Keith1010

This is who you can contact at Crystal. It is for on board guest services. E-Mail address: obgs@crystalcruises.com List out all three voyages and ask which nights are formal. Keith

Gary you could do this and I know of at least one person who posts on this board who boarded without the e-tickets. I bring mine though just in case there is an issue with phone. Keith

On our previous cruises with New Crystal I had not seen this before in "my account". For an upcoming cruise I now see under my reservations (this would be within 120 days of your cruise) a tab at the top that says "View Itinerary Dress Code". It provides the evening attire for each evening of the cruise. Keith

David, when the ticket information is added to "my account" you will find it under the tab titled reservation documents. As to luggage tags I was told but have not followed up that they were going back to mailing them to your home. That was the case early on but it stopped later last year. Has anyone who has recently sailed gotten them at home? Regardless, as Rob said they will be available at the pier. Keith

While they are permitted on most excursions, if there are restrictions they normally advise and that includes clothing and baseball caps. For example, if you went into a church a baseball cap wouldn't be appropriate in many places around the world. Keith

Treasure Hunter, Patty gave you great information. Let me add that it is a short cruise such as a 7 day cruise with high occupancy where most reservations could be booked for Umi Uma and Osteria. But if occupancy is lower there can be times that they are not all booked up. In addition, on longer voyages there is likely more openings for people to book when they are on board. Butlers are very helpful and will save you time to see the specialty restaurant. Keith

These are the features. https://www.crystalcruises.com/cruises/none-csy-012-240413?menu=suites_and_guest_rooms Regardless of room you can make reservations 120 days before the cruise begins for the specialty restaurants. Keith

Correct and mentioned more than once.The original footprint was enormous to begin with and each ship is carrying far less guests than originally designed to carry. Another evolution which took place before NC came along was the reduction of sea days. There was a time even on a 7 days cruise which was rare years ago that a short cruise of seven days had three to four sea days. These days most of the cruises have one sea day so less time at sea and less time to operate the casino. Keith

Part of this discussion we had with Old Crystal, particularly in the summer months when fairly often Waterside was closed during port days. Over the years old Crystal was had moved to fewer sea days and that has continued with new Crystal. It's not just a matter of giving people off. The number of crew members on-board is less than it was because of fewer guests. On top of this some crew positions have been reallocated. For example, less waitstaff in Waterside due to increase in the number of butlers and runners. There are also regulations that govern how many hours crew can work. And as we've discussed over the years and on numerous threads part of the evolution of cruising is that there is less demand for lunch at Waterside versus other areas including The Trident Grill, Tastes and Marketplace on port days. Just like on land not everyone agrees with the evolution of a product or the evolution of trends. Remember when one got dressed up to go to a Broadway show? How about baseball games when fans would arrive all dressed up? Forma nights without the word optional. Semi-Formal nights? Land based restaurants requiring men in a tie and jacket? Assigned dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner on cruise lines? Life moves on. Keith

Pam, in almost all cases they come to your account. There are a few exceptions where they come via e-mail. Keith

We arrived to Bordeaux August 2023 on Serenity in the early evening Some views from the ship. Next morning we walked to many nearby sites. n Beautiful Park within a nice walk from the pier. And there was lots of time to visit chateau's as we have done several times. I never like to say the best because to me there are some other very nice places we have docked allowing us to walk right into cities. Sydney, San Francisco, Cape Town (the time we were docked in a location no longer used for the medium and larger ships, Barcelona when we've been there on the smaller ships rather than where the larger ships dock. And several more. And the sail away from Bordeaux. Keith

The two I am thinking of who didn't come back first initial is not an R. Of the two Senior Head Waiters on Serenity back in 2021 one retired and the one who swung into his position did come back and now is the Senior one with someone else swinging when he is on vacation. Several others whose first initial is A, F and C retired. The good news is it has opened up opportunities for others. And another Head Waiter from Serenity went over to Symphony as soon as new Crystal started up for a promotion which is great. We miss them all though. Keith

Vince and Flyertalker, I hear you both. I guess my read on it is they plan to have the casinos meeting that it the intent. Like anything else it's never done till it's done. Ummm. I am now thinking what Yogi Berra would say. OK. This is where we say time will tell. Keith

Nice to know that they are now being detected and in a safer place. I've been thinking of the brave people who were on-board, and hoping and praying that there would not be any incidents. Keith

Interesting. For Serenity I am aware of two who didn't come back due to higher positions. Most others who didn't come back retired. Not sure about Symphony. The ones I am aware of on Serenity had the opportunity to return and it is understandable that they didn't. But as they say you never know. New ships. New opportunities. Keith

Welcome back Vince. All, Crystal has just updated their Q&A's on the Crystal website and that includes the casinos. This is what it says. WHEN WILL THE CASINO BE ADDED ONBOARD ? We are pleased to confirm that we are planning to have casinos back onboard this year. The key words in the answer: casinos (as in more than one) and this year as in by CYE24. Keith

Engin returned to Crystal. Crunch is no longer with Crystal. If this is your first cruise with new Crystal you will see that there re many more butlers than before as every suite and every room has a butler. Several former butlers returned, some members from other areas were promoted to butler and new to Crystal butlers were hired. Keith

I am bad. Today is April 1. I so wish it was true though. Keith

April fools but a nice wish. Keith

I was thrilled to read about a themed Crystal Cruise for next year with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on board. I bet that will be a sell out. Keith

A recommendation for llovebreakfast. Like Patty I have seen it all. Been there the same time or similar times and it has ranged from sunny to warm, cold to colder rainy, cloudy, windy, etc. This is what makes Alaska what it is. My advice is to finalize your packing list a week before your cruise by looking at weather reports for the places you will visit. Like all weather forecasts they are not perfect but it will help for sure. And it is wise to bring clothing that you can layer. Keith

Thank you. I was able to just now edit what I posted. Keith

Pat, you are very welcome. I just wanted to add a couple of other comments. There are a couple of other differences in how this is handled compared to the past in addition to ones Tracie and I have already mentioned. When on-board bookings are done you make the full deposit at the time of the booking rather than in the past when it was a smaller amount and you had time when you got back home to decide if you wanted to go forward with the full booking. If one does an open booking on-board it is $500.00 per person (eg. $1,000 for double occupancy) and good for three months rather than six months and the amount is higher than it was in the past. It is fully refundable as it was in the past. I had made open bookings while on board last summer and this past January. Keith

Yes, They currently do on board bookings. 2.5% discount. You can book the specific cruise while on board or do an open booking. At the time you do this you need to bring your credit card as they don't charge it to your on board account. Keith

I have no idea why a couple of you were told that you could not use on-board credit for excursions. I have confirmed with Crystal that there have not been any changes to how on board non-cash credits can be used. They can be used for items from the shops, spa/salon, shore excursion, food and beverage items such as the connoisseur wines, spirits, and items such as caviar, the connoisseur items at Umi Uma. For those of you who asked reservations were you clear that you were not talking about pre-paid excursions (there are some) or customized excursions? Either the reservations agent didn't fully understand the question or their answer was wrong. Keith