History&Wine

There are three posted pages of revisions which cover all the dates.

March 6 is another day in Rio. March 7 and 8 are both sea days. These three days are the same on the original itinerary and all four of the proposed changes. Dwight

Here are the proposed changes…

Hi Rob! I will post the survey options on a new thread I have started. Cheers, Dwight

The 2025 World Cruise will almost certainly have many itinerary changes due to the continued unrest in the Middle East. It looks like the plan is to stick with the initial schedule through Carnival in Rio. After that…Crystal has presented four options to those booked on the 2025 WC. All options are heavy in Europe, with two options emphasizing Northern Europe and two options emphasizing the Mediterranean. Deadline on return of the surveys is May 5. It looks like results will not be published. 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.

I realize this thread is about Symphony. I wonder where the Australian reviews of Serenity are. We picked up a bunch…I counted 25…TAs in Sydney for a multi day stay, a similar number in Melbourne and a lesser number in Adelaide.

I’m well. Not a lot to report as I have spent time in ports walking. The fruits at the market in Adelaide are huge as the Australian harvest has just come in. Calm and sunny today, our last sea day as we cross the Great Australian Bight. Seasack is doing a great job posting Reflections and menus!

Why not compare more similar rooms? The ocean terrace suite is much nicer than the solo outside cabin on Crystal.

Scenes from Hobbiton. Note the scale of the furnishings

My journal entry from the last two stops in New Zealand: Tauranga is the largest city on the Bay of Plenty and the fifth largest city in New Zealand. It is the largest port in all of New Zealand. I did a quick tour of the docking area and decided to hike the peak of the nearby peninsula, Mauro. This was a strenuous hike of about 95 minutes but yielded great views of the bay, beach and city. I stopped several times to view sheep as they crossed the trail. In the afternoon we world cruisers boarded buses for a trip to Hobbiton. This is where the movie Lord of the Rings was filmed. Our excellent guide pointed out scenes from the movies and trivia. New since my last visit here: two Hobbit houses have been expanded to very detailed seven room Hobbit cottages, complete with working fireplaces and furniture with all the items necessary for a Hobbit to live comfortably. Of course, the houses are not tall friendly, so I had to watch my step…or rather my head. Our next stop was on the South Island, Picton. Since the harbor was shallow, we had to anchor and tender in to the town. This is a quintessential small tourist town dotted with cafes and shops nestled in the hills so prevalent in New Zealand. Nearby is the famous Marlborough wine region, but I judged the distance too far to risk a trip. Why so many hills/mountains in New Zealand? The country is situated on the boundary of two major tectonic plates. As these plates collide, rocks and earth are moved up, creating hills and mountains. New Zealand also has a history of volcanic eruptions. The Oruanui eruption of the Taupo volcano is the largest known eruption in the world in the last 70,000 years. It occurred around 26,500 years ago and deposited 1,200 cubic km of material. By comparison, the Mt. St. Helen eruption in 1980 deposited less than 3 cubic km of material. The good news for New Zealand is that the rich volcanic soil helps New Zealand to bring a tree to timber maturity in 25 years. The same tree normally would take 65 years to reach maturity in Canada. We have two days at sea….luxurious 25 hour days….before our next port in Sydney, Australia.

I know of three world cruisers who plan to leave the ship and return home from Singapore. They do not want to participate in the new itinerary to Africa. No compensation from Crystal. I would think Crystal would at least be required to refund port charges.

I am currently onboard Serenity. Perfectly happy with the “basic” Internet. If someone wants to make zoom calls or play Fortnight or whatever…I have no problem with Crystal charging more. interesting that no one has mentioned charges for laundry, Vintage Room, spa massages, shore excursions, etc. No line is ALL inclusive….

I like to visit a supermarket in new cities to see how the locals live. One can tell based on the space allocated to each item. I also look at prices. I can always find a supermarket or grocery, but not always a McDonalds. But I remember Forbes used to have a Big Mac index to show a different take on the cost of living around the world. @ijkh No, I wasn’t on the Mt. Cook adventure. As of now, no overland planned on this cruise. Thanks to all for the kind comments! Dwight

World Cruise continues!

Vanuatu…. I did later hear from an Aussie who said she had a great time snorkeling and swimming on a private tour.

Vanuatu. Booked a ship tour and it was once again a disappointment. Scheduled for four hours, it was less than two. We were shown a cacao bean pod and various finished chocolate products. Tasting followed. No explanation of what happens in between, no demonstration. Factory (which appeared to be just a few tanks) was not operating. Of course, the shop offering products was open. Driver was more interested in selling side trips than giving a tour. Dwight

The 2026 world cruise is out. I started a new thread.

The left column of benefits reads: Business class airfare allowance or credit. $1500 as you wish shipboard credit Private transfers Luggage Valet

135 nights, prices from $84,000 per person.

I just realized I forgot about ….the meeting that I set up!! Sorry! Got caught up in pickle ball…not that that is a good excuse. Dwight

Are you talking about Royal Caribbean?? That would be a totally different experience from Crystal. A better comparison to RC would be Princess or perhaps Celebrity.

Recommended. We just walked in last night. This obviously matters with a full ship. I very much doubt reservations will be needed on any night of this segment.

I dined at Tastes tonight. With only 390 on board there were more empty tables than those dining. Although Tastes is a reservation restaurant as Keith mentioned I doubt that will be needed on this segment. Tastes was quite busy on the first leg. The chimichurri tonight was excellent. Dwight

Port side Julia. The solo gathering if they have one is generally at 5:00 Starboard. That’s why I choose 4:30 and Port side.