Keith1010

It's funny. I had never tried the Carpaccio until just a few years ago on Serenity and when I did I love it. When we dined at Prego with others often one or more would have it and raved about it, but I would pass. Full disclosure I do love Sashimi. Since the first time I had it, on each succeeding visit to Prego I've had it and I will be sure to have it again when we return to New Crystal. It does reaffirm my view one is never too old to try something new. If they could get Mikey to try oatmeal in that infamous commercial, I realized I should try the Carpaccio. 🤣 Keith

First Cruise with Crystal, July 2002 on Crystal Harmony. We wee Crystalized the first day within a couple of hours from the time we were boarded based on the kindness of one of the Concierge. I still remember his words. Keith

In the end all cruise lines want to fill rooms. Same goes for airlines and hotels and sporting event and just about everything. However, the reality is not all sailing sell out. Sometimes they do but often they are not 100% full. Keys include what guests who sail the new Crystal have to say and what others such as TA's say and bringing on more consortiums which is what they are doing. As they prove themselves I have no doubt that more TA's will come to the fold and as they target guests beyond Crystal Society members this will provide a greater number of people to sell to. The good news is a few months ago Signature and Virtuoso were not signed up. Now they are. It wasn't that long ago that itineraries were not available and sales not opened. They are. Sometimes you take baby steps before you run. Time will tell but we are inching closer to the first sailings which is great new IMHO. Keith

I prefer to put my money on taking a cruise with Crystal. For me a safe bet. 🤫😀🤣 Keith

I know for sure they know how many cruises we have completed and that we've been receiving a Crystal Society Discount on cruises booked. I have not heard what the program will look like in terms of milestone benefits. Keith

.This is the logo I've been seeing on digital marketing for Crystal.of late. At the same time, on the Crystal Cruises website we see a small icon of the Sea Horses. In e-mails a smaller version of this without the small R and also in another spot the Sea Horses. The combination of OC and NC (aka Old and New) we see in the name sometime Crystal and other times Crystal Cruises. Keith

Pat when the excursions are released there will be traditional ones along with ones developed by A&K. Best to you both. Keith

There are certain areas around the world that we always look forward to sailing even if we have been there one or more times. One of them is the Mediterranean. So much beauty, including architecture and scenery. Also returning to places brings back all sorts of memories from a prior visit. Maybe it was a place you enjoyed with other family members or friends or a tour you took or some other event. Keith

If your category is booked thet is what counts. Often lower priced and higher priced categories go first and all of this varies by cruise. No different than it always has. No different from pretty much any cruise line we have ever sailed. Some cruises more popular than others. Let me also add that even if a category is not full, for some within a category there are locations they will not sail in such as someone who gets seasick and doesn't want to be on say Decks 9,10 or on Serenity 11 very far forward or even very far back. Agents also are not the same. I don't bet without knowing the details. If my agent says a category is almost full or the ship is selling well I take its as fact but agents are people and as we all know people vary quite a bit. Finally, things can change at any given time. NWP was sold out at one point. By the time the cruise go closer some rooms opened up. The inaugural voyage on Serenity was pretty sold out. Makes sense. Some booked it without thinking it all through. Maybe even to say "I booked it". In time, either some cancelled completely or moved their booking to something else. I have been looking at some categories on some selected voyages and frequently one goes from you can get a quote to waitlist and or from waitlist to get a quote. Either way, this means that the category must be pretty full but it definitely changes for some of these. And it is not specific to just one category. In the end, the only thing that matters is if it is the cruise you want or the category you want and you can't get it, the demand for the other cruises or the other categories iis pretty irrelevant to that person IMHO. Keith

Typically World Cruises have a lot more enrichment than you find on board for regular cruises to begin with because a certain percentage of people are on for greater lengths whether that is for a full or half world cruise or for multiple segments. You will see enrichment on the world cruise that you likely won't find on other cruises. Now we can't be 100% sure what will be offered on New Crystal but since so much of the old enrichment is being carried over from old to new Crystal I believe you will find the stepped up enrichment for the world cruise. This should mean several more activities in the day. If they carry over the tradition of the World Games typically on a long leg they will have them. That offers so much to do for many people just in this one program forgetting everything else. For us we never were bored on these legs which had a lot of sea days.Solo friends feel the same way which is why many return year after year or every few years. Keith

I feel the same way and hopefully this will happen. Great that you are back here. You picked a perfect time to cruise on your own ship full-time give how things got topsy turvy in 2020. Best to you. Keith

I very much agree with the last three posts. I subscribe to the glass is half full. Just like before some saplings are likely seeking better than others. And in the end if the category you want i sold out that is what is most important. On one of our bookings I would prefer another category and it is sold out. Keith

Amen to that. I remember the issue you raised. I actually remember the issue that you raised about why you were being told you needed a visa but had completely forgotten that someone had contacted a crew member about you. I'll never get the put downs. But I am reminded of two things. Some people never grow up and some hide behind a computer screen. The company I worked at for most of my career was one of the pioneers of e-mail. I remember when it eventually rolled out to our teams that some people would write some viscous e-mails. We had to talk to them about e-mail etiquette. I used to add to that and say if you were in a face to face conversation would you really have said that to someone and the answer was usually no. And I would add to that if you write something like that don't send it and read it the next day and you will likely delete it or change the tone. I am looking forward to when Crystal sails. I do believe if people do not get attacked they will return to posting and not only the good but things that they were disappointed in. Time will tell. I am glad to see you posting on this board. Keith

Four years ago. Montengro. Keith

Let me start with the easy question. My personal thoughts about NC are very positive. Old Crystal was never perfect nor is any product but for us it was as good as it gets. I expect NC to be different taking several of the attributes we enjoyed with old Crystal and adding in new ones. I am very much looking forward to returning. I haven't asked about Meet & Mingle yet. In the past I used to start some roll calls but often waited for others to do that and often posted to answer questions particularly to those new to Crystal or for those new to an itinerary or new say to the World Cruise. I do expect to post to Roll Calls after Crystal starts sailing. I think in time we will see more roll calls with more first time Crystal Cruisers when Crystal markets more beyond Crystal Society members and after people share their experiences from those early sailings. In some ways, the new Crystal is a hybrid of old Crystal and new Crystal so it carries with it the pluses and the minuses of the former cruise line (pluses are those things people liked about Crystal and those that they didn't and for some the issue of not getting money back) while having characteristics of a new cruise line including needing to establish itself and reach many more people in the market who never sailed old Crystal. I do believe more people will post if the tone on the board softens. Even in the best of times people would tell me they wouldn't post because they didn't want to be attacked and didn't like the negativism. This includes people who used to post who still read the board but refuse to post and many new. As to the latter I heard this first hand on each of the Nassau sailings in 2021 as a good number of people were first time Crystal Cruisers attracted to try the line due to the pricing. Like the restart of Crystal IMHO the discussions onf the new board will slowly be more about the actual experiences on new Crystal with each sailing . Keith

I am very glad to hear you are looking at returning. We have many friends who sail solo including one or more segments of the World Cruise. In fact, a very dear friend who has not sailed Crystal in a few years and who lost his dear wife who was also a dear friend early last year is also taking the San Diego R/T World Cruise. I have found a cruise like a World Cruise provides a great opportunity to get to know many people whether you are solo or traveling with another person. I am glad we had the opportunity to sail with you both a few years ago. Good luck with this as well. Take care, Keith

My thoughts and prayer are with Jack Anderson and his family. Keith

Roy that is a very special photo. Keith

They had no issues with that. I didn't post right away as I wanted to check with each of them (two different rooms) and heard back from the second one this morning. Keith

LewiLewi we've had family stay in this area before and did not have issues with noise from above. Keith

Thirteen years ago we were in Barcelona, Spain as part of World Cruise 2010. We have visited this beautiful city many times over the years and taken many tours and also walked it extensively. It is also a great place to pick up a Paddle Tennis Racquet which I have done a few times. First time we visited this city was pre-cruise on a Mediterranean cruise on board the Grand Princess in 1997. Back then we ate later but the challenge is late for Americans does not compare to when dinner is served in many of the local restaurants. Keith

You are very welcome and I just wanted to say I think you will be pleased with the crew who are returning. So many people we have come to know very well. Keith

What I do know for sure is traditionally on the World Cruise they won't sell the CP for individual segments until much closer to the start of the World Cruise in case someone wants to book the CP for the whole Cruise. So they way they show that right now makes sense to me which is request a quote for the CP for the full but waitlist for a segment. I know this because for the 2022 World Cruise we wanted to book a segment of the World Cruise and they did have a CP available as back then you could see the inventory but they wouldn't let us book it until much closer to the cruise. I still don't understand how anyone can draw any conclusions by all of this. Yes if someone wants to say x categories are waitlisted they can do that but just because other categories are not waitlisted doesn't mean that they are selling well or not selling well. The only inference one can make is on the same cruise from day to day a category goes from request a quote to wait list back to request a quote which could mean only one room available in that category. I am actually looking at one of the cruises where that happens. Other than all or most categories being wait listed since you can't see inventory it really tells nothing IMHO. However, if it makes someone happy to do this great for them but it really doesn't provide much in the way of how the cruises are selling. Keith

This one has less calories. 🤣

Four years ago we visited Split, Croatia on-board Crystal Serenity. I can't do true splits anymore but still tried to Split for Split. Keith