Keith1010

Agreed. Similar to when they redesigned the Lido Cafe to become Marketplace. I remember some asked why so many small tables and that was also to maximize occupancy and to accommodate more singles and couples. Keith

The Bistro was indeed gutted. And I like the birds on the wall that move. For those who don't know it is a real wooden floor and a high end one. to boot. Keith

Very intimate shows with around 20 or so people in attendance so you pick up tickets from them in the library from the librarian. Often] members from the audience get to participate. Keith

The number of people on a Crystal excursion will vary based on the excursion that is offered. If it is one involving a large bus it is often not jam-packed and in some cases might be half full but there will be other cases where it is closer to being full. It just depends. There will be an escort from the ship along with driver and tour guide. What you do really depends on yourself and situation. In our case for many years we took ships tours but as we started to do private excursions we mainly went private unless there was something we felt was offered on a group excursion that we couldn't do on our own. I always think of all of this being like a tool box and would recommend looking at both options. As to knowing the max size you really can't know that but often from each writeup you can get a feel for the type of transportation. Unless you've been told something I am not aware of on our many stops to Barcelona when the port was the embarkation port porters are there early enough that you can arrive earlier. I would arrive sometime between 11:00 and 11:30 AM and expect boarding to begin around 12:00 PM. Once on board a few of the lunch venues will be open. We enjoy having lunch in Waterside with table service while some like something more casual such as the Trident Grill. You will either board on Deck 5 or 6 and Waterside is right on Deck 5. Even in cases where we get complimentary laundry we prefer doing it our own. The washing machines and detergent are included in the cost of the fare and on the Crystal ships are very nice sizes and you use your key card to enter and they are normally open 7x24. We have had dry cleaning and pressing done often and the quality is terrific and they offer turn around either the next day or the day after based on what you request with next day service being a higher price than two day turnaround. Keith

I always thought that the on board credit is a pass through from the cruise line to the CC company so I am thinking this has nothing to do with Amex being burned. I learned a big lesson and that is to use Amex for big purchases. Of all our CC companies they were the easiest to deal with. They actually keep records when you call them. They actually have customer service people who understand what you are saying without explaining it over and over and they actually come through. I am not saying they are the only one but all I know is out of the companies I used they are the only one who got it right and came through. There is one that was a complete horror to work with. And that was when I was trying to get refunds during the shutdown due to Covid and that was an absolute nightmare. Amex was not. Keith

Like most things availability for dinner at Tastes will vary by evening and by cruise. If the cruise has high occupancy it will be more challenging without a reservation and if you are not flexible. On cruises with lower occupancy less than an issue. With that said, making reservations are easy ahead of time using My Account and once on board the ship either doing it yourself or asking the Butler to do this for you. Personally , I prefer having a reservation so I know for sure we can be seated and because it makes it far easier for the Food & Beverage team to plan evening resources. There are times when resources have to be reallocated from Waterside to Tastes or from other dining venues to Waterside. Yes, I realize sometimes there is a need for spontanaety if one is returning from a late tour, had planned say to go to Waterside but decided at the last minute to dine at Tastes. All of this is a reminder that no two cruises are precisely the same and that incudes whether or not it is easy to seat at the Sushi Bar in Umi Uma. Just saying. Keith

Yes it is as it was before. Crystal recommends making reservations for dinner and using My Account you can make one for dinner ahead of time as you can for Osteria and Umi Uma. Keith

To reserved for anyone greater than those on one booking, you need to get their names and booking numbers and send to on board guest services. This counts towards their one pre reservation for the restaurant you want to dine at. Best to do it sooner rather than later as there are not many 8 person tables. You need to note date/time. Keith

No further details yet have been released since it was announced that the plan is for four new ships; two expedition and to ocean. Keith

David, I think they wrote it with two people on the booking in mind. Keith

Congratulations on sailing on your first Crystal Cruise. I hope you have a great time. If you have not done so already go to the Crystal Cruises web site and if on a computer look to the top where it say My Account. You will need to create a user id (e-mail) and password to access your account. and that is where you will provide some information. You will also use this to make all your reservations. At the present time 120 days prior to your sailing you can make specialty restaurant reservations and that is one each at Umi Uma, Osteria and Tastes. Once on board you can make additional ones based on availability. Tastes has not cost for additional reservations. The other two do but that depends on the length of your voyage. The following is from one of the question and answers on the Crystal website: Keith Our restaurants are complimentary, except for The Vintage Room. For our specialty restaurants, Umi Uma by Nobu Matsuhisa Restaurant and Sushi Bar and Osteria d'Ovidio, guests will be allotted one complimentary reservation for two people per voyage of up to 11 days (more than one for more extended stays - see below). In addition, guests staying in Crystal Penthouse or Junior Crystal Penthouse Suites can enjoy unlimited free visits. Up to 11 days: One complimentary reservation to each restaurant 12 to 22 days: Two complimentary reservations to each restaurant 23 or more days: Three complimentary reservations to each restaurant Reservations above the complimentary allotment will be $50 per person.

All our Crystal bookings have final payments due 120 days before the cruise and that's when the penalties kick in. They are all under 39 days. For cruises of 40 days or greater I believe the first one kicks in at 121 to 150 days. This excludes the administrative fee. Keith

This makes sense. It certainly is a popular one for those in North America who don't want to take a cruise ending in the USA and for sea day lovers as this certainly has a lot of sea days. Glad to hear you booked it and that there were a few rooms to choose from. Keith

I am not sure on this one but time will tell. On the most recent go around they didn't have a lot of time nor did the other lines either and they had to come up with a plan for two months with a completely new itinerary. So I think they were in total catchup mode. While waiting till penalties kick in does lock some people in the promotions they have offered come with a big cost. I believe with uncertainty people will cancel. I suspect it is a popular cruise based on the number of people who I personally know who are booked on it. Hopefully this will get resolved sooner rather than later for everyone's good and I hope it does for all who are booked. Keith

My guess and it's only a guess that to avoid having to do all of this at the last minute that Crystal will have to look at future itineraries such as the one at the end of the year sooner rather than later. While people can argue whether or not the ones that were just revised could have been out a bit sooner this whole issue exploded over the past couple of months. It is a reminder that the best of travel plans can be impacted and there can be risk. I have read on another site that someone had a non-refundable hotel reservation and there is risk there. I've only done that one time and sure enough it was when there were some issues in the UK and we decided to travel another way. I was able to persuade them to refund my booking for the hotel but after that I never did it again. Between terrorism, mother nature, and other events things happen and in our world today there is a greater chance of that. The other thing is to explore cancel for any reason insurance. Not cheap and one has to factor the cost of the insurance rather than the risk of losing the money. In this case there was money not lost as it could be used for another cruise but there could be times that one wants to cancel even though the cruise is a go. Just another thing to consider when making travel plans. And I do understand self insuring and how it can pay for itself over time. But that doesn't mean there is never a time for this type of insurance. I've only gotten this type one time, but we did use it. I still can't imagine all of the work that had to go into revising these itineraries between laying it all out, securing the ports, creating the excursions, redoing where the staffing gets on and off, reprovisioning items, and the list goes on and on and on. I suspect items have been on order for quite awhile with plans to arrive in some of the turn around ports that are no longer part of the revised itienrary. The other thing this reminded me of is not to put off travel. There are places that most people can 't get to these days that they used to be able to get to. Hopefully, some are temporary but as we all age some of them might not happen again in our lifetime. Keith

Thank you for posting them. You are right. It is so easy to do once you figure it out. In my case, it took a few days on the Holidays Cruise until the lightbulb went off in my brain. Keep them coming. Keith

I wanted to mention that that all of the revised WC 2024 segments on board Crystal Serenity are now on the website including pricing. Best to all of you on board Crystal Serenity and thank you for posting the reflections and menus. Keith https://www.crystalcruises.com/search?itineraries[refinementList][departure][0]=202404&itineraries[refinementList][departure][1]=202405&itineraries[refinementList][ship][0]=CSE&itineraries[sortBy]=sort_departure_asc

I wanted to mention that that all of the revised WC 2024 segments on board Crystal Serenity are now on the website including pricing. Keith https://www.crystalcruises.com/search?itineraries[refinementList][departure][0]=202404&itineraries[refinementList][departure][1]=202405&itineraries[refinementList][ship][0]=CSE&itineraries[sortBy]=sort_departure_asc

It is very similar to original Crystal. This means that in some ports there will be a shuttle. Sometimes it is the local area that doesn't allow a shuttle to be provided. A good source to find out if a shuttle will be offered is on board guest services. Keith

annlee, I wanted to add that the two letters from friends I saw went to their respective agents this past Friday morning via e-mail so if you are on an impacted sailing your agent should have an e-mail with your name that the agent should send to you. It will list your cruise, the options and the new itinerary. At least this is what I've seen for Serenity which has the majority of the impacted cruises as Symphony has the one cancelled cruise. Again, I would start with your TA. Keith

Thanks for all of your updates Whipsnade. Very much appreciate. Keith

Same information as the spreadsheet posted earlier but not in a PDF for those who had trouble opening it. Keith

From one of the two letters which two different friends sent to me. We thank you and your clients for choosing Crystal for their upcoming voyage. We have been closely monitoring the ongoing situation in and around the Red Sea and have been assessing all options. The number-one priority for us is the safety and security of our guests, and so we regret to tell you that we have made the unavoidable decision to cancel the upcoming voyage. We apologize for the disappointment and inconvenience this may cause, and would like to assure you that we are here to assist and to offer the following alternatives: Option 1 – Your client may move to the new voyage with the revised itinerary below and: Receive a refund for the adjustment of the length of voyage. Receive 15% off the cruise fare if your client wishes to add on an additional segment. Receive a reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses for travel*. Revised Itinerary: (It's in the letter but didn't copy and paste it here) Option 2 – Receive a credit of the booking fare to use towards another sailing in 2024 and receive 15% savings on the cruise fare, subject to availability (excluding Grand Journeys and World Cruise). If the alternative voyage cost is less than the credit received, this will be credited to the guest. Option 3 – Receive a credit of the booking fare to use towards another sailing in 2025 and receive 10% savings on the cruise fare, subject to availability (excluding Grand Journeys and World Cruise). If the alternative voyage cost is less than the credit received, this will be credited to the guest. Out-of-Pocket Expenses – Any reasonable non-refundable expenses directly impacted by the change will be processed within 30 days of receipt of request and proof. This does not include flight credit reimbursement, partially refundable flights, loyalty program point redemptions, and non-essential pre and post accommodations. These must be submitted to: guestrelations@crystalcruises.com for review and approval. We sincerely hope that your client will find a solution to their liking. Our Reservations Team is ready to assist when you and your client have made a decision. If no action is taken by March 22nd, 2024, the booking will be cancelled, and a Future Cruise Credit issued. Thank you for your continued loyalty to Crystal. We look forward to welcoming your guests aboard soon. Yours gratefully, Crystal Guest Relations

LeeAnne one I remember for sure was Celebrity. I remember it opened precisely at midnight and I do remember having a bit more cake than I should have. Keith

The only reason I saw the letters is two friends who are booked on impacted segments sent them to me. They were sent to their TA's who sent them to their clients, in this case my friends. If you are on not on board and have booked one of these cruises and booked through an agent I would contact your agent to ask them to send the letter to you. Keith