History&Wine

I'm guessing your 20 days is Dec 16 (7 days) plus Dec 23 (13 days) ? I get 9200 for the Verandah room and with the B2B discount this should be the $9100 you were quoted. The only thing I can think of is the fares are "from" a certain price. I hope Crystal isn't charging more for a waitlisted rooms. In any case..see you on the world cruise!

Keith makes some excellent points. It is worth checking options. When booking my flight to Miami for the World cruise next year I thought there was little need to arrive a day early since the flight was short and domestic. But the flight schedules were awful. So I checked a day early. Better flight options since I could arrive late. And I found I could pay for a hotel near the airport as well as the flight for LESS than the price of the flight alone the day of departure. In addition, I could use miles the day before while there was no option for miles the day of departure. Go figure indeed! Dwight

I highly recommend you book through your TA.

Keith, thanks for the extensive review. I note you are up early as usual on a Saturday morning. I trust your ankle is healing well. You mentioned Waterside was usually closed for lunch. Is this because your cruises were port intensive? Is Waterside open for lunch on sea days and closed on port days? Or has Crystal gone to those theme buffets on sea days? Dwight

@BWIVince Excellent post.

I am on that segment and the WC. I'm not concerned. Serenity has to cross the canal on that cruise or there is a domino effect for every cruise after MIA-SAN. Now...we might drop a port if the crossing is really backed up, but we must transit the canal. The cruises of December 2 and 13 can be rejiggered to exclude the canal and still proceed with succeeding cruises.

Changes are some times required but Crystal need to tighten this up. Take a look at the World Cruise segment starting May 14, 2024: "A true Mediterranean immersion, this voyage starts in Athens and travels to an incredible array of islands and cities alike. Heading south, the first stop is the ancient walled town of Monemvasia. Next is the Island nation of Malta, followed by a tour of Italy's boot, visiting Palermo, Naples, and Civitavecchia, close to Rome. Glitzy Saint Tropez follows Ajaccio before disembarking in the ultra-luxe Monte Carlo." Now look at the itinerary. Nowhere is Malta listed, Malta is not on the map, yet the picture shown on this cruise is the capitol of Malta! Are we going to Malta? Wish I knew...

Totally agree. The business class airfare is the biggest benefit since it includes a trip from Europe. On the other hand, it looks like the Crystal society benefit will be 2,5% instead of the 5% offered when the 2024 WC came out. As Seasack said, everyone will have to do their own math and consider the itinerary.

Pricing comparisons to 2024 World Cruise San Diego to Miami (2024 has two more nights but more sea days) Solo goes from 67,500 to 74,200 Double goes from 61,600 to 66,200 Double Veranda goes from 64,100 to 68,900 Aquamarine goes from 85,300 to 90,500 Sapphire goes from 115,200 to 120,300 Jr penthouse goes from 149,300 to 154,900 Biggest percentage increase is in solo rooms.

Perhaps Crystal has realized a solo booking is better than no booking.

My post was only in regards to the deck 7 rooms. I checked every Serenity sailing....only one sailing is wait listed for the double rooms on deck 7. That is the December 23 sailing. Number of sailings wait listed for solo rooms? Twenty-One. Maybe Crystal thinks solos will pay up for a double room on deck seven. I think many solos (even Crystal fans) may decide to book another cruise line with lower supplements rather than paying up.

While I know some people liked the buffet (I'm assuming you meant the one set up by Waterside for lunch) I hated it. Part of the joy of cruising for me is the service. That includes lunch. I don't partake of a buffet unless I am rushed.

Crystal needs to fill the ships (or at least come close) to be profitable. Looking at the Serenity sailings the only categories to regularly fill are the Penthouse, junior penthouse and solo rooms. I think we can agree that there aren't any new penthouse or junior penthouse suites coming anytime soon. But given that the solo rooms are popular and the other deck 7 rooms are not selling to capacity it seems to me the obvious solution is to expand the offering of solo rooms...at least until the other rooms sell better. The obvious choice for new solo rooms are the old C2 rooms...those with an obstructed view.

@jollyjones Which cruise line are you referencing?

OC pretty much had all of deck 7 on Serenity available with low single supplements, generally 25%. One could also book a veranda room with a 50% single supplement. So yes, NC has cut the availability of low supplement rooms by a huge amount. With solo rooms being the only ones with great demand across all itineraries it would seem logical for NC to make more solo rooms available. I certainly hope that will be the case.

Keith, When you say bring in a rolling rack....are these available on the ship or are you talking about bringing in one's own? Side note...would you say paddle tennis or pickle ball is more popular? Thanks for all your posts. Dwight

And one more from OO:

OK fellow Crystal enthusiasts...I found these videos. I don't think they have been posted on the forum before. Apologies if they have.

Random thoughts: Keith is right about the Sommeliers on Crystal vs other lines. I have experienced many instances where they have offered useful guidance. And there are times when a sommelier just appeared and suggested I try a different wine with an appetizer. Above and beyond.... Wonderful to know they are back from OC. Telephones/Televisions: New ship issues. I am confident they will be resolved. In any case, I don't use either much. Anne Marie is absolutely correct with her comment about colder temperatures being more healthy from a health prospective. I view this as a positive. While I am tall, I am not a heavy individual. I was not very impressed with Prego. Looking forward to OO. Impressed by the reports regarding Waterside, which I thought superior to Prego in OC. Shore excursion/ port information hard copies. These are essential. I trust this will be implemented soon. Internet. Based on the volume of posts from the ship it must be working well enough. I know there are some who need to do business on board; new packages should take care of that. I used to compose emails in my room, then go to the computer room (where the signal was stronger) to send. Storage in the smaller rooms: This is a problem, one I hope will be worked on. But I can make it work. Movies were mentioned. I can remember several new or nearly new releases I watched at the theater onboard. Mule, Midnight in Paris, and one of the Hobbit movies among them.

My post was simply a guess as to why pricing is what it is. Crystal remains my line of choice. I am booked on the 2024 world cruise.

I have heard that 2025 (perhaps not the entire year) will be released this month. Kind of like that old ketchup commercial with the Carly Simon song: Anticipation….

Thanks Pat and Ray. The antique vase I used to have signified both history and wine, but I thought it was about time to put up a current photo. World Cruise 2015 was fabulous, but one of my regrets was not having dinner with you. Dwight

With reports of cancelled and delayed cruises by other lines I find it notable that Crystal was able to start on time with Serenity and looks to be on time with Symphony.

My take: Crystal figured it needed to get both the crew and loyalists back at startup. I suspect Crystal got the crew back with higher salaries and/or bonuses. Crystal is enticing loyalists (and those who lost money under OC) with the "exceptional initiative." These expenditures necessitate a higher cruise fare. I agree with @kool kruiser who said "the pricing for NC is not particularly competitive. Whilst loyalists, including ourselves, will continue to cruise on NC, there will, IMHO, need to be a downwards adjustment to attract the numbers needed to reach suitable capacity levels." Well said.

Keith...you're getting old! 🤔 How else to explain that you skipped the picturesque walk from Portofino to San Margarita? You could take the ferry back.