Keith1010

You and Rob are both correct. For the excursions the cancellation information is not available until you board the ship. The only exception would be for overlands or a few other special tours where they will provide some additional information on that. Keith

The new booking is my first point. To get it you have to make a new booking and that means one thing to consider is your original cruise fare and what the new fare is. Depending on when you book it could be higher. And agree with you about age being yet another factor. This is why I said the devil is in the details. It is a good idea for each person to review their particulars to determine whether or not there is a benefit to do this and that includes looking at both the nonrefundable and refundable options. Keith

I looked at this for one of our cruises, but one we are already booked on. I looked t it for the 20% and for the 10%. I have come to the conclusion that this is going to vary by person. For example, if you are already booked you have to look at what the price increase is. If you are not booked already that's not an issue. If you used an on-board booking discount it won't apply to this promotion. Cost of insurance will range. I've taken cancel for any reason insurance one time and actually used it Cost was 16% for the insurance but as noted if you cancel for any reason it cover 75% versus higher if you had a medical issue. Then there is the question of how much you may have realized by keeping the money invested. So like most things the devil is in the details. For some it will work well as it has for SusieQft and LeeAnne and for others it might be marginal. Keith

Very few are shown and not for all voyages. When they are shown it looks like this under itinerary and then ship overview and then scroll down. https://www.crystalcruises.com/cruises/none-csy-015-240312?menu=ship_overview

Opps I did mean to say 2025 not 2024 and that is what I looked up on the Crystal Website. I also think time is on your side. Suggestion. Whenever your TA is talking with Crystal for another client have them check on your voyage to see if something has opened up. While in the perfect world you would automatically clear the waitlist I just think that's the way to go. If the TA is not talking with Crystal frequently I would ask that they check for you every week or two. Good luck with this. Keith

Dwight thank you for your post and starting this thread. Like you, Anne Marie and I find New Zealand to be very special and it along with Australia are some of our favorite places to visit. I think part of what makes it so special is location in addition to natural beauty. The downside as we have learned is that it's along flight from the USA which is why we have been spoiled most of the times by having visited both countries on full World Cruises rather than two other times when flights were necessary either R/T or one way. Keep enjoying and post when and what you want. Travel safely. Keith

I had no idea. Of course I have not bought A Big Mac since the 1970's. Think it was cheaper back then. This might make a good trivia question. What states has the lowest cost for a Big Mac? Answer North Carolina and Wyoming and the state with the highest is Massachusetts at $7.09. Average looks in the $4.75 to $5.00 range. Keith

I just want to note that if I remember correctly LeeAnne you were booking the May 21, 2024 23 day R/T cruise which is a combination of three cruises. Looking at the website they show join the waitlist for the first of the three voyages and the other two are bookable. So your challenge is two fold. First a room to open on the first cruise and second that the same room is open on the other two cruises. Keith

There is a front office manager who oversees a variety of items including the front desk. In the majority of cases the concierge or chief concierge's background has included working at the reception desk so often they are able to assist newer members of the front desk with questions or issues they cannot assist with and in the vast majority of cases they can do just that. If they can't you could ask if they could ask the front office manager if they can help you with they issue you have. Keith

No update. Keith

Different people. I would use guest relations for things like if I had a problem from a completed cruise. For Pat's question I would go to on board guest services. Or write to both and see what happens. 😃 Keith

Ivi, to better direct you what type of assistance would you be needing? Keith

Pat, you are welcome. You can write to on board guest services at: obgs@crystalcruises.com I am not sure whether or not they will have this information. Keith

Pat, They are not listing the officers. In some cases they are listing some of he enrichment/entertainers. Keith

Yes, we were waitlisted until we boarded. We would have paid the difference if it opened up. Keith

Muriel, it didn't. Part of me didn't want it to clear because that might have meant the person who booked it became ill or had to cancel for something not so pleasant so in the end we were OK. Keith

LeeAnne, There is no clear cut answer on when a waitlist clears. Factors do include the number of rooms/suites in a category, the number of people waitlisted and how afar out the cruise is. We were waitlisted for a category on our last cruise and we were waitlisted all the way until the day of embarkation. Keith

Sandy, I am in the camp who loves the Classic Aquamarine on Serenity. As Rob said outlets not updated but between the outlets on both desks we manage this very nicely with all our devices. Keith

I would do the same but there are some people who have them take care of this just like there are some people who have them unpack and/or pack for them. While we've never had them do packing/unpacking I know some people who ask the butler to do this. Keith

Just received an e-mail today from Crystal about Alaska. Give it 24 hours to see if you get it as with bulk e-mails they don't all go out simultaneoiusly. Keith

Ivi a good reminder. I have found that the butlers we have had over the years are a good go to person to get something resolved including those not in their area of responsibility. Keith

Roy and Ann 1. Similar to other ports. Probably Noon.. 4. Rhodes. Walkable. Great walking area. Keith

I just want to note that the butlers all have a lot of suites to take care of including those who take care of CP's. I've always been amazed how many rooms they can take care of. They do have teams and they do help each other out. If more people wanted room service at a particular time they would help one another out. Overall it usually works out but in the case of your food it obviously didn't. We try to provide the butler long lead times. For example, if we know on x night we want to have dinner in the room we let them know one or more days ahead of time and usually provide a list of what we would like that morning. I realize some people call that very moment asking if they can have x meal in a few minutes. 😀 But as you note things can happen. They do have personnel (I can't remember the name but it is an unusual name) who actually get the food from the cold galley where the room service food is prepared up to the respective floors. But just like any type of service if everyone wants something at the same moment you can't staff for that. Same goes for our own highways. If everyone tries to use it all at once it doesn't work or in the days of land lines if everyone picked up their telephone at the same time it would crash the local telephone switches. Overall, my experience with the butlers is they are the best I've experienced on any line. But certainly some are strong than others which is true of every position on and off ships. Keith

If you were in an Aquamarine you should have. Very strange. Maybe your husband told the butler not to bring them. 😀 Otherwise unless you had your do not disturb up you really should have gotten them. Keith

The butler does not iron clothes. they can unpack and pack though. Keith