ryndam

15 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Today a champagne brunch at a Ritz Carlton with the music “What a wonderful World”. It reminded us how the brunch at the old Crystal used to be…

 

Very nice, Ivi. Thank you for posting. I'm guessing that this feast was held in a non-US property, or a special/private function. Too many guests handling food with their hands, no serving utensils, no sneeze guards. Would never pass US health regulators.

Appreciate the thought. It is a nice spread, none-the-less.

Rob

14 minutes ago, ivyleaguegent said:

In reviewing the Reflections, kindly posted by Seasack, it appears that all of the ballroom dancing is in the Palm Court, and not in the Stardust lounge as in Crystal’s prior incarnation.

We were onboard Serenity for 30+ days earlier this year. Ballroom dancing was scheduled both pre-dinner and post-show in the Palm Court, except when weather conditions necessitated a safety move to a more stable, lower deck location (either Stardust or Atrium/Cove). We would often frequent the Palm Court after the show to listen to the duo playing there. With very rare exceptions, there were generally more dance hosts, servers and staff in the Palm Court post-show than ballroom dancers. This dynamic may change, depending on the demographics and interests of the pax on any particular sailing.

Rob

This is the menu from January 2024. We enjoyed both tortellini preparations. If they are still on the menu, they can be ordered as the main course, rather than the smaller starter-sized portion.

We were underwhelmed with the balance of the menu. We very much enjoyed all other dinner venues.

Rob

Osteria.pdf

2 minutes ago, ctjon said:

Can't remember and don't want to do a search but who bought the Crystal river ships and I wonder how they are doing.

This was just posted on this thread:

We're just enjoying the party as long as it lasts. When we walked off Symphony in Singapore in February 2020, we never expected that we would  ever be back onboard any Crystal ship ever again. Glad to have sailed again since December 2023. Glad we were made financially whole through this entire 4-year+ drama. We'll ride the Crystal waves till the ships, whether they be existing, proposed, repurposed, new or imagined, ain't no more.  🛳️🚢🚢🛳️

Rob

11 minutes ago, dimundsR said:

I was just on Symphony and I noticed that when the gang plank was open for excursions, it would get very chilly as the wind blew in and up through each floor. This was especially evident when we were in Casablanca and the wind blew in until 11 PM.

And the reverse is true when the ships sail in warmer climates. Corridors and stairways receive an abundance of unconditioned, hot and humid outside air until all shell openings are closed and the ship is again underway.

Rob

Always appreciate your perspective, Vince. Thank you.

Rob

8 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

One observation and I can't say this is fact but just something I have picked up in speaking with fellow travelers and reading articles.  My sense (OK some speculation) is for a myriad of reasons many are booking later these days.  Again, this is JMO so yes I am speculating a bit but it seems like with each passing day I hear from someone who says, "I just booked a cruise for June, July, August, September of this year on Crystal.

 

Keith

We fall into your category-of-speculation. We're just not booking anything more than 6-12 months (max.) in advance. Most of 2025, and certainly 2026 travel opportunities, are not even on our radar, for any destination, venue or operator.

As an aside, we're waiting to see what the revised 2025 WC itinerary looks like, after Rio. Holding off on plans for early 2025, depending on the revised itinerary.

Rob

Milestone OBC update:

After almost a month of back-and-forth communication between our TA and the appropriate Crystal representative(s), our milestone OBC's have finally been applied to our upcoming cruise later this year. NC acknowledged our status from OC and the OBC's are now posted to our invoice/account.

Rob

1 hour ago, ivyleaguegent said:

Good evening,

 

I saw a recent post from a Symphony passenger that the pool was too cold, the hot tubs too hot, and most of the jets in the hot tubs were inoperable.  Would someone who is, or has recently been, on the Serenity comment on the state of the pool and hot tubs.

 

Thank you.

On Serenity January & February this year. Pool water is salt water, not heated from whatever body of water sailing. Pool temp will approximate the temp of the surrounding sea water.

No issues with the temperature of the water or the functionality of either of the two hot tubs.

Rob

The Serenity is a true Panamax vessel. And a very tight fit. These photos are from our transit in January 2024.

Rob

Re: pax count. Friends currently onboard guesstimate 250+/- pax. Additional pax are scheduled to leave the ship in Cape Town. Their guess is about 200-225 +/- after Cape Town.

Rob

2 hours ago, TRIPACIAN said:

Are you booked on the cruise?

Not booked with the current itinerary. Will evaluate once a revised itinerary post-Rio is confirmed and becomes available for bookings.

Rob

1 hour ago, TRIPACIAN said:

None of the options is appealing to me, we would fly home from Rio.

And this is where the oft-repeated "choice is good" comes in. We find every alternative routing opportunity after Rio more appealing than the currently scheduled itinerary. We have no interest in the circle-South America cruise from FL or LA to Rio. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.

Rob

9 hours ago, History&Wine said:

In my opinion all four options are better than the original itinerary. In any case, I give Crystal credit for asking for feedback…something that was not done for those of us on the 2024 World Cruise. 

Thank you, Dwight. We agree with your assessment, too. My only other observation would be to consider a stop in FL or NYC or San Juan or somewhere else on the US East Coast, prior to the eastbound TA crossing. Hopefully a decision will be announced sooner, rather than later.

Rob

I do not know what the current protocol may be for late arriving tours, but in addition what May B has noted about a limited food service in the Crystal Cove, in the past there would be an assortment of sandwiches, soup, fruits and cheeses awaiting us in our cabin when we returned from late arriving Crystal-sponsored tours. We never requested that unsolicited room service, it was just there upon our return.

Rob

🤪🥴🤩😂🤣

We are sailing with unexpected $$ in our account. No idea that the EI was not in concert with additional accrued milestone benefits fare reductions. The appropriate Crystal representative responded quickly and clearly.

Final point to my initial post, and subsequent follow-up post: milestone benefit fare reductions cannot be deducted from the fare if the fare was already reduced by use of the EI certificate, or any other marketing fare promotion/reduction.

Peace. Out. See y’all onboard. 😁

Rob

I saw this earlier on another feed. Gloria is now 80 years young. She certainly "can never say goodbye"....

Rob

We are pleased with the continued updates to the Crystal website. The daily listing of casual vs. formal/optional suggested evening attire in My Account is a very helpful advance planning tool.

The advance listings of guest entertainers and special interest lecturers is also much appreciated. I am not familiar with any other cruise line that offers this type of advance information to its guests.

Rob

Additional Update:

I received this correspondence from the Manager, Crystal Guest Relations. It appears as though we can redeem our accrued milestone credits for OBC, but not as a fare reduction. The conversation with our TA last week now makes more sense.  Rob

"Thank you for your email inquiry. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify this for you. You have redeemed your Exceptional Initiative certificate for this booking which does not allow for any other redemptions. I have included the below from our brochure and have attached the Terms and Conditions for your reference.

Please let me know if you have any further questions,

COMBINABILITY
Crystal Society rewards may not apply to certain promotional offers. Crystal reserves the
right to exclude or limit combinability with the benefits or rewards of other marketing
partnerships or promotional offers not specified herein. More than one fare reduction
Milestone may not be redeemed on a single voyage segment. Exceptional Initiative sub
credits are considered a fare reduction credit. An exceptional Initiative sub credit is
combinable with a milestone reward redemption, excluding a fare reduction milestone."

14 hours ago, bayonejoe said:

We are booked for the 2025 WC. Just received a Crystal email with a survey

giving us 4 options for rerouting the WC by passing the canal.

stating that this will be a possibility.

Somehow ,I think that this is a probiiity.

If it is not an imposition, is there a way that you can cut-and-paste and post the survey options?

We looked at this WC and the current itinerary did not hold much interest for us. A modified itinerary may sway our decision. Thank you!

Rob

9 minutes ago, ClefsDor said:

Yes it does, and this will be my 11th Crystal cruise - which they acknowledge. I can understand that if it was my 12th (or more) then they would have no record. The issue wasn't that but that I just hadn't sailed on new Crystal yet. 

Thank you for the update. As with our current Society Benefit conundrum (OBC vs. fare reduction), this may need to be escalated to a different set of decision-makers at Crystal. It is a frustrating, and seemingly inconsistent/illogical application of the written Society Benefits documents.

Please continue to let us know how this works out. As will we on this thread. Thanks again for the clarification.

Rob

8 minutes ago, ClefsDor said:

After a long hiatus from Crystal we are looking at a cruise next year. Decided to apply my 10th milestone for a one category upgrade. The cruise is for 15 days and the milestone upgrade is for 12 days. Asked my TA if we could just pay the extra for the additional 3 nights. According to the supervisor she spoke to the milestones don't apply at all if you haven't done a sailing on New Crystal! Not sure if that is noted anywhere in the fine print!

Not necessarily so. But here’s the proof required. If this will be your 11th cruise on Crystal, and you haven’t sailed on any Crystal voyages since the A&K acquisition, then this milestone upgrade should be applicable. Crystal knows you have cruised 10 times in the past and want to use your milestone on this, your 11th Crystal cruise.
 

If this will be your 12th or 13th or 14th cruise with Crystal, they have no records if you actually used that 10th cruise milestone already. Hence the request was declined.

Make sense?

Rob

2 minutes ago, May B said:

Frustrating! 

Yes it is. The issue has been escalated to additional decision-makers at Crystal. I will update my post here once either I or our TA receive any further clarification.

Rob

8 hours ago, cruising5253 said:

I was told today by a Crystal agent that luggage tags are only available at the port.

You have confirmed my message in post #2 above. Thank you for validating that the protocol remains valid.

Rob