Crystal Mozart Holiday Blog

My new year resolution comes early.

I will try to keep up a blog.

I will try to keep up a blog.

I will try to keep up a blog.

http://johnken3.blogspot.co.uk/

Happy sailing on the 22nd!

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Bon Voyage and Happy Holidays to you both !

Barbara

Have a wonderful cruise and Happy Holidays.

Miles

Have a great time, looking forward to your report

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Hi, Ken,

I am enjoying your blog! :)

Your dinner at Steirereck was amazing! Thanks for the great photos.

Happy holidays to John and you. Enjoy the Mozart.

Rhonda

The Crystal Mozart now has free unlimited internet but the firewall levels have been set incredibly strongly which means I cannot update my blog on board. One IT student has partly succeeded getting around this but needs to go via the dark web. Even then the service is slow with various passengers commenting on this to each other.

Will try to post my updates here for now which means mainly text.

Travelling to the Crystal Mozart.

We arranged with the Concierge at the Hotel Imperial for a Mercedes S-class to take us to the ship at 12:15 pm. Over estimated the luggage capacity of that car but and a couple of bags had to go in the back with one of us in the front passenger seat. I showed the driver a copy of the map that Crystal had sent. However, the driver said he had already picked up some passengers disembarking earlier that morning from the Crystal Mozart so knew precisely where it was. Totally relief to hear that since that meant he knew exactly where he was heading.

The problem with most taxi drivers is that they refuse to pay attention to the map you show them or specific instructions you tell them; i.e. they know better. At dinner, fellow passengers sitting next to us confirmed this from their experience. They then spent 10 minutes driving up and down the river talking to their dispatcher.

The main issue here is that there is a strip of 8 to 10 numbered riverboat docks which everyone knows about and refers to. Crystal does not use those docks. Instead, the car has to drive about half a mile further up river towards the Millennium Tower on what I would describe as a broad bicycle path. Our driver told us it was a new boat dock so many Viennese drivers/taxis would not know about Mozart’s docking point. Hopefully over time…. There are no other boats docked next to the Mozart and it appears to be a dock for one boat only. Mozart's dock is not numbered unlike the main boat strip.

The first thing that gets you is how wide the boat is. The next thing is that it doesn’t look anywhere as fancy as the Viking one you passed a moment ago. Not to worry, it is a very different story once you get inside.

Our car pulled up to Crystal's canopy set up at the main entrance behind a couple of other cars. Our driver just waited until they drove off and then pulled up to the front of the canopy. Spotted the Crystal signature footman’s green uniform on a member of staff. Other staff have the Crystal Mozart's apron on. The staff are incredibly efficient at coming to greet you and whisk your bags off from the boot to inside the boat. Since all the bags were labeled, we were told go in to the reception desk while they attended to our luggage.

The Check-in experience.

A-Ma-Zing!

I have always loved the Crystal on-board check-in experience but this is a whole different level of exclusiveness; it was very personal, just like checking in at a club level in a high end hotel.

The moment, you walk into the Crystal Mozart, it has a very different feeling to the exterior of the boat as well as to the Crystal Symphony and Serenity; their ocean ships. It was like an upbeat contemporary modern hotel. I would say, the boat feels like a really good Starwood W hotel but with so much more charm and friendliness from the staff.

At reception, a member of staff said to follow her around the corner. We were seated in the pantry area on our own. This was about 12:20pm. We arrived at the same time as three or four other cars/taxis with each party was taken a separate seating area. Equipped with an iPad, the receptionist found our reservation after I quoted our suite number. No Crystal cruise ticket was needed throughout the entire process. She took a photo of each of us for our key cards with her iPad and then said she would check if our suite was ready? Huh? On the Crystal ocean ships and on Uniworld River Cruises, you do not get access to the rooms until 3pm. It was not anywhere near 1 pm as yet. In less than 5 minutes, she returned with our key cards and said as our Penthouse suite was ready, we should follow her to the room. At this point, I was gob-smacked. All our six bags were already in the room, nicely laid out on the bed and sofa for us to start unpacking. Never expected this at all. She showed us to our room and said our butler would be around to talk us through the features of the room.

We were totally unpacked by 1:10pm (total record for us) and headed to the Waterside for lunch. The beds seem slightly higher off the ground compared to the Symphony and Serenity; it was a lot easier to get my rather thick bags under the beds.

The room – a Penthouse Suite.

I had done a river cruise before and knew the size of the rooms would be small. I was right – the Penthouse Suite is just the right size for two to be comfortable in. Bigger than a regular room on the Crystal Symphony but much much smaller than a PS Penthouse Suite.

The lovely wall to wall, floor to ceiling picture windows give an uninterrupted view of the exterior. No real need for a balcony for sure. When docked, given the location of our suite, you were literally right next to the docks, which also means anyone outside could look in! Had to keep our sheers drawn for a while since all the cars and taxis were stopping right outside our window.

Having said that, on the first morning of sailing, I got beautiful views of the Wachau Valley from my sofa or bed without having go to the top deck or the Palm Court. On this trip when it is relative white everywhere, staying comfortable and snug is key!

The sofa is long and firm – I could happily snooze on this for an afternoon nap and there is ample room to the to sit comfortably.

The walk-in closet is nowhere near as big as a PS Penthouse Suite on the Crystal Symphony with two half length racks and one full length rack. To be honest, it is no different to a regular closet except that the closet has no doors, and the drawers, shelves and safe are away from the clothes rack.

We knew we had to remove three quarters of the wooden hangers and had our own wire and plastic hangers to ensure there was more room for our clothes. The fluffy Etro bathrooms goes straight behind the bathroom door to free up more space. The drawers are not as deep as on the ocean ships. It was a slight struggle but we managed to put away our stuff neatly in 30 mins. I even have shoes under the bedside table and under the sofa table so they are conveniently out of side.

There is champagne to welcome us. It is Austrian bubbly (never knew they made any) with a beautiful label with Gustav Klimt artwork.

The mini-bar is in a drawer under the desk by the bed. It is a chilled drawer rather then a mini fridge. A half bottle of white wine, six cans (coke, diet coke, Sprite), 2 bottles of still water and 2 bottles of sparkling water.

There is a wide drawer underneath the fridge for more storage.

The beds are comfy. I found it much more comfortable than the ocean ships. The pillows are massive and thick. Fantastic for me (I normally have to add sofas cushions to help propt me up) to but John will be asking the butler for substitute pillow today or risk a severe neck-ache.

The Penthouse Suite bathroom.

Or should I say, that irritating toilet seat!

Throughout the packing process, when going in and out of the bathroom that Toto toilet lid was going up and down non-stop. The problem is that it does not do so quietly. Likewise, when you leave the bathroom, the lid automatically goes back down again.

The room attendant kindly showed me the on/off switch without me having to ask her. I suspect, many passengers have been requesting this.

Behind a Penhouse Suite, there is a separate shower with a massive shower head given the size of the shower. It is a really good shower. The dual basins in the bathroom are generous in size and there is a heated towel rail keeping the entire bathroom very warm. The floors are not heated. Toiletteries are by Etro, just like on the Symphony and Serenity. To compliment this, the fluffy bathrobes and bedroom slippers are also designed/supplied by Etro (just as well I brought along one Etro scarf but I left my Etro shirt at home).

The Butler

Daniel (Danny) is our butler and he came by to welcome us around 3:30pm. He is the head butler, unsurprisingly since we are located relatively close to one of the Crystal Suites. This is not the butler service you get on-board in a Penthouse on the Symphony and Serenity. The Mozart butlers are dressed in the same apron as the rest of the restaurant staff so have less of an impact in their appearance. They are also of the same standard as on the ocean ships, less articulate and confident compared with the counterparts on the ocean as yet. Hopefully, that will come with practice.

The Wifi

The wifi on the Mozart is now unlimited free usage. This is change from the initial package where like the ocean ships, you only got an hour a day for free. You still have to go through the usual process of registering an account like you had to buy a package, just that you do not have to buy any package.

However, the wifi system has very strong firewalls. Our various VPN system were blocked, secure websites are blocked and all file uploads and downloads are blocked. I cannot log into my secure office system which might be a issue for some passengers who wish to stay in contact with their firms. Thankfully, this cruise is over the Christmas period for me. We are unable to download our daily UK newspapers which we can do on the Symphony/Serenity.

John

Thanks for posting - great to follow along

We're on Symphony and blogging over on the main Crystal board - great to compare notes how the holiday cruises compare. What have they planned for NYE? We are going to have the spectacular fireworks show on Symdnsy Harbour to enjoy and we can't wait for that highlight

Best wishes and enjoy your cruise

For anyone thinking about a Christmas Cruise, i can cinfirm there is an extensive Christmas Market open on Dec 26 in Salzburg, Austria. Some Christmas shops and souvinier shops as well as some restaurants and cafes are also open.

Those selling Austrian wear are closed. Bah! Cannot get a pair of lederhosen. Did get a nice Austrian hat, lovely hat feathers and hat badges from a souvenir shop.

Hi, Ken,

I am very much enjoying your blog and the level of detail you are providing. Thank you for your efforts - particularly with the challenges of uploading pictures.

The Christmas decorations are lovely.

The dinner menus look interesting and the items are well presented.

Thanks for providing the docking sides. It is useful data. Have you had any stacked docking positions?

Enjoy your voyage!

Rhonda

Currently in Linz. This evening at 6pm, there was a rare shipwide announcement including all the rooms. The Mozart cannot sail further down river than Vienna due to he low wayer levels.

We will bussed to Budapest (2.5 hours each way) for an ovenight stay and will be put up in the Ritz Carlton in Budapest. Good reviews on TripAdvisor at least. Returning to Mozart in Vienna for New Years Eve celebrations. Will be bussed to Bratislavia on New Year's day (1 hour each way). Excursions at being worked out tomorrow.

Full day sailing on the 28 Dec, will be replaced by another full day in Linz. They have thrown in a couple of conplimentary full day tours and a morning tour.

Crystal are also throwing in a 30% cruise credit for a future cruise to be taken by the end of Dec 2018.

Will post developments here.

Thanks for the update, Ken.

It looks like Crystal is doing their best to minimize the impacts of the unfortunate situation. Being "stuck" in Vienna for New Years Eve is not too bad.

The ship, crew, food, and service are all wonderful by your accounts, so I'm sure John and you will find ways to make the best of the situation.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your time on the Mozart.

Rhonda

JohnKen, just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your blog and your updates here. Such a shame about the late changes and as much as I realise that they are unavoidable I would be very disappointed. I wonder how frequently this occurs and if this is unusual for this time of year?

Does this have anything to do with the size of the ship-it's wider than most river cruise ships? If water is low, the navigable river channel may be narrower so that wider ships can't get through where narrower ships can.

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Currently in Linz. This evening at 6pm, there was a rare shipwide announcement including all the rooms. The Mozart cannot sail further down river than Vienna due to he low wayer levels.

 

We will bussed to Budapest (2.5 hours each way) for an ovenight stay and will be put up in the Ritz Carlton in Budapest. Good reviews on TripAdvisor at least. Returning to Mozart in Vienna for New Years Eve celebrations. Will be bussed to Bratislavia on New Year's day (1 hour each way). Excursions at being worked out tomorrow.

 

Full day sailing on the 28 Dec, will be replaced by another full day in Linz. They have thrown in a couple of conplimentary full day tours and a morning tour.

 

Crystal are also throwing in a 30% cruise credit for a future cruise to be taken by the end of Dec 2018.

 

Will post developments here.

Looks like Crystal is really doing its best to make up with this itinerary change.

New Year's Eve in Vienna is the best! We were fortunate to attend a large ball/party at the Town Hall(?), where, at midnight, the huge windows were opened onto the Christmas Market that was going full blast on the square in front of the building. We joined the fun, stayed for hours and had a wonderful time. Beat New Year's Eve ever! Enjoy!

Thanks for providing the docking sides. It is useful data. Have you had any stacked docking positions?

Our extra day in Linz was the first time we stacked! The Mozart was already docked so the Viking Vili pulled up along side. In fairness, the Mozart was not meant to docked there that day.

The connecting bridge was at level 2 so the Viking guest had to walk through the reception area to get shoreside.

All rooms on Deck 1 and Deck 2 Starboard side lost their view a fair bit of natural light. Having said that it was grim weather - cloudy, wind and rain (very English weather) so not too much natural light was lost really.

I thought the Viking boat was empty at first - it was just unlit during the day!

However, the Viking guest did return in the afternoon. Someone on our boat spotted the Viking guests asking for Crystal brochures on the way back to their boat. Wonder if they were impressed by the fireplace that they had to pass.

Thanks, Ken,

The fireplace must be very inviting in the winter.

In an earlier post you mentioned that the wifi experience varied from one bus to another. Is there a way to identify the bus with the better wifi?

I appreciate all your time and effort in posting to your blog. It is very informative. :)

Rhonda

This is one for the Crystal regulars.

The Crystal Society cocktail party was held - completely with free flowing Austrian bubbly and more uniquely, caviar. We were being offered several rounds of caviar as fewer than half the guests turned up, and of those, many declined the caviar (and were offered crisps instead). Chef Dirk was carefully shaping portions into presentation bowls (photos are on the blog - Dec 29). I had to decline myself after consuming three bowls. Did not believe, I would ever decline caviar from consuming too much!

Top Crystal cruisers only had 31 past cruises and 26 past cruises respectively. Such a difference fron the ocean cruises.

By the way, it is the Hotel Director assumes the role of Crystal Society Host and Future Sales Consultant as well.

In an earlier post you mentioned that the wifi experience varied from one bus to another. Is there a way to identify the bus with the better wifi?

I will post bus registration numbers on the blog once I had tried the various busses

JohnKen3, just read about your stay in Budapest on your blog. Did you have to pack all your bags and take them with you or were you able to leave the bulk of your belongings in your Mozart stateroom?

Everyone was asked to take an overnight bag. One luggage tag person was issued. It for one night and one day after all. Many couples shared a roll-on bag. Almost everyone just took a roll-on flight cabin bags. We took a soft suiter which was rare. No one took a large hold bag.

All the bags were carried for you. We took our owns bags down to check-out. Did not get five steps past the elevators when a Ritz Carlton porter stopped me and took the bags. As there were Chrystal White luggage tags on, he took them to the meeting room where all the Crystal guests' luggage was stores until we left at 1:30pm.

However, the Viking guest did return in the afternoon. Someone on our boat spotted the Viking guests asking for Crystal brochures on the way back to their boat. Wonder if they were impressed by the fireplace that they had to pass.

Well we can only hope they don't try and find the information on the new Crystal website!

Thanks for the blog - great to be able to follow along

Did you recieve the Crystal calendar in your rooms on New Years Eve? We did on Symphony - so now I can look at the "Flying Fjord Woman" all through 2017

There is a reasonable level of interest in the River Cruises from those on Symphony - some friends just booked a Dec 2017 cruise on Mahler - they want to do the Christmas markets

Enjoy the rest of your cruise

 

Did you recieve the Crystal calendar in your rooms on New Years Eve? We did on Symphony - so now I can look at the "Flying Fjord Woman" all through 2017

No calendar received so far! Party favours were handed out after dinner. Watched fireworks being set off over the Danube at midnight. All the decks were well gritted for this. It was below feeezing point.

Fantastic party atmosphere and UK dance band playing to see the New Year in. Boat's Master did he count down!

Surprise balloon drop from the light vents that really hid the balloons very well with minimal effort setting up.