Open Booking Deposit Program

[travelberlin]

32 minutes ago, Jinn said:

Has anyone gotten a single supplement for an aquamarine cabin?  Thanks, Julia

Have a look at the thread on single supplements. On the Serenity only those forward on deck 7 (the so called single cabins) have a lower single supplement in relation to the per person price for doble occupancy in other cabins. All others, including the one you are asking for, come with almost 100% increase ( probably taxes and fees are just for one person)

Ivi

[oakridger]

2 hours ago, travelberlin said:

All others, including the one you are asking for, come with almost 100% increase ( probably taxes and fees are just for one person)

 

This may be a problem for me but I'm waiting to see how things shake out before I make any decisions one way or the other.

 

~Nancy

[cruisr]

23 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

This may be a problem for me but I'm waiting to see how things shake out before I make any decisions one way or the other.

 

~Nancy

LOL. It’s Definitely a problem for me.

[travelberlin]

7 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

This may be a problem for me but I'm waiting to see how things shake out before I make any decisions one way or the other.

 

~Nancy

Unfortunately this is really a problem for me. I cruise solo often and since I do not take cabins forward on a ship, I will have to take the offers of other cruise lines if this policy remains. 
I had long cruises booked and paid as a solo passenger with Crystal, and interesting itineraries,  which unfortunately did not happen because of the known Crystal problem. 
Ivi

[PaulMCO]

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

Unfortunately this is really a problem for me. I cruise solo often and since I do not take cabins forward on a ship, I will have to take the offers of other cruise lines if this policy remains. 
I had long cruises booked and paid as a solo passenger with Crystal, and interesting itineraries,  which unfortunately did not happen because of the known Crystal problem. 
Ivi

Ivi -- you are much too polite -- "known Crystal problem"    Like Harry Potter saying he who shall not be named  🙂

Edited February 7, 2023 by PaulMCO

[BWIVince]

13 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Unfortunately this is really a problem for me. I cruise solo often and since I do not take cabins forward on a ship, I will have to take the offers of other cruise lines if this policy remains. 

 

I'm with you on that...  The designated single cabins really don't interest me at this time.  

 

I don't think that says anything about the future though...  Old Crystal's single supplement policy was an iterative creation based on historic sales data -- something new Crystal has none of yet, from all these new variables.  I'm sure their approach to singles will change significantly over the next couple of years, and possibly a bit even before they start sailing), so I don't blame anyone that waits to see before entertaining Crystal as an option.  (And for other factors too.)

 

Vince

[Jayayeff]

On 2/8/2023 at 3:22 AM, BWIVince said:

 

I'm with you on that...  The designated single cabins really don't interest me at this time.  

 

I don't think that says anything about the future though...  Old Crystal's single supplement policy was an iterative creation based on historic sales data -- something new Crystal has none of yet, from all these new variables.  I'm sure their approach to singles will change significantly over the next couple of years, and possibly a bit even before they start sailing), so I don't blame anyone that waits to see before entertaining Crystal as an option.  (And for other factors too.)

 

Vince

 

One can only hope as the present approach is little short of insulting, especially, if like me, the Symphony itineraries are the ones that usually attract your attention... There's not a chance I will be handing over the amount of money they are asking for those Deck7 Single Occupancy Cabins on the Symphony.  I don't sleep well at the best of times, but that far forward and right above the Galaxy Lounge doesn't bear thinking about!!!   I guess that, and/or the imposition of a 50% SS if you want to move a little further back to the staterooms we previously occupied, was one way to discourage the return of the faithful solo cruisers who were so loyal to Crystal in the past....Mission Accomplished...

 

Anne...

[RD64]

5 hours ago, Jayayeff said:

 

One can only hope as the present approach is little short of insulting, especially, if like me, the Symphony itineraries are the ones that usually attract your attention... There's not a chance I will be handing over the amount of money they are asking for those Deck7 Single Occupancy Cabins on the Symphony.  I don't sleep well at the best of times, but that far forward and right above the Galaxy Lounge doesn't bear thinking about!!!   I guess that, and/or the imposition of a 50% SS if you want to move a little further back to the staterooms we previously occupied, was one way to discourage the return of the faithful solo cruisers who were so loyal to Crystal in the past....Mission Accomplished...

 

Anne...

Faithful solo cruisers did not necessarily pay the bills.

[bitob]

On 11/3/2022 at 5:47 PM, nancygp said:

We haven’t sailed as extensively as you but our travels are increasing as we now have more time to do so.  While there are many ports yet to conquer, we love sea days.  We have a 14 day crossing in the spring with only one port for of the 2 days. 😂

 

nancy

 

On 12/5/2022 at 8:37 AM, John Cruise said:

BIITOB if you are still with this blog, could you please tell me when

bridge started , and was it before your transatlantic?

thanks,

john

 

On 12/24/2022 at 7:21 PM, Stickman1990 said:

I’m not sure that statement is correct these days - there are several new ships out there built in recent years that have plenty of public spaces that match or exceed those on Crystal. Have you tried Regent, Silverseas and Seabourn new mid size ships? 

 

I’m on Seven Seas Explorer at the moment which is 700 guest capacity but sailing with just over 600 onboard and it is very very spacious - both our entry level veranda cabin and the many public spaces and lounges

 

What else could they use casino space for (although I’d prefer they retain the casino) - maybe a cooking school which is proving very popular on our cruise (a revenue source as a paid activity)? I do agree they are in need of more specialist restaurants on Crystal - on Explorer they have 3 full specialist (Asian, French and Steakhouse) then 1 which changes at night - similar concept as the old Lido except it has a full kitchen to prepare food as well as a Pool grill and lastly but certainly not least the dining room Compass Rose which is very good. Plus there’s the Coffee Connection and an extensive room service menu

 

As I’ve detoured onto food here’s the Compass Rose Christmas Day menu - I’m certainly looking forward to dinner tonight

 

Merry Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 2/3/2023 at 5:29 AM, calliopecruiser said:

What's an attractive or interesting itinerary will vary from person to person.  I personally am not terribly impressed with the itineraries so far, because I favour lots of days at sea; I'm disappointed not to see any straight transoceanics.  I cruise for the sea days and the ship, not the ports.  My favourite Crystal itinerary involved 15 straight sea days from Hawaii to Aukland - it was heavenly. 

 

On 2/3/2023 at 5:51 AM, calliopecruiser said:

You never know til you get there.......I cruised with Seabourn and, in spite of their reputation, found them just barely above mediocre. 

 

On 2/3/2023 at 9:10 AM, Texas Tillie said:

 

I was on the Silver Muse this past Dec., 18 days Singapore to Sydney with 9 sea days. Enrichment was lacking and entertainment was even worse. I keep hearing Silversea is upping their game with those - when you're in the basement, any improvement is up. YMMV

 

Patty

 

 

 

On 2/3/2023 at 7:29 AM, Mr Luxury said:

Yes zero but Mr Anderson is coming back to have another go.

Buyer beware. 😁 

 

On 2/3/2023 at 11:04 AM, TER777 said:

Sure there is. We're getting double Crystal Society discount and only 15% deposit, for booking with our open booking deposits.

 

On 2/3/2023 at 11:25 AM, TER777 said:

How do you get a CS discount if you’re not a CS member? Or are you saying you resent those who didn’t lose any money getting the discount too?

 

On 2/3/2023 at 1:04 PM, ivyleaguegent said:

Judging by the amount of time that travel agents are waiting on the phone to speak to Crystal reservation agents and the amount of cabins already booked for 2024 cruises it does not appear that Crystal (A&K) is concerned about the necessity of making accomodations for people who lost money with another company (the Genting subsidiary).  Legally, it would be comparable to expecting Nordstrom's to give special pricing to Bloomingdales customers.  It is incomprehensible to me that people cant grasp the simple fact that "Crystal Cruises" is simply a trade name once owned by Genting and purchased (and now owned) by a completely different company (A&K).  

 

On 2/4/2023 at 1:11 PM, travelberlin said:

I guess the company is facing lots of challenges at the moment. Friends who have booked said they were advised that itineraries can change. Although this is normal when cruise lines are already sailing, I think it is less frequently at the time of booking.
I imagine that it is not easy to even book ports, catering services and other type of services in ports. If I recall properly many service providers have also been defaulted by Crystal. It must be hard to convince those service providers that this is a new company and at the same time use the Crystal name. 🧐

Ivi

 

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

Faithful solo cruisers did not necessarily pay the bills.

Maybe not.  Shouldn't everyone be a valued former cruiser?

 

Cruisers who booked top suites on long cruises did pay the pills for sure.   Those are the ones who lost the most money. Tens of thousands. They don't care about those loyal customers either.

 

It's a new company, of course.   No obligations.

[BWIVince]

17 minutes ago, bitob said:

Maybe not.  Shouldn't everyone be a valued former cruiser?

 

😄  I can think of few industries on our planet that have perfected the art of investing variable amounts in specific customer relationships and refined personas than the travel industry.

 

Vince

[Jayayeff]

2 hours ago, RD64 said:

Faithful solo cruisers did not necessarily pay the bills.

 You are assuming all those solo faithful cruisers paid only the entry level cruise fare, and whilst I can’t speak for them all I for sure spent a lot more on add-ons than many of the couples I met during my travels, and know others who paid not insignificant SS% for higher category staterooms than the entry level ones!!!   
 

Anne…

[BWIVince]

26 minutes ago, Jayayeff said:

 You are assuming all those solo faithful cruisers paid only the entry level cruise fare, and whilst I can’t speak for them all I for sure spent a lot more on add-ons than many of the couples I met during my travels, and know others who paid not insignificant SS% for higher category staterooms than the entry level ones!!!   
 

Anne…

 

Anne, I'd add on to your point that for better or worse, Crystal sailing seldom sailed anywhere near capacity, so it's not like the singles were taking berths away from other paying customers.  (The number of single cabins offered per sailing was controlled to prevent that from happening, but in practice I was never declined a stateroom at the reduces supplement, so it never seemed to be an issue.)

 

I agree with others that Crystal's former inventory situation isn't something to aspire too, and I don't blame Crystal for trying to take another approach (especially with how much enthusiasm there was on the board for dedicated single cabins (ugh!)), but I suspect the new sales leadership is going to learn some lessons and make some tweaks to this plan once they get some sales history in their hands, and some market feedback from agents and customers.  Just a guess though...  Singles are a pretty lucrative market in this segment -- you just have to balance a few factors to ensure profitability.

 

Vince

[travelberlin]

6 hours ago, RD64 said:

Faithful solo cruisers did not necessarily pay the bills.

How do you know? I am still wondering where my money of my solo full paid cruises which never happened went…who paid Crystals bills? Apparently no one otherwise it would have not gone bankrupt 😁

Ivi

[BWIVince]

19 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

How do you know? I am still wondering where my money of my solo full paid cruises which never happened went…who paid Crystals bills? Apparently no one otherwise it would have not gone bankrupt 😁

Ivi

 

I know you mean that as a joke, but I feel like this is something that a lot of people don't understand so I'll kind of piggyback a comment on that for people that don't think there's a real answer to.  🙂 

 

In concept, the money went to pay refunds on people that had non-refundable cancellations, since that money isn't accounted for in US accounting standards for travel suppliers.

 

In practice, your money may still be sitting there in that reserve account.   When the chargeback period times out, control reverts back to the merchant, in this case the assignee, and to gets added to the pool for reimbursement as prescribed.  This is why I encouraged everyone to file a claim, no matter how useless they thought it was.

 

Again, I'm not trying make something serious out of the joke, but I keep seeing themes come up that people need to know there are real answers to.  🙂 

 

Vince

[travelberlin]

2 hours ago, BWIVince said:

 

I know you mean that as a joke, but I feel like this is something that a lot of people don't understand so I'll kind of piggyback a comment on that for people that don't think there's a real answer to.  🙂 

 

In concept, the money went to pay refunds on people that had non-refundable cancellations, since that money isn't accounted for in US accounting standards for travel suppliers.

 

In practice, your money may still be sitting there in that reserve account.   When the chargeback period times out, control reverts back to the merchant, in this case the assignee, and to gets added to the pool for reimbursement as prescribed.  This is why I encouraged everyone to file a claim, no matter how useless they thought it was.

 

Again, I'm not trying make something serious out of the joke, but I keep seeing themes come up that people need to know there are real answers to.  🙂 

 

Vince

Vince thank you. Are you sure you are not diplomatic from profession? 
I guess you are right about the money sitting somewhere and I have followed your advice a long time ago and filed a claim.

Ivi

[RD64]

9 hours ago, Jayayeff said:

 You are assuming all those solo faithful cruisers paid only the entry level cruise fare, and whilst I can’t speak for them all I for sure spent a lot more on add-ons than many of the couples I met during my travels, and know others who paid not insignificant SS% for higher category staterooms than the entry level ones!!!   
 

Anne…

Yes I am making that assumption. There have been numerous posts on these boards by single cruisers hoping that the New Crystal’s single fares would be as low as Former Crystal’s. Now that this does not appear to be the case - people are lamenting the fact that they can’t get the cabins of their choice at what they deem to be an acceptable price. 

[wearesiamese]

2 hours ago, RD64 said:

Yes I am making that assumption. There have been numerous posts on these boards by single cruisers hoping that the New Crystal’s single fares would be as low as Former Crystal’s. Now that this does not appear to be the case - people are lamenting the fact that they can’t get the cabins of their choice at what they deem to be an acceptable price. 

I am one of those solo travelers who only books the lowest price category stateroom and do not drink and only rarely used the slot machines in the casino, so  am exactly the type of passenger y'all are referring to.  FWIW there should not be any shame with not having the means $ of   many cruisers on this board .

P.S. the new Crystal is still more affordable for me as a solo traveler than Regent , Seabourn or Silverseas, even with their so called deals-which aren't  deals to me.I dont even bother looking at their catalogues/websites anymore

Edited February 10, 2023 by wearesiamese

[Texas Tillie]

12 hours ago, wearesiamese said:

I am one of those solo travelers who only books the lowest price category stateroom and do not drink and only rarely used the slot machines in the casino, so  am exactly the type of passenger y'all are referring to.  FWIW there should not be any shame with not having the means $ of   many cruisers on this board .

P.S. the new Crystal is still more affordable for me as a solo traveler than Regent , Seabourn or Silverseas, even with their so called deals-which aren't  deals to me.I dont even bother looking at their catalogues/websites anymore

 

I've been seeing many no to low (25%) single supplements on Silversea and Regent. Don't know about Seabourn, but wouldn't be surprised if they have them too. When you compare Crystal's new rates (for the solo cabins which seem to be selling like hot cakes) and these other lines, when you consider the bottom line, what you get for the fare on each, you will get equivalent or sometimes better rates on the lines other than Crystal. 

 

[RD64]

My post was not intended to “shame” anyone. My point was that for months people were speculating / hoping - will they / won’t they - offer reasonable single fares.

 

NC does offer reasonable single fares BUT in a cabin category that many single cruisers do not deem acceptable.  From Economics 101 - Day 2 lesson  - Opportunity Cost - You Can’t Have Your Cake And Eat  It Too. (Day 1 lesson -  There is no such thing as a free lunch). My point is you can’t necessarily have the cabin you want at the price you think is fair.

 

NC needs to be profitable - not just profitable -  but profitable enough that it will have newbuilds. OC was only profitable one year I believe, but it had the benefit of belonging to the Genting (or whoever) group with very deep pockets. The pockets of AK are certainly not as deep

 

 

 

[History&Wine]

5 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

I've been seeing many no to low (25%) single supplements on Silversea and Regent. Don't know about Seabourn, but wouldn't be surprised if they have them too. When you compare Crystal's new rates (for the solo cabins which seem to be selling like hot cakes) and these other lines, when you consider the bottom line, what you get for the fare on each, you will get equivalent or sometimes better rates on the lines other than Crystal. 

 

"Solo cabins seem to be selling like hotcakes"   How does one tell?  Since the bookings are not yet open to the public...how does one tell which cruises or rooms are selling well?  Genuinely curious if someone knows....

[RD64]

39 minutes ago, History&Wine said:

"Solo cabins seem to be selling like hotcakes"   How does one tell?  Since the bookings are not yet open to the public...how does one tell which cruises or rooms are selling well?  Genuinely curious if someone knows....

If I am correct there are 15 on one ship and 18 on the other - does this original poster infer that they are already sold out, despite all of the animosity single travellers have towards their forward location?

[scubaaz]

I have checked some of the low to no supplement single fares on some of the other luxury cruise lines.  The percent single supplement may be low but the actual fare is often quite high or limited to only certain cabin categories.  On one line the no single supplement fares were $1000+ daily.

[Texas Tillie]

40 minutes ago, History&Wine said:

"Solo cabins seem to be selling like hotcakes"   How does one tell?  Since the bookings are not yet open to the public...how does one tell which cruises or rooms are selling well?  Genuinely curious if someone knows....

 

Based on my travel agent inquiring about the solo cabins on several cruises and all being fully booked. There were "any number" (not getting into the argument on guessing how many crew members will be returning) of Crystal Society members who paid their $500 and booked soon after they were able.

 

Patty

[Texas Tillie]

6 minutes ago, scubaaz said:

I have checked some of the low to no supplement single fares on some of the other luxury cruise lines.  The percent single supplement may be low but the actual fare is often quite high or limited to only certain cabin categories.  On one line the no single supplement fares were $1000+ daily.

 

And what was included in that fare? Was it one where flights were included? You have got to compare apples to apples, not apples to watermelons.

 

Patty

[travelberlin]

3 hours ago, RD64 said:

My post was not intended to “shame” anyone. My point was that for months people were speculating / hoping - will they / won’t they - offer reasonable single fares.

 

NC does offer reasonable single fares BUT in a cabin category that many single cruisers do not deem acceptable.  From Economics 101 - Day 2 lesson  - Opportunity Cost - You Can’t Have Your Cake And Eat  It Too. (Day 1 lesson -  There is no such thing as a free lunch). My point is you can’t necessarily have the cabin you want at the price you think is fair.

 

NC needs to be profitable - not just profitable -  but profitable enough that it will have newbuilds. OC was only profitable one year I believe, but it had the benefit of belonging to the Genting (or whoever) group with very deep pockets. The pockets of AK are certainly not as deep

 

 

 

The profitability is not against of a solo friendly policy. The message we are getting from Crystal is that they do not want solo cruisers unless those take less desirable cabins or pay for two people. 
Ivi