Live over Thanksgiving and update on Neil

Neil is a delight. The Thanksgiving cruise focusing on Christmas markets (shhh!) is lovely so far and I am happy to answer any questions I can. The ship is lovely. Edie is on board. Christmas decorations are quite impressive. The service on board has been exceptional with one minor hiccup. Checking us in to our room required neither cruise documents, luggage tags nor passports. Only the last names and the iPad of our host. As it should be. She walked us to our suite, asking us a few questions and parted from us to retrieve our boarding cards. Nice. Dinner had a wait of 30 minutes between soup and entree. Unacceptable. As was told to our wait staff/management when they used the excuse of the dinner rush. But once delivered, the dinner was very nice, I'll wait until later to comment further. Have to go watch us go thru a lock. Fire away with qustions.

How about asking Edie when the website will be fully functional with all of the information and updates of the legacy site?

Neil is a delight. The Thanksgiving cruise focusing on Christmas markets (shhh!) is lovely so far and I am happy to answer any questions I can. The ship is lovely. Edie is on board. Christmas decorations are quite impressive. The service on board has been exceptional with one minor hiccup. Checking us in to our room required neither cruise documents, luggage tags nor passports. Only the last names and the iPad of our host. As it should be. She walked us to our suite, asking us a few questions and parted from us to retrieve our boarding cards. Nice. Dinner had a wait of 30 minutes between soup and entree. Unacceptable. As was told to our wait staff/management when they used the excuse of the dinner rush. But once delivered, the dinner was very nice, I'll wait until later to comment further. Have to go watch us go thru a lock. Fire away with qustions.

If the service isn't exceptional with Edie onboard then I would be surprised. A delay of that amount between soup and entree is totally unacceptable and I have never experienced that on any cruise, river or ocean. I'm sure that will be a one off, especially if Edie had the same experience,

Christmas markets are great. Sadly, too many have become too commercial and sell mass produced products and many sell the same thing. The best for me were the one at the Museum area in Vienna and the one near the central market in Budapest. Avoid the one by the Rathaus in Vienna. The others around town are much better.

Enjoy the cruise.

Thanks for the update Suz! Keep the updates coming. A month to go before I board. I would like to hear what it is like on board in the evenings; ie atmosphere, activity, crowds , etc. Hopefully, everyone is not going to bed early

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This was moved why? And to where?

It's in the River Cruising forum.

Why - because although it is a Crystal post, it is also from someone commenting on the Mozart and the service there. So, it got moved.

Or so I assume that is the logic of CC management.

This was moved why? And to where?

Look at the top left side of this page and you'll see it was moved to the River Cruises forum. Way, I have no idea!

Ctjon: I believe that Cruise Critic keeps moving these threads to the River Cruise forum. They are trying to force Crystal River cruises to be a different animal. If I get the chance I will suggest to Edie that Crystal starts their own message board on their site. It makes more sense and it is the only way for Crystal passengers to be able to share information about River cruises. The yachts are allowed to stay on the Crystal forums, but we are banished and no fans of Crystal visit the river cruise forums so the effect is you cannot get information on Crystal River cruises.

JohnKen, a lot of folks last night commented that they had just flown in and were jet lagged. But that didn't stop Neil from keeping a group of 20 or so in the lounge entertained well past midnight. He really fights to not have the party end. And he is a great entertainer.

We are in a balcony suite and it is really lovely. The tech touches are quite impressive. iPads control everything, there is the ToTo toilet, interactive TV for music and movies, touch pads for the do not disturb and make up the room signage, they use an iPhone bar code scanner to check you on and off the ship and it is super quick. They also have GPS based headsets that can tell you information about points of interest you cruise past. And the lighting has multiple levels of "mood" lighting. And in keeping with the high tech theme, unlimited wifi is free round the clock. And the connection is quite good. And there are USB ports everywhere for charging most devices.

A note that no one but myself has asked about, but for others future reference: there are two good hairdryers in your suite. I have extremely thick, curly hair that I wear straight. I brought a travel hairdryer, but don't need it.

The weather yesterday was quite warm but today was overcast, foggy and has been getting colder as the day went on. But we still had a great time! The town seemed to be largely closed up and the Christmas market wasn't going on today. But it was still a cute town and we did pre cruise travel that made us perfectly okay with a break from Christmas markets. The Abbey tour was very good. And we are not tour people. We NEVER do organized tours from the ship when we cruise. But so far, with Crystal, we do. And we were a short walk into the center of Melk. 15 minutes for us. They did have buses take us on our excursion and you could come back that way as well. We walked.

All of the other passengers are very friendly. We've met a lot of very nice and quite interesting folks. A large group from Singapore, lots of Americans and British, and frankly lots of other nationalities seem to be well represented. We are on the younger side. We are mid 40s and are used to that being the case on ships of any type. I think the age range appears to be about what it is on most of our luxury cruises we've done in the past.

Breakfast and lunch were quite good, both buffet style. Food is subjective, but it is a very important part of vacationing for us. We have driven across Spain in the pouring rain to eat in San Sebastián, completely arranged vacations in New York around the schedules of Per Se and Eleven Madison Park and went to Chicago for the reopening of Alinea. I say this so if you are also obsessed with food, you have some context on us. So far the food has been very good on the ship. We are less than 24 hours in, but are looking forward to seeing what is next.

Service has been phenomenal since last nights hiccup. Everyone on the ship does seem like they genuinely want you to have a great trip and they go out of their way to make sure you do. Everyone has a smile and is eager to say hello and make suggestions for what you should try, where you should go, what you must see.

That's all I can think to share at the moment. But please feel free to ask any questions.

It makes perfect sense to have the Crystal River Cruise threads on the River Cruise forum. There is so much helpful info in this forum regardless of which line you happen to be interested in or booked on. River cruising is very unique from ocean cruising. It looks like the same placement of threads applies to Viking as well with their ocean cruise threads located with ocean cruise section while river threads are here.

I obviously disagree. And I believe it should be left to the poster to place their thread where they want the responses to be generated. If the thead dies its own death from lack of interest, so be it. But to move a healthy thread to an area that history has shown to be a plague to that topic is nonsensical. If the point is to promote sharing information, let us share information without censorship.

I obviously disagree. And I believe it should be left to the poster to place their thread where they want the responses to be generated. If the thead dies its own death from lack of interest, so be it. But to move a healthy thread to an area that history has shown to be a plague to that topic is nonsensical. If the point is to promote sharing information, let us share information without censorship.

Censorship is a bit strong. I'm not sure why you say that Cruise Critic is trying to force Crystal River Cruises to be a different animal. It's a river cruise, right? And this is the River Cruise Forum. If you are only interested in Crystal River Cruises, search 'Crystal River' using the 'Search This Forum' function and you will find quite a few posts. Many use this forum to find information on the different river cruising companies.

I obviously disagree. And I believe it should be left to the poster to place their thread where they want the responses to be generated. If the thead dies its own death from lack of interest, so be it. But to move a healthy thread to an area that history has shown to be a plague to that topic is nonsensical. If the point is to promote sharing information, let us share information without censorship.

I think one aspect of the mods' job is to keep the threads and boards organized. I don't see where moving a post to the correct board is censorship. Nothing was deleted and the info is now in a place that is more easily shared with other river cruisers. I don't understand the plague reference at all. Crystal is not the only luxury cruise line and other luxury cruisers may be unaware that Crystal even has river cruise ships unless they see the posts here.

This was moved why? And to where?

Bah! And all the postings avoided the mention of Mozart and river. The mention of Christmas Markets might be the trigger now. Sigh!

Have. Great time Suz!

By the way, we are really foodies as well. My tip for your next NYC visit - Gabriel Kruther on Bryant Park. He was originally the chef at The Modern but now has his own place.

Keep the food reviews coming too. Only 4 more weeks for us to diet for this cruise.

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Look upon this as an opportunity to benefit from the depth of experience on river cruise destinations in this section, while also extolling the virtues of the Crystal experience.

Assuming of course that the 30 minute wait after the soup has not proved to be too much to overcome :)

You have a warm welcome here from the other river cruisers, lets hope the somewhat frosty start from the Crystal side does not accurately reflect the welcome waiting onboard the Crystal Mozart for new cruisers...

I obviously disagree. And I believe it should be left to the poster to place their thread where they want the responses to be generated. If the thead dies its own death from lack of interest, so be it. But to move a healthy thread to an area that history has shown to be a plague to that topic is nonsensical. If the point is to promote sharing information, let us share information without censorship.

A plague to that topic? I'm not sure what you mean by this.

JohnKen, Thanks for the restaurant tip for our next NYC visit, which we might do in s few weeks! I'll report back on our visit to Steirereck, which I believe you mentioned in an earlier thread you were also going to visit on your own while in Vienna. We will do our Mozart Michelin lunch and then dinner that night at Steirereck, so it will be quite a gluttonous day! Speaking of gluttony, the food continues to impress and service has suffered no other delays. They serve many regional specialties including at least one "can't miss" dessert on the lunch buffet each day. And dinner is even better!

And I certainly meant no disrespect to any of the kind folks who have shared opinions and experiences on the River Cruising Forum. In my over 14 years using Cruise Critic, I have come to rely on it for cruise research and preparation. And I did get great information on Christmas Markets that did help in preparation for this trip. Unfortunately, the simple fact is that people who cruise the Crystal Mozart post their experience on the Crystal forum. I'm sure this is because that is the forum they use and check when they log on. Once their thread on the Mozart is moved off of the Crystal forum, they stop checking it. It was difficult for me to get information on the ship for planning purposes. It's a Crystal ship, regardless of where it cruises. The Crystal yachts and air planes are discussed on the Crystal forum, despite not being ocean ships.

So pleased you are posting about your cruise.

We are sailing on Mozart next August, a replacement for our original Debussy cruise from Paris.

Like you I have been scouring the boards and reading the few reviews for any information.

I have a few questions....

I am interested in the e-bikes..... how many go on the organised tours? and are there many available for people who just want to go out for an hours tootle instead of a tour?

Did you prebook your tours or is there still availability once on board?

Will you be dining in the Vintage Room? I'd be interested to read a review about that.

Many thanks,

Kim

JohnKen, Thanks for the restaurant tip for our next NYC visit, which we might do in s few weeks! I'll report back on our visit to Steirereck, which I believe you mentioned in an earlier thread you were also going to visit on your own while in Vienna. We will do our Mozart Michelin lunch and then dinner that night at Steirereck, so it will be quite a gluttonous day!

 

 

 

We have a dinner reservation at Steirereck on 21 Dec, the evening before we board the Mozart. We knew we had to go back when we booked the cruise. So please do share your thoughts. How can you attempt to do 4 Michelin stars in one day? Worse, you could be trying for 6 stars in a day I suppose.

 

 

Kim - we have requested the Vintage Room so will report on this over Christmas / New Year if Suzcruise does not do so first.

 

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Kim,

Unfortunately either because of of the expected weather or because of the focus of our cruise being Christmas Markets, there are no excursions which utilize the Ebikes. However, we took them out yesterday for a spin around Linz and they are so fun! We plan on using them again in Passau either tomorrow or next week when we return to Passau. We did arrange our excursions before we boarded, but I think you would be fine booking while onboard as they seem to have, or make, availability. But they will cancel a tour if it isn't popular enough, so you might want to sign up quickly for anything you are interested so they know if they have enough interest to offer it.

We haven't decided on the Vintage room. We weren't going to do it, but we have been so impressed by the food in Waterside that we might reconsider. We've discussed that possibility with some other couples. If we do, we will definitely report back now that I know you would like more information.

A couple more questions please.

1. What time does breakfast begin? There is a 24 hour tea/coffee station isn't there?

2. I understand breakfast and lunch are a buffet. Do the waiters actively help the elderly with their plates like they do on the ocean ships?

I have not tried my first Mozart cruise yet (in 4 weeks) but it looks like I may be back on board next year again in Sep as my parents have asked to go on this. This means I have to play travel agent bag-wallah and tour guide.

Dad would rather be served his meals if possible. Walking while carrying a plate can be a steetch. While his personal assistance (little ole me) will be around, it would be nice to see if he can try to be independent.

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Hey JohnKen,

My husband and I are discussing your question as we ride back from Regensberg to Vilshofen on the bus. While the service at the buffet lunch and breakfast isn't like that in Regent or Silversea, where you almost can't carry your own plate. There are certainly enough staff around to lend a hand if needed. I would really expect they would quickly offer a hand if it was apparently needed or certainly if requested. Room service is available round the clock as well. There is a coffee and tea station as well as a nespresso machine in your cabin. I'll have to double check the hours for the different dining venues when we get back to the ship. We've had no problem making breakfast, but I'm guessing your father may be an early riser and you want to see if they open early enough.

On AMA, while breakfast and lunch have a buffet element there is also a menu. I never bothered with the buffet but just sat down at a table and ordered from the waiter. Doesn't Crystal offer menu items at these meals?

......but I'm guessing your father may be an early riser and you want to see if they open early enough.

Bingo! Parents are early risers whereas I tend to close the Avenue Saloon at 1 am on the Symphony. They tend to have their second breakfast when I get up.

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JohnKen,

Breakfast at Waterside starts at 7 and goes until 9, when the Bistro picks up breakfast service until 11:30. I discussed your situation with the gentleman at the egg station today, as my husband ordered his eggs prepared some special way. They confirmed that if someone needed assistance for mobility issues or other reasons, they would carry their plate and let them select what they wanted from the line. Or they could be seated and a waiter always prompty comes to take drink orders and would take a food order for anything they wanted, from the buffet or otherwise. He said anyone could just order from their waiter if they preferred, most just like to go through the buffet.

Thats a good idea. Walk around the buffet to see what is on offer and then asking the waiter to get both drinks as well as a simple food order.

It is more about breakfast since I should be around at lunch time.

It is not so much about a mobility issue but just being cautious when someone frail with age but still remaining proud striving to be independent.

Lunch in the Bistro is sit down and order isnt it?

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