Keith1010

Oh I wish I was on board. As Nancy this was shared on another site. I did ask the person who posed the photo of the soup if I could share that and got permission. There was a video of the carpaccio. They served both items on the menu. They were responding to what some of the guests asked for since they miss that in Prego. Keith

Possibly. I would ask and see what they say. Keith

And I just looked at one July on Symphony and the per diem in 2024 was $642.00 and in 2025 is $633.00 I am not saying prices haven't gone up but like most things this will vary cruise by cruise, year by year and ship by ship. But in the end the market will determine some of this. Keith

Haven't analyzed it but just looked at one cruise which is 20% higher but that is with 2023 pricing not 2024. Like most things the market will dictate pricing and each person will make a decision which works for them.

I received permission from the person who shared the photo to post it.

Crystal responded to the Mushroom Soup and the Beef Carpaccio requests and have added it to the Waterside Menu on the current Serenity cruise. So when you are on board find out when it will be on the Waterside Menu so you could go that night for dinner if it's something you want to have. I am sure this applies to both ships. They prepared the Beef Carpaccio in Waterside at the tables as they did in Prego. Keith

Caryn, Crystal responded to the Mushroom Soup requests and have added it to the Waterside Menu on the current cruise. So when you are on board find out when it will be on the Waterside Menu so you could go that night for dinner if it's something you want to enjoy. Also I see that they also served the Beef Carpaccio in Waterside last night and prepared it at the tables as they did at Prego. Keith

I was just glad they didn't drop the gangway and kept my distance just in case. It was quite an incline or if you were getting off the ship quite a drop until the tides changed IMG_3113.mov

Kathie, I went back to my notes as someone else asked this question and what Ter777 has said is what I was told. And I remember reading that you have to go to this area first and cannot go directly to the ship. Keith

Greetings. Closing Waterside on port intensive cruises for lunch is not new to Crystal. They have done this for several years. Yes, they did close it more often since restart and this has nothing to do with what they did or didn't do with respect to the Pandemic. And yes this is driven by financial considerations and due to the reconfiguration of the ships. As to the reconfiguration they made some adjustments and that includes augmenting butlers since every room now has a butler but reducing some areas. Also this was done because you have less guests so the ship even if full will have less crew than before because overall occupancy has been reduced. With low counts for the next few months there is less crew on board now than even the first couple of sailings. Now add to this that most of the cruises are port intensive so they can adjust the wait staff counts recognizing this. So knowing that there is far less demand for Waterside due to people being on tours (on this current cruise they do have more sea days than most cruises), given that guest count is down thus crew count has been reduced and given that these days many dine in other places for lunch which are more casual and in some cases allow them to have a shorter lunch they have closed the Waterside more often for lunch than before the Pandemic. And yes this is a business decision. And yes since most of us want them to be around for the long haul it is away to manage costs. Like most things some are fine with this. Some are not. Everyone has their opinion and Crystal has made a decision. I do expect on some cruises it will be open for lunch on a more regular basis starting in a couple of months. as guest counts ramp up. Keith

HI everyone. I know this is Cruise Critic but it sure would be nice to get back on topic. So let me try. Crystal unveiled the 2025 itineraries. Bookings are open. Most cruises are now showing. A few are not and I am trying to get clarification. After WC 2025 Serenity is going into dry dock. I have asked about the other gaps. Keith

Right now luggage tags are not pre-printed but the plan is they will be. The only part of the docs you need to print out is the barcode. You don't even have to print it as you could put it on your iPhone.I believe it was Patty who said she didn't even have her documents with her but if not her someone. I would rather have the tags on my luggage prior to getting to port. One less thing to do there. Keith

Yes the Aquamarine Classic suites are only on Deck 10. I've stayed in them a few times plus the Saphire Classic suites on Deck 10 several times and didn't have a problem. We stay mid-ship. Like Vince say if you are concerned then avoid being under the Tastes as Vince said. Keith

This was from Cartagena, Spain. I was out early and there were several street cleaners out there starting at the pier and extending to several blocks into the city. Yes, more cleaners than people at that moment. 🤣 Keith IMG_2651.mov

This can still be done by guests. The timing depends on various factors including when the last event was and the layout for that sailing with respect to itinerary, time changes and evening events. Keith

No dry dock then.

There will be a dry dock but not sure length of it. A few cruises still have to be loaded too. Bookings did open up to today. Keith

Ivi: You are not looking at an official site and wherever they pulled the data it was not available. I see another ship not showing departure time either. I've been in Miami when we either had 7 or 8 ships embarking. I t was the case for the 2015 WC or the one right before it. It will be busy but it works. The question will be what terminal does Crystal get. Normally the stand along terminal J goes to the ship with less guests so Serenity might get that unless Explora gets that. It's an ideal terminal since you are away from the main area. Should Crystal get the main area because they are not there regularly sometimes they get a less ideal terminal. But it all works. Could be more of a challenge for debarkation and getting the ship cleared. You just never know and that holds true in the USA even if you have a few ships in port. Keith

Are you talking about giving money to the crew fund. If so, they do it but maybe the person you spoke with didn't know how it worked. On our most recent cruise I first asked the person at the desk if they had gratuity forms to charge gratuities to my account. He said no. I explained it again and he looked confused but the concierge came over and he showed the person where they were. Keith

I first learned about this Canadian Beer on board a Crystal sailing at one of the Captain's Parties. Since then I've enjoyed it on occasion at home and with certain meals on-board Crystal. Keith

You can give a donation to the crew welfare fund and know the money will go towards the crew. It might be used for a party or for other things which benefit the crew. Keith

Howard I know people who took Iceland Air and based on what they told me I wouldn't do it. We took Delta R/T when we sailed Endeavor in 2021 and that included the JFK flight to Iceland. Not the best aircraft but still sounded better than the Iceland Air experience. Keith

Getting back to 2025, there are some voyages not listed and most will be added to the website tomorrow. Keith

This will take you to the 2025 itineraries. https://www.crystalcruises.com/search?itineraries[refinementList][departure][0]=202501&itineraries[refinementList][departure][1]=202502&itineraries[refinementList][departure][2]=202503&itineraries[refinementList][departure][3]=202504&itineraries[refinementList][departure][4]=202505&itineraries[refinementList][departure][5]=202506&itineraries[refinementList][departure][6]=202507&itineraries[refinementList][departure][7]=202508&itineraries[refinementList][departure][8]=202509&itineraries[refinementList][departure][9]=202510&itineraries[refinementList][departure][10]=202511&itineraries[refinementList][departure][11]=202512&itineraries[sortBy]=sort_departure_asc Keith

There is something I am not following. My experience on international flights is Business Class is not always full and that was the case on our most recent flights between the USA and LHR on outbound and inbound flights. This is a bit out of my league as I am not as knowledgable on airlines as cruising but while airlines might not give it away they certainly make use of dynamic pricing which can allow them to fill up business or first or certainly drive more occupancy. Their pricing can be extreme. I was looking at a flight we are on (domestic R/T first class) and one day the price is something like 40% more than we paid, next day the same, next day about 25% more and next day same price. Now I realize that this is one where the pricing was higher but we all have seen it in reverse and if you bought it on the day it was 40% higher and looked a few days later you would see it 40% lower. As a rule I do not check pricing after I purchased the tickets but only did because I was making a change (outbound and the price was the same) but noticed that inbound was much higher and would have resulted in a much higher fare if I changed that one so was curious over a few days. Question for the experts. Likewise, do they change the amount of award miles needed for the same flight. I remember in the old days I knew what the miles would be based on upgrade or using all miles but these days I am not sure if that is set in stone or not. But I am sure some of you do so was curious. As to Crystal (both old and new) there certainly have been circumstances where someone is upgraded and often it is operational but it's not one that people often talk about or post about. Likewise, I remember at least for Old Crystal that when the ship(s) were in Europe if there was a lot of room they would offer some attractive last minute deals to those in Europe as friends told us that. And on our first Crystal Cruise on the Harmony I remember the person next to our room told me that he lived in California (this was the R/T San Francisco cruises of Alaska) and he got an attractive last minute deal. He told me the price. I didn't ask. I wish he didn't. Sometimes things like that are better left under the cone of silence. Keith