kimstew49 Posted February 8, 2012 #1 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My husband and I are planning trip for our 30th wedding anniversary in August. We have decided on the Baltic cruise but struggling with the decision on which cruise line. We have the option of window stateroom on the Symphony or the concierge verandah on the Mariner. I know this is subjective but I would appreciate any recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted February 8, 2012 #2 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My husband and I are planning trip for our 30th wedding anniversary in August. We have decided on the Baltic cruise but struggling with the decision on which cruise line. We have the option of window stateroom on the Symphony or the concierge verandah on the Mariner. I know this is subjective but I would appreciate any recommendations. Do you mean the MARINA?:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 8, 2012 #3 Share Posted February 8, 2012 It will depend on what you prefer Once you step outside your stateroom the ship is the same for everyone Formal nights vs no formal nights All inclusive vs pay as you go Itinerary ..do they both go to the same ports, time ashore etc ??? For us Oceania all the way ..we do not like formal nights or set dining YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimstew49 Posted February 8, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Sorry, my brain is fried from reading reviews, etc. You are correct, it is the Marina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg Posted February 8, 2012 #5 Share Posted February 8, 2012 We love Crystal and have been on both the Symphony and Serenity. My husband, daughter, son in law and I just got off the Marina last Saturday.... hands down I would definitely go with the Marina. We loved every minute of our 12 day cruise. This trip was in the Caribbean and we kept on saying to each other how fabulous the ship would be for Europe! No formal clothes to schlep, and trust me, everyone was dressed elegantly casual every evening. Didn't see one person look frumpy or out of place. No smoking - not on the veranda, not in the staterooms, only in one small glassed off section up in the Horizon lounge. The cabin size also was a big plus. We were in a Penthouse 3 and the kids in a veranda stateroom. Both were much larger than the Crystal counterparts. Our butler was also superb. The food??? With four specialty restaurants, every meal was not only outstanding but switching different places to dine was alot of fun. The Marina and both Crystal ships are our favorites, but with exact itineraries for Europe, well, the Marina has attributes for us that gives it an edge above Crystal. We look forward to sailing on the new Riviera also in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gangway Posted February 8, 2012 #6 Share Posted February 8, 2012 You probably will get different answers if you post the same question on the Crystal board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted February 8, 2012 #7 Share Posted February 8, 2012 A Baltic cruise is unique in that it includes St. Petersburg. One thing absolutely necessary imo is three days there as any less will mean an inability to see all the highlights. Be sure that these itineraries provide that. And to further complicate things I would actually recommend neither of these ships for St.Petersburg since both will have to dock at the new cruise terminal which is quite a drive from the city center, cutting back on actual time for sightseeing. I much prefer the smaller ships of Seabourn or Silversea since they dock right at the English Embankment which is a couple of blocks from the Hermitage. Also, this is OT but I highly recommend hiring a private car with guide and driver for your time in St. P. It costs about the same as ship's tours but you control the agenda and do not have to deal with thirty other people. check out Denrus, Red October or Alla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTor Posted March 13, 2012 #8 Share Posted March 13, 2012 what did you decide? We depart on our first O cruise on the Marina next week. Up until now Crystal has been our favourite - we tried Regent, Star Clippers, Celebrity, Princess etc but keep coming back. Recently though, Crystal did away with the generous "as you wish" on board credits and replaced them with free alcohol.... we're not big drinkers so this isn't good value for us as we lose our "free" massages and shore excursions. Oceania seems to have a similar "deal" to the old Crystal one (ie soft drinks, specialty coffees, alternate dining, chilled sodas in your room, room service are all free, and you only pay as you go for alcohol) - this prompted us to try it. From what I've read so far I suspect we'll really miss Crystal's Enrichment program (we loved the amazing lectures and guest entertainers on board, the language and keyboard classes), and possibly the ballroom dance venues (not much said on this board about quality of music for dancing on Marina), but love the food, decor, lack of smoking and more relaxed dress code. FYI Crystal now offers an open seating option so that is no longer a difference. For a special occasion I'd say it's impossible to go wrong with Crystal, but if cost is a factor you may find Oceania better value. I can post more after our Marina experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimstew49 Posted March 13, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted March 13, 2012 We decided to go with the Marina based upon a couple of things. We've never sailed on Crystal and the best cabin in our budget was a stateroom with a window and on the Marina we are in a PH3 for less money. We really liked the idea of the newer ship, we would both prefer to stay in a new Hilton or Hyatt than an old Ritz or Four Seasons. We also liked the intensive port schedule and no sea days. Also liked the idea of not hauling extra luggage for formal clothes. Please keep us posted, I know you will have wonderful trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroak Posted March 14, 2012 #10 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Is your Baltic cruise for this year or 2013? i priced both Oceania's Marina and Crystal's Serenity 10 day 2013 Baltic cruise and Oceania's PH3 cabin was more than Crystal's oceanview. Just curious as to how you came up with the lesser Oceania PH3 fare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimstew49 Posted March 14, 2012 Author #11 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Our cruise is August of this year. I found Crystal Symphony quotes pretty consistent around $6100 for the balcony stateroom and around $5200 for the PH3 on Marina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroak Posted March 14, 2012 #12 Share Posted March 14, 2012 You originally stated you compared Crystal's oceanview room, which does not have a veranda and was my comparison class, to Oceania's PH3 but now you mention the comparison is for a veranda stateroom on Crystal. I know all these quotes can be quite confusing giving airfare allowances, etc. Crystal is now quoting their fares w/o airfare and I thought Oceania would be doing the same because of some kind of consumer protection law. Quoting w/o airfare does make a comparison a lot easier because when checking Oceania's fares on-line there is no information regarding the airfare allowance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted March 14, 2012 #13 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Jtor, Remember that Crystal's all inclusive policy includes gratuities as well as alcohol both if which are extra on Oceania. And those as you wish OBCs never existed on Crystal before the economy went sour. That was their way to attract passengers when few were booking. People got used to them very fast and took it for granted as a permanent feature which it was never meant to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Pam Posted March 30, 2012 #14 Share Posted March 30, 2012 We love Crystal and have been on both the Symphony and Serenity. My husband, daughter, son in law and I just got off the Marina last Saturday.... hands down I would definitely go with the Marina. We loved every minute of our 12 day cruise. This trip was in the Caribbean and we kept on saying to each other how fabulous the ship would be for Europe! No formal clothes to schlep, and trust me, everyone was dressed elegantly casual every evening. Didn't see one person look frumpy or out of place. No smoking - not on the veranda, not in the staterooms, only in one small glassed off section up in the Horizon lounge. The cabin size also was a big plus. We were in a Penthouse 3 and the kids in a veranda stateroom. Both were much larger than the Crystal counterparts. Our butler was also superb. The food??? With four specialty restaurants, every meal was not only outstanding but switching different places to dine was alot of fun. The Marina and both Crystal ships are our favorites, but with exact itineraries for Europe, well, the Marina has attributes for us that gives it an edge above Crystal. We look forward to sailing on the new Riviera also in the near future. I am so very concerned about the smoking policy on different luxury ships. Did you find that smoking on the Serenity was an issue for your family. Did you sense that someone had previously smoked in your suite? Our family requires healthy air...... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted March 30, 2012 #15 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I am so very concerned about the smoking policy on different luxury ships. Did you find that smoking on the Serenity was an issue for your family. Did you sense that someone had previously smoked in your suite? Our family requires healthy air...... :) We have found it very easy to avoid the 2 smoking areas on Oceania. We never walk into Horizons and never walk by the outdoor smoking area on the pool deck. The rest of the ship is really smoke-free.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted March 30, 2012 #16 Share Posted March 30, 2012 If you want to avoid the smoke in Horizons the new ships have almost fully enclosed smoking area ...I did not notice any smoke drift in there on Marina Of course it also depends on how many puffers are on your specific cruise ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna201213 Posted March 30, 2012 #17 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I was on the Baltic Cruise in 2008 with O (Regatta) and the ship in St Petersburg was dock at an ugly place + it was far away from the Hermitage. I recall that Princess and a couple of other ships was next to the Hermitage and I could imagine the view by night. Our TA did not recommand to buy a Visa such I regret because I could not go in the city by myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted March 30, 2012 #18 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I was on the Baltic Cruise in 2008 with O (Regatta) and the ship in St Petersburg was dock at an ugly place + it was far away from the Hermitage. I recall that Princess and a couple of other ships was next to the Hermitage and I could imagine the view by night. Our TA did not recommand to buy a Visa such I regret because I could not go in the city by myself I don't think that is the norm for the R ships as we have been on two Baltic cruises on O and both times the ship docked in the river in the middle of the city. Magnificent views!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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