sunday and found out another cruise in about the same time period and similar itinerary. Since we are traveling with other people, this was no easy task and I greatly appreciated her concern and effort in doing that. Not all of us were able to change time period so easily to later in the year because of jobs, etc., whereas cruise time had been worked out more than a year ago. So changing to another cruise line was for that reason. So I'm on hold until next week. And Crystal will not email me directly the information.

Another interesting report which includes comments from Crystal on the River ships delay @ http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/crystal

 

Interesting comment that Edie is quoted as saying "Rodriguez also noted that six total sailings are affected with just over 600 guests impacted"

Edie Rodriguez makes the excellent point that, if Crystal doesn't get the product right, those doing a Crystal River Cruise, might be lost forever.

Last year, my wife and I did our first river cruise, on the Rhone in France. It was with Scenic Tours and while the onboard experience was excellent, some of the administration from the land based operation, left a bit to be desired. As a result we decided not to take another Scenic Tour and possibly not another river cruise.

On our recent Crystal ocean cruise, we had a wonderful time and were made a very tempting river cruise offer, which together with a tremendous offer from our TA, we booked for the Danube.

Now, it's vital it lives up to expectations, otherwise we might be lost to the ocean.

Got word today from our TA....this boat is not sailing on schedule and who knows when it is, nor do I care. We were booked in July; we all have been cancelled and offered compensation but......... Crystal has lost our business permanently. They had previously, without notifying us, downgraded our cabin on this cruise. Now this. They used to be so good, but seem to have lost their way and focus.

I was quite obviously not happy with Crystal about all this on the Bach. Once our TA was back in town and we were able to read the letter from Crystal (which only went to TAs unless you did your own booking) things worked out. Although we booked the river cruise on another line (we had those dates locked in with family), we were able to book the offered cruise on the Serenity at the end of November and enjoy more family time. Crystal's compensation package luckily worked out for us and in the end we are very satisfied with Crystal's customer relations over this. Kudos to a person in customer relations.