Are the itineraries interesting?

[Keith1010]

Lots of cruises have been added including Miami.

 

Check out the website.

 

Keith

[goldengatecruisers]

That's great news Keith. I am also noticing some amendments to text and a few corrections here and there.  It now notes under the suite categories - one can book either the "new or classic" design.  Interesting, this is the first mention of the fact that certain suites (namely deck 10 and 11 on Serenity and possibly some on Symphony) will remain untouched.  So we should expect ‘three’ eras of decor… traditional color palette and design, Seabreeze refreshed design for some suites and now the 2023 renovation for the newly created rooms (artist rendering which may or may not be the final look).  It certainly will be a melange of design schemes but I think I can live with that.   It is good to finally see the gaps filling in so people can make their booking choices before everything gets open to the general public.  

[Emdee]

3 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Lots of cruises have been added including Miami.

 

Check out the website.

 

Keith

Will do. 

[Keith1010]

The itineraries IMHO reflect the evolution we have seen over the last many years. When we sailed Crystal early on there was usually one or two seven day cruises and the rest were longer.  Heck before we took World Cruises there was the World Cruise and the segments were something like 25 to 35+ days.  Even the seven days cruises often had three sea days.

 

Back then crossings varied and I remember our first crossing had a good amount of port stops.  I remember meeting some guests who said they actually selected the crossing that Crystal had because they wanted port stops.  We were on our fourth or so Crystal Cruise and felt the same way.  At the same time there were some crossing with plenty of sea days and we've done both types with Crystal as many of you have over the years.

 

Then it evolved to starting with an overnight which some here liked and some detested. I remember those discussions several years ago.  Also, some overnights in the middle of the cruise and some at the end.  Some liked that and some didn't.

 

Today you have several itineraries of shorter length but many that are very easily combinable which we did and this was a great attraction for us either because we wanted a longer cruise, didn't want to get off from the first cruise or get on just from the second cruise as getting to the port via air was more difficult.  The combination worked out well.

 

We are very happy with our selections visiting familiar ports, some we've only been to one or two times and some for the first time.  The overnights are in places we like and would prefer the extra time so we don't have to rush back to the ship.

 

But in the end what one person thinks is a good itinerary another person doesn't care for. This is a constant which has not changed in all my years sailing Crystal.

 

I am reminded of World Cruise 2010 which included two segments of the Middle East including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait along with Israel, Egypt and several other countries. Some were very critical of some of these ports and other aspects of the itinerary.  For us this was the most extraordinary world cruise we have ever sailed and I am so glad we had the opportunity to visit some of these places and see them through our own eyes because today it would not be safe nor practical to visit some of them.

 

Bottom line for myself, Anne Marie and I have selected itineraries which we are very happy with and if we don't like a place we can make it a sea day.  We sailed three seven day Mediterranean back to back cruises right before Serenity went into dry dock in late 2018 and even all those Bahama voyages and had a great time. 

 

Keith 

[PaulMCO]

8 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

 

But in the end what one person thinks is a good itinerary another person doesn't care for. This is a constant which has not changed in all my years sailing Crystal.

 

I am reminded of World Cruise 2010 which included two segments of the Middle East including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait along with Israel, Egypt and several other countries. Some were very critical of some of these ports and other aspects of the itinerary.  For us this was the most extraordinary world cruise we have ever sailed and I am so glad we had the opportunity to visit some of these places and see them through our own eyes because today it would not be safe nor practical to visit some of them.

 

 

 

As you say it is all about choice.  At that time many would "kill" to go to the Kingdom (Saudi) as a tourist -- because it was almost impossible to do so.  Even today would be interesting.

[bitob]

There is one luxury cruise line that currently  has sAudi Arabia as a stop. 
 

can’t recall which one

 

 

i looked. Silversea

Edited February 8, 2023 by bitob

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, PaulMCO said:

 

As you say it is all about choice.  At that time many would "kill" to go to the Kingdom (Saudi) as a tourist -- because it was almost impossible to do so.  Even today would be interesting.

Choice is good.

 

Glad we saw it. I would never go back. But I learned a lot.  A couple of things about our visit.

 

Unlike even Iran we could not go out on our own. We had to go on a shore excursion and were pretty much isolated from speaking with the locals.

 

On the way back to the ship, the local authorities performed security checks on all returning guests. Men in one line and women in another. Men went through easily. Women were patted down and I won't say more.

 

WIth that said it did confirm some of my thinking and I am glad we saw it though our own eyes.

 

Some people didn't book the WC because of the ports. Others did. Some wouldn't get off in some of the ports.  We got off in all of them. For us it was extraordinary but for us the deciosn to go had nothing to d with thinking it was impossible to visit.  

 

Keith

[Cruise-y]

I spent 10 days in Saudi five years ago. I had to wear an abaya but I walked around , visited tourist sites, went to the grocery store, restaurants, tourist locales, salons, etc. It was quite an educational experience. 

[Roland4]

8 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Choice is good.

 

Glad we saw it. I would never go back. But I learned a lot.  A couple of things about our visit.

 

Unlike even Iran we could not go out on our own. We had to go on a shore excursion and were pretty much isolated from speaking with the locals.

 

On the way back to the ship, the local authorities performed security checks on all returning guests. Men in one line and women in another. Men went through easily. Women were patted down and I won't say more.

 

WIth that said it did confirm some of my thinking and I am glad we saw it though our own eyes.

 

Some people didn't book the WC because of the ports. Others did. Some wouldn't get off in some of the ports.  We got off in all of them. For us it was extraordinary but for us the deciosn to go had nothing to d with thinking it was impossible to visit.  

 

Keith

We were on that segment as well, and I have often thought the experience we had was "luck of the draw."

 

All of the women had to wear the Crystal-supplied abaya, and for two days prior, the stress level of how to wear it, and how much hair could show, was very high. The barkeep at The Cove said later that with all these women in abayas going back and forth, he felt like he was working in a convent!!

 

Then we got off the ship, us guys sailed through, since all we had to do was wear long sleeves and closed-toed shoes. And the women?? The Immigration agent didn't even look at them, just stamped the passport and moved them on!

 

Once on the brand new, so new the seats were still covered in palstic, Mercedes buses, the local guide, who was also the Managing Director (read - President) of the tour operator told the ladies not to worry about the "hood" of the abaya, that the local authorities were not concerned about tourists. We were followed all day by a TV crew, and when we got back to the ship, the outbound immigration check was no big deal. My wife went through, and I followed her, no questions asked, and the Managing Director wished us well on the otherside before we got back on the ship.

 

A humourous postscipt. In many Gulf states alcohol is forbidden, and the ship had to lock up the bars, and even remove alcohol from guest rooms. Rick Spath was the CD and he told us someone figured out an empty water bottle filled with any kind of alcohol fit perfectly in the room safes, and since the local authoriries had no right to open those safes.........

 

We left the pier in Jeddah, turned toward the open sea, and left as fast as Serenity would go so they could open the bars!!!😁😁😁 

[Cruise-y]

When I was there for 10 days, wearing my abaya, I never felt any stress or pressure or anything. In certain areas I could take the scarf part off, but not all. Parts of my hair always showed, though.

 

It was perfectly ok in the grocery store if your abaya was a bit short and your jeans and trainers (track shoes) showed underneath. At the nail salon (no windows), everyone ripped them off the minute they walked in. Sitting with all the women in their regular clothes and talking was a lot of fun.

 

I ate (fantastic) Indian food in an area that was pretty restrictive. We sat in separate rooms in the restaurant, each with a door. All the women patrons there (except me)  also had face coverings. If you wanted your waiter, you pressed a call button and the women could put their face coverings back on before the waiter opened the door.

 

As a note, I had to have a visa to be there for that length of time. On the visa form, I lied and said I had never been to Israel.

 

P.S. We stayed in a compound and made wine in the bathtub. LOTS of stores sold the unique equipment that you needed for that.

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Cruise-y

[Jayayeff]

12 hours ago, Cruise-y said:

I spent 10 days in Saudi five years ago. I had to wear an abaya but I walked around , visited tourist sites, went to the grocery store, restaurants, tourist locales, salons, etc. It was quite an educational experience. 

 

The world moves on and it is even less restrictive now - you can get a 1 year multi-entry tourist visa issued online in minutes, no longer is there the need for abayas or hijabs, unless visiting religious sites, just a dress modestly code as is the case in most other Islamic countries.   Other than visiting historical sites, Saudi Arabia now plays host to countless international sports events during the course of each year, both men's and women's.   I'm not lifting the 'political' box lid but for tourists, other than still not being able to get a cocktail, a beer or a glass of wine publicly, it's pretty much like visiting any other Arabian Peninsula country in 2023 - some have more to offer than others!!!

 

Anne..

[nnn]

13 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Women were patted down and I won't say more.

 

I don’t follow. Did they do something improper with the women?

[Keith1010]

4 minutes ago, nnn said:

I don’t follow. Did they do something improper with the women?

The men were allowed to just walk through. The women were patted down from head to toe.  I think that says it all.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

I just want to add we learned so much from each place we visited and that is part of travel.   In fact, I learned on this adventure the key is to take the time and small the roses.  In other words, don't rush around to say you saw 10 things. Sometimes better to see less but to truly absorb what you are seeing.

 

On top of this we had an extraordinary team of enrichment people. Overall, collectively the best combined team of speakers who did a fantastic job of covering each place before and after our visit.

 

For us the other parts of the itinerary were superb as well.  First time on a World Cruise they visited the Black Sea as this was early in the season and we visited Ukraine. We were supposed to visit another time but that didn't happen. 

 

The overall occupancy on many of the segments was not very high for two reasons.  It was 2010 and the economy was still recovering from the great recession because in 2009 people would have to be putting down final payments for the full World Cruise.  In addition, some people refused to book the entire World Cruise due to some of the countries being visited in the Middle East.  I think some segments might have been as low as 350 people.

 

As Larry mentioned a few times no wine or spirits were served and I remember the butlers had to remove all of this in the rooms (this was back in the day were you got a certain number of bottles of wine in the suites as it was way before inclusive) and stewardesses had to do the same in the staterooms. 

 

We had extra security come on board for part of the world cruise to be on the lookout for pirates.

 

Crystal stopped sailing some of this afterwards and revised itineraries due to security concern.  This was likely driven by NYK.

 

I believe on CC some said what kind of World Cruise is this as we didn't go to Australia, New Zealand and Asia and we had two stops in South America.

 

For us it was extraordinary.

With that said, the first time we looked at the Itinerary a few of us said "Crystal what are you smoking". 

 

Whatever they were smoking turned out for us to be amazing.

 

So glad we got to see some of these places with our own eyes as opposed through the lens of someone else.

 

So one of my takeaways is on things like itineraries sometime look at what is offered, put them away and look at them again. 

 

It reaffirmed two other items.

 

Some places you think will be great but turn out so so and other places you think will be so so and turn out great.

 

The other is returning to places you have been to several times can be good so you have time to see portions you didn't see before while revisiting those places you enjoyed but want to see more of. 

 

Keith

[Jayayeff]

6 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:

 

For us it was extraordinary.

 

So glad we got to see some of these places with our own eyes as opposed through the lens of someone else.

 

Keith

 

Of course it was  - you got to meet me in person for the first time!!!!  I remember having dinner with Anne Marie and yourself in Silk Road during your port call in Dubai on that voyage....😀😀😀

 

Anne..

[Keith1010]

57 minutes ago, Jayayeff said:

 

Of course it was  - you got to meet me in person for the first time!!!!  I remember having dinner with Anne Marie and yourself in Silk Road during your port call in Dubai on that voyage....😀😀😀

 

Anne..

Anne you are right.  I remember that night very well dining with you in Silk Road along with the time Anne Marie and I spend in Dubai on our second visit in three years at the time.  😃

 

Keith

[nnn]

13 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

The men were allowed to just walk through. The women were patted down from head to toe.  I think that says it all.

 

Keith

 

As an Iranian-American, I find that behavior quite surprising, even for this evil regime.  (Granted, I've never been to Iran, so I am envious of your trip.)  Could have been just some government agents gone rogue.  Again, this regime is hated by a huge number of citizens, as the current protests demonstrate.  And let's face it, you weren't exactly docking in Tehran, which would have been a far more cosmopolitan experience (like docking in Alabama and thinking you're in NYC, no offense).  But still, IMO your experience is certainly not reflective of Iranian culture.  Let's hope for regime change someday, and things there will be much different.

Edited February 9, 2023 by nnn

[Keith1010]

2 minutes ago, nnn said:

 

As an Iranian-American, I find that behavior quite surprising, even for this evil regime.  (Granted, I've never been to Iran, so I am envious of your trip.)  Could have been just some government agents gone rogue.  Again, this regime is hated by a huge number of citizens, as the current protests demonstrate.  And let's face it, you weren't exactly docking in Tehran, which would have been a far more cosmopolitan experience (like docking in Alabama and thinking you're in NYC, no offense).  But still, IMO your experience is certainly not reflective of Iranian culture.  Let's hope for regime change someday, and things there will be much different.

That was Saudi Arabi.

 

Iran was terrific.  I have several former work colleagues and friends who came to the States when the Shah fell and most of the people reminded me of them.  As our tour guide said about 80% are more are like them.  It is the small number who are fanatical and have the military behind them. In Iran we could go on tours or on our own.

 

Keith

[Stickman1990]

7 minutes ago, nnn said:

But still, IMO your experience is certainly not reflective of Iranian culture. 

Let’s not forget it was 13 years ago on a fleeting visit which would have been managed and guided 

 

Hardly a contemporary in-depth exposure to a country or a culture 

[nnn]

1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:

That was Saudi Arabi.

 

Iran was terrific.  I have several former work colleagues and friends who came to the States when the Shah fell and most of the people reminded me of them.  As our tour guide said about 80% are more are like them.  It is the small number who are fanatical and have the military behind them. In Iran we could go on tours or on our own.

 

Keith

Ah, my bad.  I didn't realize you were referring to Saudi there.  Much different culture there.

 

Actually, my first time to the Middle East was this past November, as my family went to Qatar for the World Cup.  There were tourists there from a number of Muslim countries, many of whom of course were supporting their teams.  I was surprised by the significant differences in how the people (not the government, but regular people) acted/behaved, even from one Arab country to another, including in terms of male/female relationships, dress, attitude, etc.  Was very enlightening.  

 

[Keith1010]

18 hours ago, nnn said:

Ah, my bad.  I didn't realize you were referring to Saudi there.  Much different culture there.

 

Actually, my first time to the Middle East was this past November, as my family went to Qatar for the World Cup.  There were tourists there from a number of Muslim countries, many of whom of course were supporting their teams.  I was surprised by the significant differences in how the people (not the government, but regular people) acted/behaved, even from one Arab country to another, including in terms of male/female relationships, dress, attitude, etc.  Was very enlightening.  

 

No worries.  Our experience was great and it was reflective of Iranian culture. Having many work colleagues and friends who lived in Iran until the Shah was overthrown was a big help in my understanding of the culture.  The people we met were very much like my friends and former work colleagues.

 

My visit to Saudi Arabia while only for the day conformed my thinking and having some friends who worked there for a number of years also conformed my impressions.  

Those itineraries are what I would call true discovery itineraries.

 

Keith