ak1004

Everyone has their own opinion, and many people prefer to book their own tours, but lets stick to the facts. On our last SS cruise, the average group size was 25-30, never more than 32. Oceania also has an average group size of around 30.

Maybe it just shows that for many Crystal guests, the ship experience is more important than the destinations?

That's what I thought, but I was confused by the comment "We went GTY so we could add him later." It's a shame that SS will lose a potential new customer - they are not going to pay an extra $3,750 CAD for a cabin they don't need..

Can you please clarify how to do it? Can you book a GTY cabin for two and then add the third guest later?

The stays in ports are relatively short, mostly till 5-6pm. Rare to see 9-10pm stays.

Well, it doesn't help me much because they are using exchange rate of 1.38 while the official rate is 1.33.. many other lines use 1.25, so Canadians are actually at even a bigger disadvantage when it comes to Crystal pricing. Oceania has 1.22, and SS has some sailings with CAD at par.

It was comparable to me.. and honestly, if Crystal was so much better than other luxury lines, everyone would be sailing on Crystal only, especially when their prices were significantly lower than SS and SB. Many people that I know sailed on all luxury lines and found them very similar in terms of the overall package. Yes, we liked the Bistro, but Arts Cafe on SS was a lot of fun too. We also appreciated the unlimited caviar. This alone worth at least $100/day. I do agree about entertainment and enrichment program, Crystal was the best. But on port intensive itineraries it's less critical.

It reminds me someone who buys a stock at $100, and after the stock goes to $10, they keep holding and hope for recover. The problem is that the market doesn't care who much you paid for the stock. In the same way, potential cruisers don't care how much they spent to buy the ships and refurbish them. For some people, Crystal is the "one and only" and they will pay almost any price o sail on it. For others, it's just another luxury line, and they will base their decision on itineraries and pricing. We should respect each others choices even if sometimes not all of them are rationale. Like my wife keeps telling me, "you don't like it - don't buy it".

Sorry, but I don't see how SS or SB are less quality, on a newer ships, larger cabins, more dining options, comparable service and food and 15-20% cheaper..

Absolutely! My problem is that I keep looking for logic and rationale in everything. But some things are not logical and not rationale. As my wife keeps telling me, "if you don't like it - don't buy". I probably should start listening to her..

Well, it doesn't matter what Manfredi wants.. matters what the guests will think and if they will be willing to pay 15-20% more than SS or SB to sail in smaller cabins on 20-25 year old ships. But based on all the excitement on Crystal boards.. it's almost like they get those cruises for free.. people willing to wait over an hour on the phones. Go figure.

Our TA just confirmed that there are no vista suites that are triples on the Dawn they have to go to the superior veranda.

I think they aim to be in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive luxury line with the oldest ships. But wait, according to Anderson, they are not one of the luxury cruise lines. They "in a class by itself." Now it's all clear. Its own class. Its own prices.

Yep. SB has similar sailings at $350/night n one of their newest ships.

We booked a similar cruise from Vancouver to LA before Covid for June 2022. It was below $3,000 for 9 nights ($333/night). Now it's $3,200 for 6 nights ($533/night). A 60% increase..

Crystal itineraries and pricing are published. Based on the pricing, Silversea has nothing to worry about.. The new Crystal owners live in a fantasy world. Med cruises start at $500 USD per night for an entry level cabins (215 soft OV) on 20-25 years old ships. Too bad. We wanted to have another option in addition to SS, SB and Oceania, but obviously not going to pay those prices.

I don't disagree with you at all, on the contrary. For us, the cabin size is one of the least priorities, and we are perfectly fine with 215 sqft cabin. But lets do a quick comparison on prices for Med 10 night sailings. SB has at least 20 sailings in $5,300-6,000 CAD range. SS has many sailing start at $6,700-8,000 CAD for D2D, or $6,000-6,500 P2P. But they also include excursions. Crystal starts at $6,900 CAD, so at least $1,000 more than SB, and slightly more than SS but SS includes excursions. Add the fact that SS and SB have much newer ships, and I just don't see how Crystal can compete.

Yes, but they also need to be competitive with other lines. Charging more for 215 sqft cabins than SS and SB charge for 300 sqft cabins is not exactly being competitive.

$500 per night for an entry level cabin of 215 sqft is reasonable? Compared to pre Covid, prices increased by 60-70%. I wouldn't call it reasonable.

Some people might prefer to put the spouse on the balcony..

Dawn. They can always put a fold down sofa bed in any cabin I assume?

I tried to do mock booking (this is for my friends who want to travel with their 7 years old son) and the minimum category available for 2 adults and 1 child is superior veranda. Strange because Vista is the same size, so why wouldn't they allow a third passenger in Vista?

How much you pay for children that age on SS?

Absolutely!! But it also depends on the itinerary. For port intensive European itinerary, the entertainment/enrichment is less important since you are in port most of the day. Out of all luxury lines, we sailed so far on Crystal and SS, and while overall Crystal was better, I would say they were comparable to me in terms of food and service, maybe with slight edge to Crystal. For us, the ship is not the destination. We are itinerary driven, but still want a small ship experience, with no lines and crowds and good food and service.

But if accept their contract flights but want to fly 2 days earlier, there is still a $150 USD deviation fee, correct?