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I just thought of another question! Might seem trivial, but it's important to me: how do they do with organizing a spontaneous group table at dinner? I recall when Crystal first went from fixed dining to open seating, they struggled with the concept of seating a spontaneous group table. Other cruise lines I'd been on that had been doing open seating forever, such as Regent and Oceania, seemed to have this down to a science: if you tell the Maitre'd that you want to sit at a group table, they would seat you at a large table, serve you beverages, and as others arrived and said the same, they would seat them with you until the table was full. If it took longer than 10-15 minutes to fill the table, they would "close it off" and start the dinner service with whomever was there. When I first cruised Crystal many years ago, they had just changed from fixed seat dining to open seating. But they couldn't seem to get the concept of these group tables. When we asked the Maitre'd, he seemed confused by it. One time they seated us at a large table, then never brought anyone else over and started our dinner service immediately. Another time they did bring others over, but continued to bring others over even after our dinner service had started, making the timing of service awkward. On subsequent cruises they did seem to have this worked out, and all went perfectly. But of course this is a new line, and while many crew returned, I don't know about the dining staff and am just curious if this is still working well. 🙂

Would love to see any photos of a Single Guest Room! Also, curious what if any differences there are between the SGR and a Double Guest Room. The photos on their website look identical, but maybe there are some minor differences? And of course, tell us what the new public space is like where the casino used to be. 🙂

That is a SERIOUS bargain! 7 days on a Crystal ship for only $2000 in your own single cabin? WOWZA! Now I wish I could do it! Unfortunately I can't...I will have just returned from French Polynesia. But if I could, I'd jump on that in a heartbeat!

That's a good deal...and by then the ship will have been in FP for nearly two years, so they should have their immersion well in hand. 🙂

It appears both of you missed my point entirely. Yes of course Crystal and other cruise lines read the boards. I assume neither of you believe that Keith is the ONLY way that Crystal gets feedback from passengers, or from Cruise Critic, right? I also assume you realize Keith is not OUR only source of information about Crystal. We have Crystal itself, we have our TAs, we have other passengers. AND we have Keith. How is that a bad thing? He does seem to have insight into their thinking that we probably wouldn't get from them directly, and he often shares things with us that the cruise line might not. He doesn't work for them, so he can speak more freely. It's unfortunate you don't recognize the value in that. But this is the exact kind of comment directed towards Keith I was referring to. At least he's always a good sport about it! He doesn't need me to fight his battles...I just didn't appreciate having what was meant to be compliment to Keith, misconstrued. 😏

Keith, I know you catch a lot of flak from some members in here about your close ties with Crystal execs, but I for one am super happy that we have someone to talk to who can bring the thoughts, suggestions, complaints and experiences of the passengers directly to those who need to know. I'm sure many cruise lines monitor what goes on here on Cruise Critic, but that's not the same thing as having an actual cruiser whom we can talk to directly, and who can take the pulse of the conversations in here and consolidate and summarize it for management. We're lucky to have you. I don't know of another "Keith" on any of the other cruise lines I have sailed. (There may be some, but I don't know them!) 😉

Not until November 2024! WAAAH! 😭 Wish I could go sooner, but other cruises and life plans don't allow it. I'll be on the Rome-Venice itinerary. Do let me know if Russ will be aboard!

While I agree with your comments about how poorly Crystal handled this change, I have to disagree with your speculation that this is a financial decision based on Crystal not wanting to spend the money to guarantee the transit. This is NOT an appropriate time for any cruise ship or pleasure craft to be attempting a transit. My sailing friends have all postponed their transits until things change down there. BINGO! Excellently stated, on all accounts.

Russ is the BEST! Of all the cruises I've been on, he's my favorite CD. I hope he sticks around so he's still on Symphony when I cruise next year.

I'm in total agreement with you that this is very bad form for any cruise line. That much of a change should absolutely qualify for a full refund. Just like the airlines have rules in place that if a flight changes beyond a certain threshold they will issue a full refund, cruises should offer the same. My booked Crystal cruise is visiting a few ports that matter to me - places I went with my recently-passed mother, where I promised her I would spread some of her ashes. I could deal with some port changes, but if they changed the entire itinerary such that I wouldn't be stopping in ANY of the places we visited together, then there would be no reason for me to take that cruise. So I do relate to your predicament. I'm willing to give Crystal quite a bit of leeway as they are essentially a new cruise line, dealing with the expected start-up and growing pains. But THIS is unacceptable. I sincerely hope your TA is able to work his magic and get you the full refund. Keep us posted.

Well, I do admit my cabin on my floating home doesn't have a veranda...but we do have the cockpit for stargazing! 😉 Although I admit the food probably doesn't match up to either the PG or Windstar. Plus, I have to cook it myself. The service STINKS! 😝

Yes, exactly...which is why I went ahead and booked the PG for November, rather than waiting until January to book the Star Breeze. I don't get to cruise often enough to take a chance on something that is yet to be known. 😉 But I do plan on going back to FP, and if the Star Breeze turns out to be as fab as the PG for less money, then I will definitely consider it! I'll be looking forward to your detailed reports, Jerry. 🙂 Interesting! Well, I'll also be eager to hear your review too. I hope you'll have a chance to see both cabins, so you can report back which one you like better. As for the nautical look...yeah, I can understand that. I live on a sailboat, tho, so I get my fill of the nautical look every day. 😉

Yeah, as others pointed out, this is not Crystal's fault. Severe drought conditions are causing all kinds of problems in the Panama Canal. Many cruise lines are changing their itineraries. As some of you know, we live on our sailboat in Mexico, and every season we have friends who sail down to Panama and transit the canal. This season many of our friends are rethinking their plans, due to all the chaos down there.

I went through this whole decision process myself before I booked my upcoming PG cruise. In the end I went with PG, mainly because I really want total immersion in French Polynesia, which I know PG does well (having done two PG cruises in the past). I know Windstar is planning on leaving the Star Breeze in FP full time, but that's a brand new thing and I don't know how much the ship, and the cruise experience, will be modified so as to reflect total immersion in FP. I've been on Windstar cruises and they were wonderful, but I did not find them to be at the same level of luxury as PG. The food wasn't nearly as good, although it was fine, certainly better than most mass-market cruise lines - just not to PG standards. The service was friendly, but not at the incredible levels I remember from PG (and recent reviews indicate PG's service is still awesome). The decor was basic - very nautical, whereas the PG is rich with Polynesian colors, artwork, and decor. All that being said, I was NOT on Star Breeze...I was on their smaller sailing vessels. Maybe Star Breeze will up the luxury factor from Windstar's other ships. It did used to be a Seabourn ship, after all. 🙂 So take my review of Windstar with a grain of salt, as it was not on this particular ship. I will say that I also am skeptical about the cabins on Star Breeze - I understand that when they refurbished the ship in 2020, they basically cut it in half and added a bunch of new cabins. But they didn't do anything to refresh the old ones, which haven't been refurbed since 2015. So you have to be very careful to pick one of the new cabins (if you can get one). Also, Star Breeze does NOT have an onboard scuba diving program, which is crucial to me as the diving is one of the main reasons I go to FP. It's so convenient to be able to dive from a zodiac that departs right from the marine deck at the stern of the PG. I assume Star Breeze will offer scuba diving excursions, but it'll be using an outside dive op. In the end, I decided I'd rather go with a known product than a new itinerary on a repurposed ship. Of course none of these issues may be important to you, and of course price matters, so it's good we have choices! 🙂

I've done private scuba diving tours on St. Barts. We also did a private catamaran sail on St. Barts once - one of the best tours in the Caribbean I've ever done! It was a one-man operation - he was the captain, deck hand, galley wench and butler all in one. 😉 He sailed us to a tiny cove, handling all the sails himself, dropped anchor, served us a fabulous lunch, and sailed us back. This was about 10 years ago...I wonder if he's still out there? Anyway...back to the topic...I do hope Crystal does a better job of handling port changes in the future, and that this is just a kink to be worked out.

Wow! Thanks for doing the research! That explains everything, including my own propensity for running counter-clockwise. I will wonder no more. 🙂

Hmmm...wondering if your TA was notified? My upcoming Paul Gauguin cruise just went through a major port change due to a large cruise ship coming into one of the tiny islands on the same day, so almost our entire itinerary was shifted to avoid this. I received no notice directly from PG, but I did get an email from my TA, who'd received a communication from PG. I do find it odd that it seems NOBODY'S TA communicated these Crystal port changes, which leads me to believe Crystal didn't notify the TAs. This is definitely something that needs to be fixed, as many cruisers book private tours that will need to be cancelled/rescheduled if the itinerary changes.

GREAT! I will admit that it can be jarring when I'm running and breathing hard, and I have to pass through a cloud of cigarette smoke. Cough cough hack hack! I've noticed they are always counter-clockwise too! And here's something funny - we are currently spending a month in a city where the best running is around a beautiful park with a dirt track circling it, each lap around the park is one mile. When we got here a couple weeks ago, I headed to that park, found the track and...turned right, which is counter-clockwise around the park, without even thinking about it. I ran that way every morning for several days, until one day I decided to reverse direction. It FELT WEIRD! So now I'm back to counter-clockwise. WHY IS THIS???? 😳

Thank you for this very detailed review! I've been following reports from this first cruise, here and elsewhere, and I've seen nothing but absolutely rave reviews. I'm sure many of us have been watching and reading, hoping to see that Crystal really is *back* in this new form. It certainly sounds like it is! Your descriptions of the dining, entertainment, and service sound truly fabulous. The few negatives you mentioned are nothing that concern me. Most of them are, as you noted, minor annoyances, and cabin-specific, and many of them are likely to be kinks that will be worked out over time. The ones that will remain, such as funky showers and less-than-optimal closet/drawer situations, are not things that are all that important to me. I actually love rain shower heads myself. 🙂 And I expect the boarding situation will smooth out over time. I know Crystal reads this board, and will be making notes of all of the feedback. I'm glad you had a wonderful cruise! It was definitely brave of you to be willing to chance the inaugural cruise, knowing that there likely would be kinks. On the other hand, I'll bet the energy you felt just from being on that first cruise was an experience like no other! I wish I could be on Symphony's inaugural (I've only sailed on Symphony) but my travel schedule doesn't permit a Crystal cruise until next November.

Okay, I think you just busted (see what I did there) through my grouchy mood. 😂😂😂 Thank you!

As a runner, I can relate to all of the issues stated here. Including wanting to stay out of the sun! But I find it more challenging to keep up my pace if I keep changing directions, so I'll just slather on the sunscreen and go with the flow. The part I REALLY struggle with are groups of people who will walk four or five abreast, taking up the entire space, not even making enough room for one little 63-yr-old not-very-fast runner lady who would like to at least keep up my admittedly slow pace. I can't count the number of times I have come up behind a group of walkers on a promenade, politely asked them to allow me to pass them, been grumbled at for the NERVE of disrupting their group, then come up behind them AGAIN on my next lap and have to do it all over again, and get the SAME reaction! And then again. And again. I mean, how many times do I need to ask them to allow me to pass before it dawns on them that I'm probably going to come up behind them yet again and they might want to just, y'know, leave room for me? 😝 Okay, rant over. 😉

How fun would that be? 😀 Hey, I can reach out to Paul & Kim...maybe they'd consider doing it too. They still go on cruises. It would be like getting the old band back together! ❤️

SONDRA! So wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for the kind words about my Mom. We're having her Memorial service on September 9. And yes, that Mothers Day in Les Beaux was one of the highlights of that cruise. I was going through photos the other day and came across one of Mom accepting those flowers I had delivered to her at that gorgeous restaurant in Les Beaux during our lunch together, and the look on her face...oh boy. I fell apart just seeing the joy. She was SO surprised, and thrilled! Our private tours on that cruise were truly some of the best tours I've ever taken on any cruise. I feel like I've been chasing that whole experience ever since, and have never quite matched it. 🙂 Hmm...have you thought about booking a cruise on Symphony next year? Like maybe...Rome to Venice on Nov. 4 2024? 😁😁😁

I"m thinking not. 😉 I haven't done a Regent cruise since they started including tours, and I've heard too many horror stories about their included tours. And if you have to pay $150 for a *better* tour just to avoid a sub-par tour, then what's the value of having included tours? On my very first Regent cruise (Med) we had a group of 12 people, and we did nearly all our private tours together in some combination too! And I still keep in touch with several of them, all these years later. 🙂

Definitely not fishing line! No fishing allowed there. I went and looked at the video, and I believe it's some kind of plant.