RLMSLL

We received a few emails in June 2023, but they stopped after 6/15/23.  Subscribing to emails did not restart them..  Telling a Crystal rep on the phone did not rectify the situation.  However since 2/13/24 I have received six emails.  Snail mail restarted a few weeks ago for both my husband and me.  We are both Crystal Society members.

It does appear that Crystal has fixed a glitch that was impacting some of us.

It is so nice to see you traveling again, Roy!

Bon voyage!

Rhonda

I’ve had the Iceland hot dog and it was a disappointment.  It was not encased in a proper roll.  Great hot dogs have to start with a New England roll, which has a flat bottom and is top loaded.  The flat sides are soft, with no crust, and both sides are butter grilled to perfection.  🥰  The rolls are not large, so that the bread doesn’t over power the flavor of the dog, but the buttery goodness compliments the dog.  Condiments can be top loaded per the diner’s preference.

Now don’t get me started on clam chowder.  There is only one style worth eating: New England.  There will be no clams swimming in tomato broth in my house.  😛

Can someone confirm that NC charges on Amex Green are generating 3 Membership Reward points for each dollar charged?  …Or does Amex consider the Crystal Cruises Travel Agency to be a third party, such that the charge would not be eligible for the bonus points according to their terms and conditions?

6 hours ago, bitob said:

Just to add some insight 

 

The look back period is controlled by VISA or MASTERCARD

So whatever VISA or MC you have, they set the policy -- does not matter who issued the card.

 

Amex is different because they do not have the same strict look back period. Older charges were honored.

Regardless, I'd rather get triple points on my Sapphire Reserve for travel as it gets me many free flights and travel insurance.  Gave up my Amex Platinum long ago.  I do not expect to face another disaster like the one with Crystal going forward.

The Amex Green card gives triple points on all travel including cruises, and it would not be subject to the more strict look back period of Visa and Mastercard.

24 minutes ago, BEAV said:

 

Thanks! My cousin has been buying it in Huntington Beach and Westminster. 😉

My purchases were in Redondo Beach, and I did not clean them out.  Prior to my second purchase, I was planning on checking out South Pasadena when I will be in the area in a few days.  However I think I have reached the capacity of what my liver can withstand over the next year or two.  😯  I will leave the remaining supply for others to discover.

1 hour ago, BEAV said:

 

Curious what state you’re in (besides slightly intoxicated! 😉)? The rest of us are in California...

I am in Southern California and have abstained today - so far.  😉

I popped into the local Grocery Outlet again today and found additional varieties on the shelves:  Pinot Noir and Merlot along with the Cab and Chardonnay.  Apparently they needed to make more shelf space before putting out the Pinot Noir and Merlot.  I am now fully stocked!  The cashier informed me that wine is 10% off on Wednesdays, but at $5.99 and $6.99 per bottle who needs to wait?  Party time!  🙂🥂🍾

Nice reminders of fond Crystal memories for a long time to come!

One of our favorite memories is a lunch we had at Noma in Copenhagen before one of our Crystal cruises.  Noma was rated #1 restaurant in the world at the time, and it is back in the #1 spot once again.  Noma just started producing pantry items, and for lunch today we enjoyed pasta with an Alfredo sauce to which I added Noma’s Smoked Mushroom Garum.  It was devine!

I plan to have one of Crystal’s C wines with dinner this evening.

it is such a treat when stuck at home to be able to enjoy both a taste of Noma and a bit of Crystal in the same day.  Life is good!

I got some of the Cab and Chardonnay at the local Grocery Outlet this morning.  Nice tip!  Thanks, Beav!

7 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Quick note.  In the hospital for literally a “pain in the butt”.  They found a puss abscess in the muscle that made standing so painful It actually caused me to fall.  They’re drained it and put me on antibiotics. Not sure but I hope to go home tomorrow.

 

Roy

Hi, Roy,

I hope that the pain is gone and that you are resting comfortably.  Get well soon.

Rhonda

15 hours ago, drib said:

 

Yes, that was the crepe restaurant I drew a blank on above. Now I can sleep at night - although I'm still working on the restaurant in a church. (Maybe I conflated that with the Old Spaghetti Factory, which was often in nice old buildings.) Still searching for that - like searching for Bobby Fischer, who was also a Pasadena landmark, albeit a deranged one, but in the 80s, I think.

I found this beautiful mcm-image while looking for something else:
 

As long as you went farther east, I think there was a Kaplans Deli in the Arcadia Mall - nothing special, but okay after a day at the races. Or visiting the Arboretum was very nice.

Speaking of very nice, there was the Huntington Hotel (the Huntington-Sheraton in our day). And, of course, also Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino. I'm particularly pleased that the area can always lay claim to this guy:
 

That's actually my photo, from 2009 - I just cropped it to make it look nice. I don't own many photos from the 70s, but I did scrounge up some scans of photos from an early (90s) Doo Dah Parade:

 

 

Ahhh,  the good old days, when the Little Ol’ Lady from Pasadena had her choice of Bullocks, I. Magnin, Robinsons, Buffums, the May Company, and the Broadway.  Now Macy’s has bought out everyone and there is no more choice or competition.  Snifff!  ☹️
 

The Huntington Sheraton has been rebuilt to current seismic codes and is now the lovely Langham.  The junior suites on the club floor have great views of the gardens, and my friends stay there on their annual visit to LA.

IMHO the best thing to do in the greater LA area is to visit the Huntington Library and Gardens.  My perfect day (after an overnight at the Langham) is to spend the the morning in the Huntington gardens in the cool part of the day.  The new Chinese Garden is one of the largest in the world outside of China, and if you haven’t been to the Huntington in recent years it is well worth a return.  Next meander through the Japanese Garden, and don’t miss the bonsai exhibit in the upper levels.  Wander through the Rose Garden and then have tea in the lovely tea room.  In the afternoon when temperatures are higher visit the library and the three art museums.  There is so much variety at the Huntington!  There is something for everyone.

https://www.huntington.org/visit

It always surprises me that so many people head straight to Beverly Hills for their pre-Crystal cruise stay.  Yes, there are fine hotels, restaurants, and high end shopping there, but they don’t really set LA apart from what one could find elsewhere.  I would rather have an experience that is unique to LA.

8 minutes ago, SusieQft said:

We did eat at a Magic Pan several times, which at the time was really a special treat.  It was at a distance from Pasadena, I think in Hollywood.  I was aware of the Hamburger Hamlet on Lake (well south of Bullocks IIRC), but for some reason I never ate there.

I always enjoyed the Magic Pan.  There was one in the mall in Arcadia, which I visited several times.

36 minutes ago, drib said:

 

Were you a Cal Tech Rose Bowl prankster? Respect.

 

So, Pasadena, the false address for JPL - it's in La Canada where I lived for a few years in the 80s, and it always annoyed us when reporters say that JPL is in Pasadena. Anyway, here's some oldies but goodies from Pasadena.

 

1. The Chronicle, on Lake, was a nice restaurant where I took a girl once for a first date (kind of). She ordered the halibut, which was the least expensive item on the menu, so I married her.

 

2. In the same general area was Monty's steakhouse.

 

Why is it they still haven't finished the freeway running through there???

 

3. The kids loved the Hot Dog Building company in the old town area. I think there was a very pretty restaurant there made from an old church, but I can't recall the name. Also on Green Street, I remember a short-lived crepe restaurant. but not the name.

 

4. On Allen Street, the original Topps Char-broiled - there was a second one at Colorado and Rosemead, I think. The original was a dive, but the hamburgers were great, as were the fried onion rings - reminiscent of Don's Drive-in in Livingston, NJ, if you know that one.

 

5. Wing Wah (no relation to Doo Dah, which was an alternative to the Tournament of Roses parade) on Colorado Blvd, near Sierra Madre, I think. Excellent hot and sour soup.

 

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

I was a freshman at Caltech the first year they admitted women as undergrads.  The Rose Bowl prank did not occur while I was on campus, but we had our share of pranks.

One of the students left campus for a week to visit his girlfriend.  We decided to make his room disappear while he was gone.  I sprinkled computer dots from punch cards (remember those? - that dates me!) among all his clothes in his dresser.  We then completely filled his room with wadded up rolls of computer paper from floor to ceiling.  We stuffed it into the room through the transom, so we could get up to the ceiling.  We plastered over his door and painted the new wall to match the rest of the “alley”, so that he could not find his room.  A light fixture was moved to where his door used to be.  When the student returned to campus, we pretended not to know him. He found an axe and started hacking away at where his door used to be.  We called security to report a vandal.  Security came and hauled him away.

The Chronicle and Monte’s Steakhouse weren’t in my budget, so I never visited them.

Our favorite burger place was Tommy’s.  The preferred plan was to visit the original location on Rampart at 2:00 or 3:00 AM and have a chili cheeseburger - single for me, double for the guys.  If Rampart was too far, there was one in Eagle Rock.  (These days there is one on Hill in Pasadena, so it is an easy walk from campus.)

Our favorite sandwich shop was Stottlemeyer’s on Colorado. All the sandwiches were named after famous people, and they were the most innovative and the best tasting sandwiches I have ever had.

The 710 freeway was never extended to Pasadena, because South Pasadena successfully fought it.for years.  It would cut the small town in half, and completely destroy the ambiance.  I used to live in South Pasadena and always voted against the freeway extension, so you can blame me if you like.

Joe Coulombe founded Pronto Markets in South Pasadena.  He later started Trader Joe’s in Pasadena on Arroyo and I visited it frequently.  Eventually the Pronto Markets also became Trader Joe’s.  Now Trader Joe’s is nationwide.

I had a summer job at JPL and much later worked programs with them.  It is odd that you have to drive through La Canada to get to JPL in Pasadena.  Since Caltech runs JPL for NASA, perhaps that influenced the gerrymandering.

2 hours ago, drib said:

LA's best old restaurants:

• The Pantry. There would be a line starting for breakfast at 6am.
• Blairs. Also downtown, near Broadway Plaza, back when there was a Broadway store.*
• Should have been number one with a bullet, but Lawry's California Center. It was Awesome - all kinds of variety in beautiful gardens, close to downtown, and they sold spice too.
• Phillipe's for French Dip. If you worked downtown, you could be a hero and get orders for Phillipes from your co-workers. Coffee there was just five cents until a few years ago.
• Scandia - beautiful A-frame building on Sunset, serving Scandinavian food. Upscale. What's not to love?

====

Lawry’s California Center was so special.  It was such a lovely venue for dining in the gardens for lunch, brunch, or dinner.  If you timed it right, you could catch a Mariachi band!  Today no other venue quite compares - at least at that price point.

Hamburger Hamlet in Pasadena was always a nice splurge while I was in college.

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I am starting July with a sunset rather than a sunrise.  It was taken July 17, 2012 on Blount Small Ship Adventures Grande Caribe in Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts:

 

 

Roy

When I was 5 years old, I sailed to Cuttyhunk with my grandfather on his small motor boat.  There were no structures visible at our landing spot.  We had a nice picnic.  Great memories!  Thanks for posting, Roy!

It is a good sign that you are back home so soon!  Take it easy and get some good rest.

Rhonda

All the best to you, Roy.  Hope you have a full and speedy recovery.

Rhonda

I never noticed the feature before, but I just gave it a try.  It is working fine on my iPad using Safari.  It is a nice feature!

What browsers / devices have the issue?

This concerns me since my booked cruise is on Scenic 2. I have to give the balance by the end of this month even though my cruise is not until 2020, to get a small early booking discount. I am not sure what to do. I wish Scenic would post updates on their website. The last update was in February, 2018. It's hard to know what's going on!

We had a similar situation, and our booked voyage on the Eclipse 2 is earlier than yours. As the early payment deadline approached, we looked at the situation the following way. If we were to cancel, we would forfeit the deposit unless we transferred the deposit to another itinerary on an ocean or river itinerary within a short period of time. Since we prefer our booked itinerary far more than the alternatives, we decided to stay the course, and we made final payment. We think that the chances that the Eclipse 2 will launch on time are remote, and we think that our voyage most likely will be canceled eventually. If it is canceled, we expect to be offered a full refund and we expect our TA to receive full commission. (Our TA has done a lot of work for us in trying to get answers from Scenic on various questions, and this is an important consideration for us.) On the outside chance that there is financial default, our insurance will reimburse us. Thus we have made full payment for a voyage that will most likely be eventually canceled. It is far better than losing the significant non-refundable deposit.

If Scenic has another itinerary on an existing vessel, such as a river boat, that interests you, you might consider making the switch. However, I believe you are only allowed to switch the deposit one time before forfeiting it, so you need to be sure about your commitment to the itinerary before making the switch. The other alternatives are to forfeit the deposit or make full payment (possibly forego the early payment discount if it is small) and hope for the best.

The Uljanik shipyard is still showing Eclipse 2 on their schedule, but it has not yet been assigned a Hull No., so work has not started. Their schedule shows a delivery date of June 2020 for Eclipse 2 and December 2018 for the first Eclipse, which is still in their shipyard.

https://new-ships.com/Yard-45595-uljanikshipyardpula.html

Delivery dates are in last column. (Note that I can view the last column on my PC, but not my iPad.)

At this point it is unlikely that Scenic will comment on the status of Eclipse 2, since they still have a contract with Uljanik and have not secured an alternate shipyard. My guess is that Scenic is likely working on a backup plan.

I am closely monitoring the situation and will step up my questions to Scenic sometime before booking airfare. By then Scenic should have a much clearer picture of the status of the early Scenic 2 voyages.

Which cruise line?

We will be on the Crystal Serenity, which will have a maximum of 900 guests. Normally Crystal will allow independent guests to leave as early as they desire, but the wrinkle in this case is that there is a different tender destination for independent guests as opposed to those on a ship’s excursion.

We will be on the only cruise ship in port in Santorini and plan on taking a private tour. Our guide is suggesting that we try to be on one of the first tenders in order to avoid a long line for the cable car. My understanding is that all tenders are local, not the ship’s tenders. It appears that the ship’s excursions will all tender to Athinios where people will board coaches for their excursions. Independent guests will be tendered to Fira in order to take the cable car to Fira. Typically will priority be given to the ship’s excursions such that all tenders will go to Athinios to transport passengers for the ships’ excursions before switching to service those traveling independently to Fira? If so, does this mean it is impossible to get an early start on a private tour?

Here are some news articles on the status at the shipyard:

https://www.marketscreener.com/ULJANIK-DD-20702349/news/Uljanik-dd-Striking-Croatian-shipyard-workers-take-protest-to-Zagreb-27167390/

https://glashrvatske.hrt.hr/en/news/economy/workers-at-uljanik-and-3rd-of-may-shipyards-go-on-strike/

For interest:

 

Quark has cancelled upcoming cruises on their newest ship, again due to it not being ready ontime. It appears they are only refunding cruise fare; not

airfare/hotel costs. No mention of TA commissions or future cruise coupon.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2671412

 

Would be interesting to hear if it is the same shipyard.

According to the shipyard's order book, Scenic Eclipse and Scenic Eclipse 2 are the only cruise ships that the shipyard has on order:

https://new-ships.com/Yard-45595-uljanikshipyardpula.html

Roland4,

 

If you are on the 11 night trip on the Mozart, that is perhaps the last time for Mozart to go down the Danube as far as the Iron Gates. I was originally booked for that trip in October, but it then looked like they might change the itinerary.

 

If you have a chance to post about these experiences on this board, I am interested!

 

Catherine

We did both the eastern Danube and central Danube on B2Bs. Both itineraries were great, but overall My preference would be for the 11 day eastern Danube itinerary. There were fewer tourists in the ports on that leg, and it was a more natural and enjoyable experience. It is disappointing that Crystal is eliminating the “road less traveled”.