Open Booking Deposit Program

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

Interesting I thought I remembered a 1.5% or 2.5%  reduction in fare previously.  Certainly a new company can change that but I’d have considered that as a perk of being recognized as a Society Member. 

The old Crystal provided some savings off cruise fare for Crystal Society Members and for on-board bookings.  When Cruise Fare roll out we will learn if there are Crystal Society savings off cruise fare in the future whether or not there are cruise savings for on board bookings. Time will tell.

 

Keith

[hypercafe]

Just got a call from Crystal Cruises in Miami. As a valued past guest they wanted to give me a chance to give them $500.

[MsCrystalina]

Amazing that thousands of people have given sums of money for what is an unknown entity!

No updates as to the progress on the "refurbishment" (has it even started?), size and costs of the staterooms, and long delay in itineraries. 

I was a Crystal cruiser who must see and study a product before throwing money at it.

With thousands wanting to be on the very first sailing, I suppose there will be drawings, a lottery or more costs!   Unbelievable and comical situation to me.    

[FloatSomeMore]

1 hour ago, hypercafe said:

Just got a call from Crystal Cruises in Miami. As a valued past guest they wanted to give me a chance to give them $500.

We also received a call from a Crystal consultant.  She said that the open deposit program was closing this week (Friday) and that itineraries would be released on Monday for 2023 and 2024.  She also discussed various benefits of A&K's ownership and encouraged us to speak with our TA which we did.  Our TA said there was a meeting on Thursday specific to Crystal and promised to provide any updates.  We did love Crystal and will sail with the new Crystal but we have also returned to Regent and it is very enjoyable.  Looking forward to the future for both of these lines.

[Jimmycruiser]

2 hours ago, MsCrystalina said:

Amazing that thousands of people have given sums of money for what is an unknown entity!

No updates as to the progress on the "refurbishment" (has it even started?), size and costs of the staterooms, and long delay in itineraries. 

I was a Crystal cruiser who must see and study a product before throwing money at it.

With thousands wanting to be on the very first sailing, I suppose there will be drawings, a lottery or more costs!   Unbelievable and comical situation to me.    

You are obviously risk adverse and a glass half empty person which is fine, and you are free to pass on the deal, but for you to find it comical and unbelievable that others would is comical to me.
 

The thousands that bought the $500 open deposit including me WITH NO RISK IF PURCHASED WITH A CREDIT CARD IN THE US and get an additional $500 per suite OBC if they sign up for a cruise within 90 days of release of the itineraries, does not expire, and is refundable, are not all trying to get on the first cruise or even cruise this year. The risk of A&K not providing a first class cruise experience is extremely low and to be safe we will chose a cruise that leaves a couple months after the first cruises leave. Choice is good!

[May B]

47 minutes ago, FloatSomeMore said:

We also received a call from a Crystal consultant.  She said that the open deposit program was closing this week (Friday) and that itineraries would be released on Monday for 2023 and 2024.  She also discussed various benefits of A&K's ownership and encouraged us to speak with our TA which we did.  Our TA said there was a meeting on Thursday specific to Crystal and promised to provide any updates.  We did love Crystal and will sail with the new Crystal but we have also returned to Regent and it is very enjoyable.  Looking forward to the future for both of these lines.

Now won’t it be fascinating, if she was telling the honest truth, about itineraries coming out Monday?!

[travelberlin]

14 hours ago, hypercafe said:

Just got a call from Crystal Cruises in Miami. As a valued past guest they wanted to give me a chance to give them $500.

You are not alone…😉

Ivi

[bitob]

Chutzpah if they call me. Lol

thankfully I’m not home

[ctjon]

I sort of expect that itineraries would be released when the 500 program ended. That would make logical, to me, sense.  

Looking forward to Monday now

[hypercafe]

Seeing the itineraries would be great, I hope they will be accompanied with the new deck plans of the ships. There has been no talk of that 

[skybluewaters]

I received two calls this week from area code 407, which is in Florida.  I didn't answer them because I didn't recognize the number and my iPhone labeled them as spam risks.

I wonder if those calls were from Crystal.

For anyone who has received a call from Crystal in the past week or two, could you kindly look back over your recent phone log and see if they came from area code 407? 

Thanks!

[FloatSomeMore]

1 hour ago, skybluewaters said:

I received two calls this week from area code 407, which is in Florida.  I didn't answer them because I didn't recognize the number and my iPhone labeled them as spam risks.

I wonder if those calls were from Crystal.

For anyone who has received a call from Crystal in the past week or two, could you kindly look back over your recent phone log and see if they came from area code 407? 

Thanks!

 

Just checked and this is the number:  786 464-4605

 

Incoming also said "Miami, FL"

[History&Wine]

1 hour ago, skybluewaters said:

I received two calls this week from area code 407, which is in Florida.  I didn't answer them because I didn't recognize the number and my iPhone labeled them as spam risks.

I wonder if those calls were from Crystal.

For anyone who has received a call from Crystal in the past week or two, could you kindly look back over your recent phone log and see if they came from area code 407? 

Thanks!

Checking my phone:  786-464-4606, so from the same phone bank as FloatSomeMore.

[BWIVince]

23 hours ago, MsCrystalina said:

Amazing that thousands of people have given sums of money for what is an unknown entity!

No updates as to the progress on the "refurbishment" (has it even started?), size and costs of the staterooms, and long delay in itineraries. 

I was a Crystal cruiser who must see and study a product before throwing money at it.

With thousands wanting to be on the very first sailing, I suppose there will be drawings, a lottery or more costs!   Unbelievable and comical situation to me.    

 

Not surprising at all...  People book new products with travel suppliers every day on spec, because there is usually some kind of incentive tied to it.  If they don't like the details when they're released they can always cancel, but the incentives to book after more of the details are released are almost always less attractive.

 

It's pretty much all upside.

 

Vince

[willoL]

Phew, it took me a few minutes to read this entire thread! 😅

 

Having had the great pleasure of a couple of Crystal Cruises--and meeting the illustrious and seemingly always so even-handed Keith in person 👋--I was actually quite delighted to get the email inviting me to make a $500 deposit toward Crystal's speculative return.

 

On the other hand, as a person who cruises more rarely than many on these boards, I haven't made such a deposit, though the reminder email that the program ends soon is what brought me to CC today. I simply had to learn more!

 

My family had a really delightful HAL cruise this August--a "last hurrah" before my eldest left for college and flew my full-time-nest--but there's no doubt DH and I were almost constantly wishing we were back on Serenity with 1/4 the total passenger volume. (He and I are trying out a Quark expedition this summer, and I've got a British Isles/TA booked on a small Oceania ship for just my youngest and me in 2024 already, so I'm not likely to book any additional cruise until 2025.)

 

IMHO, it's not wrong to be cautious here, nor is it wrong to take a fairly average financial risk and put down a small deposit toward the re-launch, by a new entity, of a product many of us found best in class. Scientific studies of human minds find we are awful at accurately assessing statistical risk with our guts, and the failure of Genting/Crystal is really, completely unrelated to the financial footing of A&K/Crystal.

 

That said, optics and public opinion obviously matter, and I'd be communicating like crazy if I owned this new company. Optimists like me are inclined to be hopeful about its prospects, but I'd like a bit more information than they're currently offering to commit my personal funds.

 

It cheered me to receive an email from Crystal Cruises, that's for sure. I'll have my eye on their future offerings, and won't hold the old management's mistakes against the new owner. I can't wait to hear if the product holds up to expectations!

 

--willo

[allinthesameboat]

My TA and I agree that we should not give them a die until they show some solid itineraries.

[Stickman1990]

5 minutes ago, allinthesameboat said:

My TA and I agree that we should not give them a die until they show some solid itineraries.

That’s absolutely your prerogative, 100% your choice - but please don’t return in a couple of weeks bemoaning the “fact” that the new Crystal didn’t give you any recognition as a past customer of old Crystal as this programme is part of their recognition of that relationship 

[allinthesameboat]

Gee, thanks for the lecture.

[BWIVince]

Trust me, Crystal isn’t withholding information because they don’t understand the value of communication — things are only quiet because there is nothing final yet to communicate.  When they have something to share, you’re going to hear so much about it you’re going to long for the days before you were bombarded with emails and/or mailers.  I can see the complaint threads now.  Enjoy the quiet while it while it lasts.

As for timing, keep in mind that New Crystal has to do about 65% of the work that NYK and Old Crystal took 4+ years to do.  Starting with built ships isn’t even as much of an advantage as it might sound, when you’re trying to plan dry docks on both that customarily have taken about 2 years to design, fabricate for and execute.

 

Vince

[Lord Haw Haw]

5 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

That’s absolutely your prerogative, 100% your choice - but please don’t return in a couple of weeks bemoaning the “fact” that the new Crystal didn’t give you any recognition as a past customer of old Crystal as this programme is part of their recognition of that relationship 

Just curious, does anyone know for sure that entering into the early deposit program will be a requirement to transfer any previous status? I am keen to sail on the new Crystal but have already committed elsewhere to cruises up to 2025.

[Stickman1990]

1 minute ago, Lord Haw Haw said:

Just curious, does anyone know for sure that entering into the early deposit program will be a requirement to transfer any previous status? I am keen to sail on the new Crystal but have already committed elsewhere to cruises up to 2025.

 

No idea - and just for clarity my post was not intending to infer that might be the case ie a pre-requisite to recognition of previous status

 

I think we're all interested in just what recognition of previous Crystal Society status and benefit might be offered by new Crystal (I guess anything will be an upside)

 

We've already seen some other lines grant status matches based on previous Crystal Society levels so new Crystal recognising Crystal Society status would make sense - now just what that (might) extends to remains to be seen

[Lord Haw Haw]

3 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

No idea - and just for clarity my post was not intending to infer that might be the case ie a pre-requisite to recognition of previous status

 

I think we're all interested in just what recognition of previous Crystal Society status and benefit might be offered by new Crystal (I guess anything will be an upside)

 

We've already seen some other lines grant status matches based on previous Crystal Society levels so new Crystal recognising Crystal Society status would make sense - now just what that (might) extends to remains to be seen

Thanks for the quick response, it's nice having people in the same time zone.

 

It seems to have become fairly common to match status in the industry, I guess time will tell.

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, Lord Haw Haw said:

Just curious, does anyone know for sure that entering into the early deposit program will be a requirement to transfer any previous status? I am keen to sail on the new Crystal but have already committed elsewhere to cruises up to 2025.

I think (just my opinion) if there were any additional benefits of doing an open booking deposit it would have been noted when they rolled this out.  

 

As to a Crystal Society or Crystal Society like program this is something that we will all learn about together.

 

Keith

[BWIVince]

What the new (or old, if they go that direction) loyalty program will look like is just one of the myriad of programs and details the new company has to outline before they can start full-scale marketing.  They don’t need to have all the details worked out, and they can continue to add to it, but they do need the basics at this point.
 

IMHO, I can’t imagine them ignoring Crystal’s previous guests  in the program after spending so much money for that info, but what the new program looks like will be anyone’s guess.

 

It’s a balancing act between being Crystal’s first real chance to make sweeping changes to the program and fix some of the legacy issues with it with less blowback than the previous management teams would have received, and the need for the program to feel familiar and rewarding to previous guests in order to make the transition attractive and comfortable for the legacy clientele.

 

We shall see…. (Probably in the next couple of weeks if reports remain on target.)

 

Vince

[bitob]

If they can ignore everyone who lost money, they can ignore status.