Keith1010

Two years ago today. Keith

Yes as Vince notes this is certainly an outliner as very few people would have gotten money back from their CC company after the Exceptional Initiative program rolled out. As noted on the last few posts and for a few months for those who applied for the voucher Crystal checked verified with Moecker that the money you were requesting is what their records showed you being owed. In most cases what you requested is what you got. In some cases it turned out to be lower and even in some cases higher. And in some cases this process revealed incorrect information by Moecker. You had to have applied for the voucher by 8/1/23. You must have applied for the first sub-credit by or before 10/1/23 for the vouchers not to expire. You must use the sub-credits by booking a cruise(s) departing by or before 12/23/25. When Moecker does make the payouts for any unused sub-credits not applied (not applied is the key) Crystal will reduce the amount of any unused sub-credits) by the amount you got back from Moecker. Unused is sub-credits not applied; not cruises not yet sailed. So if you have applied all of your sub-credits but not yet sailed whatever you get back from Moecker will not impact the amount of those sub-credits. This information is contained on the Crystal Website at: https://www.crystalcruises.com/legal/exceptional-initiative-terms-and-conditions Keith

Great news Roy. I have been following all of your posts and your blog. Keith

And I want to put this on a separate post. I believe that most people (maybe all) who book a luxury cruise have an appreciation of luxury. But, we all have different interests and tastes. Take embarkation day. Anne Marie and I go to Waterside for lunch but some people want to go to the Trident Grill. That's great. We all have different favorites and interests. And that goes for everything. Never put down someone else because they don't see things as you do. Just know we are all different. Keith

I do want to highlight that you will find Waterside will be open when occupancy is high and when you have sea days and on some port days. It was open on some of our port intensive cruises on Serenity on the first two voyages. Keith

Love being at sea. Keith

A DRYDOCK WITH A DIFFERENCE: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH PHOTOGRAPHER MARK POWER A great read and terrific video on the Crystal website under stories. https://www.crystalcruises.com/story/crystal-seen-through-the-eyes-of-mark-power Keith

Another view of Serenity. This time from August of 2023 in Cartagena, Spain. Keith

Yes and the good new is it must be fixed now. 🤪 I just did two bookings for 2025 and they each reflect the Crystal Society Savings. Keith

Two years ago today. A view of Serenity in the Middle East. NOT. A view in Nassau. Keith

Another view of Crystal Serenity. Keith

Just want to add that you can have dinner from one or both specialty restaurants plus Waterside in the Junior CP and the CP but it sounds like in the end it worked out very well for DaisyUK. Keith

We love visiting both countries and we could do it over and over and over. Just as we love Europe we love these two places. I highly recommend it. Each time we return we've been fortunate to revisit places but see new ones and there is so much to see and do. What makes them special is their natural beauty, the people, and also that they are remote. Keith

Another view of Serenity in Bordeaux. This time from the starboard side. Keith

I think the key word that Ivi said is sometimes. When you are on a cruise and miss a port and another one is substituted what can be done is dependent on the amount of time available to coordinate the change, the shoreside operator and the specific port being substituted. These are all variables. Now in the old days when a port was missed completely aside from getting a credit for the port fees the lounges were opened and complimentary drinks served. This was a pre-curser to how lounges in the evening would go from being relatively quiet such as the Crystal Cove to becoming quite the place to go post inclusive. In terms of notification prior to the cruise I don't believe anyone disagrees with guests and TA's being notified as soon as the change is made. Once on the cruise we all have to remember that we are at the mercy of mother nature and other things which could occur. On a British Island cruise we missed four ports on I believe a 14 day cruise due to weather. The weather pattern in August was more like October/November. Some ports were substituted or rearranged and we also got another sea day. Keith

On port days with late arrivals was also opened in addition to sea days.

If the majority of folks thought the way you do Waterside would be open but with so many port intensive cruises where people are off the ship the vast majority want lunch having more flexibility including the ability to eat quickly. It is the lack of demand for Waterside and high demand for other areas including Marketplace, Tastes, The Trident Grill and even The Bistro and low demand that results in reallocating staffing to these locations to meet the need. Years ago this was not the case but times have changed because people want to eat quicker and spend more time in port. On both our sailings there were days when Waterside was open such as on days when we arrived to port later in the day and on sea days. Use the survey to share your comments with Crystal but in the end it actually is the habits of your fellow cruisers and what they desire that has resulted in the reallocation of staffing to the other areas where demand is quite great. As to luxury we all see things in different ways and that includes where we dine. While you might not think dining in some of these other venues is a luxury type of experience obviously others feel differently than you do. The same goes for most things. Finally, as to the past the World Cruises is a different beast and so is travel in the summer months. Before the shutdown for a number of years there were several days in the summer on port intensive cruises such as in the Mediterranean where Waterside was closed. I could point to five times on some of the Mediterranean cruises we we were on. On a related note I remember the days of cruising when the majority of people had breakfast, lunch and dinner in formal dining rooms. I remember the days when on land many restaurants required gents in jackets. Times have changed. And I remember years ago that the typical Crystal Cruise was 12 or more days, and once a year there was a seven day cruise and even that cruise had three or more sea days. This changed too many years ago when there was greater demand for port intensive cruises and shorter cruises so people. I am not talking about demand by everyone but enough demand that the luxury lines adjusted to this. Keith

Docked in Bordeaux. Keith

Just to add to Vince's post the former rooms didn't have the set up where it is. It really looks nice but the downside is it took away some closet space. Not sure if you are held to what is on the menu or not. Keith

Some very good news for those who like to see photos of the various suites and guest rooms. The renditions from the recent dry dock have been replaced with photos of the actual rooms. And you can see photos of the rooms redesigned in prior years and the classic rooms and there is quite a bit of 360 tours to view. I believe this will help many people to make informed decisions. You can get to this in various ways. One way is to pull up an itinerary that you are considering, click on details, scroll down to a room/suite and click on details, from there you will see the various types of rooms (redesigned, classic, etc.) and you can clici on 3D view or photos. I didn't look at each and every room so this could be a work in progress. If so, it is an excellent work in progress. 😀😀 Thanks to Patty for alerting me to this. Cheers, Keith

Double post. Keith

I agree that as soon as the port change is made then at a minimum TA's need to be notified but my preference would be an email going out simultaneously to TA's and those booked. I do plan to suggest this. Better to get the news out on changes sooner rather than later. At the same time while not an issue with Seasack, I agree with Patty and Vince. When you book a cruise things happen which can impact ports and that includes weather, terrorism, local port authority issues, and even accidents to name a few. And for this and other issues it is built into the contract. I do not expect Crystal or other lines to provide things like OBC for these changes. Technically the only thing the can do is net out the port charges for ports dropped and not replaced which the do on the ship for tings like weather. Keith

Ivi, The only waitlist I have done is for a cruise I am booked on in a category which we will go with but am on a waitlist for another category. As Larry mentioned you never know what will happen. I believe your chances are greater with a category where there are a lot of rooms. In our case, it's not. I do not believe Crystal tells you how many are ahead of you but as mentioned these are questions for your TA to ask. Please remember most of the experience people will have is with old Crystal and processes could be different for new Crystal. Keith

And we were there. Now if I don't get it "Houston there is a problem" since we were on board for that epic cruise. Keith

Two views of the ferris wheel near the Bordeaux pier; one early evening and the other one in the daytime.