Keith1010

We met officers on our first Crystal Cruise and by our fourth cruise dined with officers and with lecturers and we were in a standard room. Never was seated at an Officers Table. We just reached out to them as we do with fellow guests who we also dine with. There is a saying. It takes two to tango. At the same time we know guests who have no interest in dining with officers, senior staff or lecturers. Keith

I've never been able to compare fares across products and make sense of it. This is because the products vary. Even comparing fares on the same ship is not always straight forward depending on itineraries and time of year. For some price is the driver. For others it is not. For me what the product offers is what drove me to book most sailings with Crystal after sailing other lines and after a few sailings with Crystal including the vessels. By the way a cruise on another line that is priced lower than Crystal in my mind might be an overpriced cruise because what the product offers for me is well below what Crystal offers. Someone else might not see it that way which is why choice is good.

Yes Crystal is using dynamic pricing and I remember reading from them that the percentage that a solo person will pay will vary. I realize this was only the first two cruises but I saw many solo travelers on board and that includes some from this board. And I know of several solo travelers who were on board who were in Suites not just solo rooms or double rooms. Keith

A view from outside the Hollywood Theatre. Keith

Just looked at photos from the open house on Serenity and the Sapphire Suites have two sets of sliders; one in the living area and one in the bedroom area. I remember saying to myself this is a nice feature. Same goes for the Junior CP. Too bad the original CP's don't have this feature. Keith

I will be following you. Wishing you both a wonderful cruise. Enjoy every minute. Keith

I am exhausted. I posted several in this thread earlier. I am a numbers person too. And Cheddar Cheese or whatever the CC name is posted an entire years worth. In the end if you are not happy with the pricing don't book the cruises. I have booked several and know many others who are booking and not complaining. In the end each person should do what they want.

Maybe we're caught on semantics here but I just don't see people saying a line is superior over another one.. Some of us have a favorite line. I do. And yes it's Crystal but I just don't see people around here using the term superior which in someways comes of condescending. And there is no problem in my book having a favorite product. I never know why some have a problem with that. Life is short. I believe find those things you enjoy in life and if you find things I think that is great.

A few things about 2025. All of the voyages have been added to the Crystal website. There are some gaps. I know that Serenity has a dry dock after the world cruise. I am not sure about the other gaps on Serenity and Symphony. I've been looking through the itineraries one by one as I am sure many of you are doing. Keith

Larry, I'll have to go back and look at my photos in terms of the placement of the tables but I do know there are no more tables in the room today than there were after the dry dock. I was told no new tables were bought. Keith

I went to the web site and compared like categories and went with the lowest price category. However on the summary provided by another member that compares three different categories including the lower priced ones.

Yes I've looked at the screen shots. I looked at pricing yesterday and also what was posted earlier.

I know you were responding to Vince but I will chime in too. I have rarely seen people use the word superior but if they do that their view. Often I hear people say I like x cruise line better. Superior. I don't think so.

Yes I do believe they will increase load. The issue this year is most people had cruises booked already with other lines and didn't want to change plans and the focus was on Society members. Next year and the year after are key and that will include marketing to the general public.

What is clear is making blanket statements is not true of a 20% increase and your original post said prices went up 20%. I looked at some Mediterranean cruises yesterday and looked at the per diem and they didn't go up 20%. What I did is look at it one at a time trying to find very similar cruises in the same month. As shown above 20% doesn't apply to all sailings. And Crystal to be successful and to build new ships has to make money.

Larry, in the most recent dry dock two changes were made.This is the addition of the culinary service station. and having spotlights projected out of the culinary station as you noted. The tables and chairs were changed in the 2018 dry dock. The supper club seating is no greater now than it was post 2018 dry dock. In fact, on the first two voyages they reduced the maximum number of people attending each each Supper Club taking into account staffing for both the Supper Club and Waterside. Keith

Sail Away from Bordeaux - August , 2023. Very special.

Deck 11 All Sapphire Suites are Classic. Original Ones. 11000 has a slightly larger verandah. Deck 10 Only Two Sapphire Suites which were created in 2018 and are the former Sea Breeze Suites. Deck 9 and 8 All of the Sapphire Suites are newly created in 2023.Larger Verandahs ( you can tell like the other larger ones from the deck diagrams found on the Crystal website are 8007 thru 8015, 8066 thru 8079, 9019 - 9012 and 9072 thru 9081. A few are not as larger as the others but larger than most of the verandah decks for Sapphire. Again, look at the diagram. Personally I would avoid the two former Sea Breeze as they are not as large because of the common doors. Study the plan. Remember the classics have a tub and a separate shower and the newer ones have a rain shower. I think both are good options and each have pros and cons when comparing them with each other. Keith

Vince, they redid the area in the back of the Star Dust and eliminated the seats in the back (stools) and made it a staging area for the food. Keith

Absolutely. Kindness and treating someone the way we would like to be treated is a good way to live life. Keith

With all due respect you mentioned all these things but you really don't know if it is happening. So maybe it's not. Or maybe it does. Or maybe it doesn't on other lines. Or maybe it does. I just don't worry about other people. In my case I really don't care. Same goes for evening attire. Some get upset if someone is not in appropriate attire. Me I just focus on my wife and having the best time we can. I do care about having a great time though. Keith

Well you might not have but I saw it first hand on SS and SB. It was obvious. I didn't really care. Why should I? If people know one another because they sailed a lot I think that is very nice. And when we sailed Crystal and no one new us I didn't care either. I do believe it takes two to tango. We enjoy the crew so whether they know us or not (new crew aren't going to know us) we enjoy engaging in conversation with them. I am not sure what special treatment you think people get. I believe the crew goes out of their way with all guests. Sure if you have a lot of sailings you might get recognized for that at a reception and it is human nature to develop bonds with people the more you know them and that goes for fellow guests. As I've said I have met people who are very engaging with the crew or with fellow guests on their first cruise and some might thing they have sailed often but they hadn't. Keith

Mama Mia. I love it. But they can't make enough soup to fill that small roll of yours. Keith

But if you want to sail Crystal there is excitement. Some people don't have a preference by line and make their decisions on which line based on price. Oher prefer a line and may make decisions for that line based on a variety of factors one being price. Keith

Yes the reality is on any cruise line or at any restaurant on land if you frequent there a lot the staff does get to know you. I was on SS and there was a couple who had 100 or so sailings and the same happened there. Saw it on SB years ago. Some people are better than others in terms of engaging others. In other words, I have met first time Crystal Cruisers who are extroverted and very engaging and already known by senior staff and officers as if they have sailed for years. Keith