Stickman1990

It’s very much subject to availability of materials - I’m told it could be as early as July or worse case it could run out to September

Day 11 - Tonga We finally made it to Tonga after missing this port in 2020. We were docked, unlike a larger Costa ship which was tendering passengers ashore. The weather was hot hot hot - well it was mainly the high humidity that got to us Nevertheless we enjoyed a walk into town and visits to various markets and a chat with some locals who were smart enough to be seated under a lovely big tree which afforded some protection from the sun. We bought a few souvenirs at the markets and then returned to the ship for lunch in Tastes We enjoyed sail away from our balcony Then we dined in Tastes which is a nice casual restaurant serving small portion dishes that can be shared family style around the table - we enjoyed a wide selection and left full - but we shall definitely return again. You know what the best thing about dining in Tastes was? We had Benjamin as our sommelier! He is a living treasure of Crystal The show was Bruce Hammond who did a Salute to Frank Sinatra - he is very good Tomorrow's a sea day as we cruise towards Fiji and some photos….the foods from Tastes

29 February Reflections Reflections 29 February 2024.pdf

They will also have offerings for vegetarians (mentioned in their press release) and I hope they bring some items over from their Reefbar menu as well We too loved Churrascaria but my meat preferences have moved more to seafood since then - but I’d have been happy to see it return

We stayed in a GT - the suite itself is the same size - it’s only the “terrace” aka balcony/veranda that varies and it’s a little larger - there’s a nice day bed out there There are some small laundry benefits as well - with 1 free bag of laundry and one unlimited lot of pressing included So I’d only do it if you were going to use the terrace - we were in Iceland and Greenland so it was of limited use to us

29 February Waterside lunch Waterside Lunch 29 February.pdf Waterside Dinner Waterside Dinner 29 February.pdf

I was thinking Caviar dishes and maybe Escargots but I’m pretty sure there are others that require extra special preparation Having said that in the past we’ve had lobster tails on request and even a suckling pig - we were on a table of 8 - sadly they can’t serve those dishes table side anymore

and neither ship is sailing at anywhere near full capacity - bear in mind these numbers are for double occupancy where possible, in every cabin. A very unlikely event Right now Serenity would have around half the max capacity onboard and it feels very spacious - and retains what I believe is a full complement of crew. You don’t wait for anything…and the service is top notch I think the space and ratio of crew on both ships is pretty good and you don’t wait for attention or a seat anywhere

When we were on last Sept the standard pour around the ship was Moet - you did get a bottle of Veuve in your entry level suite on embarkation but it would be replenished with Moet I have seen it reported that the Moet is being replaced by another champagne, Mercier which is also owned by Louis Vuiton Moët Hennessy By way of comparison Crystals standard champagne pour is Jaquart which according to Vivino is a more expensive champagne than Mercier We were happy with the included wines on Explora and in keeping with the thread title here’s both lines included wines (Explora from Sept and Crystal from currently) - Crystal list is more expansive but as I said we found Explora’s wines fine Crystal Explora

I think you’d be unlikely to see menus repeated on a weekly gap The nice thing is you can request most items as special order if they have been on the menu (there’s a few exceptions to that) - so don’t worry if you have booked a specialty restaurant and see something on Watersides menu that you would have liked

28 February Reflections Reflections 28 February 2024.pdf

No we’re in Tonga today - so a port day

I have a feeling mailings are staggered as I haven’t received the message above yet - but I’ll post when/if I do so we can gauge the spread of timing for reception of the same emails

Day 10 - Cruising the Pacific to Tonga Another sea day for us but so much to do around the ship. I enjoyed visiting many areas I hadn’t got to and chatting with the crew and fellow guests The morning started with the Morning Show with guest Liezl the librarian and it was fascinating to hear all the additional things she does in addition to maintaining the excellent library on board - after many years with Crystal she’s clearly a go to person who has a lot of knowledge how to get things done around the ship and I know she is loved by many. I also answered one of the quiz questions so that’s a prize for me on each day of the show when they ask questions. What’s the capital of Haiti was my success story yesterday We started off with breakfast in Waterside which is a la carte - I particularly like going there as it’s the only place I can get poached eggs and I added smashed avocado on toast as well (the Avocado wasn’t on the menu but they were happy to prepare it for me) - my wife had her first donut of the cruise also - a lovely Berliner with lots of jam filling We caught up with Roland our Butler who is ever present making sure we are comfortable and our suite well stocked - we are amazed how he preempts our requests with an appearance at our door awaiting our request - it’s that sixth sense butlers must develop I got to a lecture which was on Nuclear Testing in the Pacific - it bought back memories of growing up in New Zealand and hearing of regular French testing above ground at Muraroa - those were sad times with the impact on many Pacific Islands We had a better day at Trivia with 13 out of 15 - only good enough for joint second place but a major improvement for us We visited one of the shops and bought Kerry a new knitting bag, ok they think it’s a beach bag but she knows better, and I got a Crystal logo tshirt then coffee in the Bistro I checked out the Pearl fashion show in the Cove and Viennese afternoon tea with lots of cakes Then we went to the Magicians at Sea performance by Paul Stone, and thoroughly enjoyed the show - Kerry and Ricki helped him out in his act as well Dinner was once again in Waterside where we love the changing menu each day and the excellent service (we actually at all three meals there today) Another great day on Crystal for us and the occasional photo included - many are still not loading I’m afraid

28 February Waterside lunch - closed Waterside Lunch 28 February - Closed.pdf Waterside dinner Waterside Dinner 28 February.pdf Reflections - to come

That cabin is now available to solo cruisers at a pretty sharp price - now there’s another comparison across lines - prices for single cruisers… Although we have solo cruiser coming with us on our next Explora cruise and she’s pretty happy with the relatively low single supplement - 25% I seem to recall - and on Explora she gets a full sized veranda (or Terrace 😉) suite

27 February Reflections Reflections 27 February 2024.pdf

Trust me I am constantly comparing Crystal and Explora in my mind, particularly at the moment - the net is both my wife and I are agreed that we’re happy on both - with different cruising experiences but equally as pleasurable Heres some quick thoughts - certainly not an exhaustive list Dining is a tough one as there are venues on both that we would score similar locations higher on one over another and vice versa - one in particular we think is superb on Explora is Sakura - that’s not to say Umi Uma on Crystal isn’t very good but for our tastes we like the more extensive menu and the quality of the ingredients - having said that it’s a very close call. Equally Waterside on Crystal is excellent and the menu amazing - so that is also a winner in our view If Internet service is important to you I can tell you that Explora has a very fast and reliable Starlink implementation that I think sets a benchmark for Internet at sea - yes I know lots of lines have Starlink but in our experience the results achieved varies considerably

More than happy to have that type of discussion but how do you suggest things like Dining, Service and Entertainment be compared? What measurement scale do we use for them? I’ve sailed a lot on Crystal over many years and am on Serenity now actually - I’ve sailed Explora once with another couple of cruises booked with them so definitely have views on both lines (as well as a few other luxury lines) - with both being more than acceptable to us for different reasons Have you sailed on both lines? I think being able to make comparisons based on first hand experience is far more relevant that a statistical comparison I know when I make decisions on who to sail with factors like the itinerary, the service and dining offerings as well as entertainment and enrichment to a lesser extent. Eventually I look at price and my per diems on what I’m actually paying for cruises vary from your comparison above - but constantly look for special offers We typically sail entry level cabins and in the past that’s included the non veranda rooms on both Crystal ships) - of course the OTs are bigger than Crystals entry level cabins - is there anyone who would suggest otherwise For my wife and I spend very little time in our rooms - and enjoy the public lounges and other facilities and the fact that there’s plenty of choice and capacity BTW - I really don’t care what sort of knife I get in my cabin and I never request fruit - just alcohol and water for the cabin for us

Day 9 - Cruising the Pacific to Tonga Just a quick update today as I realised I really didn’t take too many photos yesterday as we relaxed around the ship I should report it was a tough trivia session yesterday and we were well done the pack with 9 correct - the top score was 13 While there were many lectures and activities on board we just relaxed in the Palm Court I did attend a meet up for the Crystal Society Family FB and Cruise Critic groups and met some fellow cruisers and some discussion on how they were finding being back onboard We dined in Waterside and had another lovely meal then it was off to the show - Icons in Concert which is a fast moving rock and pop show highlighting artists like Elvis, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and features some great guitar solos. We’ve enjoyed the show since it debuted back in 2018 and it’s evolved with content - we like the heavy rock content which has been reduced over the years Tonight is interesting - we go to sleep on Sunday night and wake on Tuesday morning - for us there is no 26 February as we cross the International Date Line - no time change - just the change of day And the good news is it’s another sea day for us to enjoy on Tuesday Some of the photos uploaded today Fish tacos in Waterside and Icons Concert

27 February (there was no 26th!) Waterside lunch Waterside Lunch 27 February.pdf Waterside dinner Waterside Dinner 27 February.pdf Reflections - the download is broken at the moment so I’ll post it later)

I haven’t received anything in the last few days either - I do t think anything’s been sent out - I’ve certainly never received something daily - more like once a week or so If you don’t receive anything in the next week or so then try resubscribing on the website I am surprised as to the high level of regular Crystal cruisers not receiving these mailings so there’s definitely been an issue

You know where we are….and ask my wife as she’ll give you another opinion We did a 3 weeks on her last September and loved it - things that are important to us like ambience and physical attributes, dining and service were amongst the best we’ve experienced. Entertainment has some room for important but is fine and some of the guest entertainers and speakers are the same as on other luxury lines The Explorer lounge (similar to Palm Court) is a nice spot to while away the days at sea and the coffees good in Crema cafe For those who like pools and hot tubs or even just sitting poolside there are several around the ship - both indoor and outdoor We are booked for 26 days on her next year and will be happy to return

Dwight - are we still on for 4.30pm today in Palm Court? Just so you are aware Rick, the Cruise Director, has also organised a meetup for Crystal FB members at 5pm in Palm Court Port side this evening so I dare say both groups will probably merge

Day 8 - Rarotonga, Cook Islands then sailing to Tonga Today was our first visit to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Of course as New Zealanders we’ve met many Cook Islanders as both nations have close links even to the extent that they use NZ currency Unfortunately a storm decided to descend on the island in the morning as we went ashore for a look around - we wanted to do early as everything closes at noon on Saturdays. Although we had our trusty Crystal umbrellas we got wet and the ground at the local market turned into mini rivers in many parts. Nevertheless Kerry scored a new bag which she is very chuffed about We returned to the ship by tender, dried out and went to Tastes for lunch. I designed a pizza with my favourite toppings and Kerry had potsticker dumplings - David our friend had a huge Reuben sandwich and Ricki the ever popular Chicken Chinois salad - the area we sat in is served by two restaurants - Tastes and the Trident grill so there’s plenty of dining options During the afternoon we commenced the global Rumikub tournament with Ricki and David who I’m sure are Rumikub sharks as after we taught them the rules quickly proceeded to beat us regularly 😂 We had thought of attending a movie, but after a minute or two in the theatre we realised we’d seen the Liam Neeson movie before We dined in Waterside and were looked after by Leo, Barbara, Narola and Mila - what a great team they have in this restaurant and the chefs are turning out great dishes. I think on many lines this restaurant would be billed as a specialty restaurant with limited availability and potentially even an up charge - neither of which apply on Crystal. I’ve attached the photos of dishes and the menu I then went to the show which was a comedian - John Wing - he was ok but not as much to my tastes as some we’ve enjoyed in the past Then it was time for the White Night party where most guests chose to dress in white (it’s optional) and three acts from Crystal performed before the dancing began - the dance pair of Luca & Balint - boy can they move, Nadia on Violin who played a stirring rendition of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song and then Karin Kovacova who is the resident singer onboard One thing we did enjoy during the day was chatting to some of the crew, they are a great asset and part of the secret sauce that makes this cruise line special. We were delighted to learn Maria our cabin attendant is to get married to her fiancée who also works on board this year - she is lovely and has a very wise head. Coincidentally our last cabin attendant was from the same country, Romania, as Maria and had also married her fiancé during the shutdown - they both continue to work on Serenity. They both love being at sea and manage to secure roles which let them spent sometime together. We enjoyed hearing that Roland our butler had discovered a great curry house ashore on Rarotonga and enjoyed a meal there - I was able to give him a recommendation that Santosh one of the waiters had given me for an Indian restaurant in Auckland - there’s a wealth of knowledge around So another great day enjoying all the many and varied activities - tomorrows a sea day and we get an extras hour with clocks turned back Once again only limited photos as it’s just not accepting a lot of the uploads Ben though they’re normal photo files - and yet it’s uploaded a large videos today Tendering in Scallops Crab cake Luca & Balint IMG_8683.mov IMG_8686.mov IMG_8687.mov