Cruise Critic Sailing Aboard Crystal Symphony Sept 1 - Ask Us Your Questions

[Keith1010]

3 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

Speaking of cheese -- did they keep Bistro open in the evening with deserts and cheese as was done in the pre Covid OC past.  

Just adding that they closed it at 6:00 PM each day.

 

Keith

[Rooster Sparkle]

10 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

They have not had a cheese cart since the changeover from Crystal Dining Room to Waterside.

 

They bring over a cheese menu which changes each evening and it has a writeup for each cheese and you select as many as you want and either the head waiter or senior waiter cuts them and brings over bread/crackers, and other condiments.

 

Keith

 

No offense, but I asked Aaron.

 

[Keith1010]

7 minutes ago, Rooster Sparkle said:

 

No offense, but I asked Aaron.

 

I know.

 

 

[Shorex]

2 minutes ago, Rooster Sparkle said:

 

No offense, but I asked Aaron.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Perhaps you are unaware that it is common on Cruise Critic for someone who knows an answer to simply provide a correct answer. You may even find that multiple people will respond to the same question. It takes a while to become accustomed to the give and take that makes Cruise Critic so helpful. Happy cruising.

[Old Sea Dog]

On 8/25/2023 at 2:09 AM, CruiseCriticAaron said:

Hi everyone,

 

Cruise Critic will be sailing aboard Crystal Symphony when it debuts in Piraeus on September 1. We're doing a quick segment over to Izmir but will be posting photos in our Live From coverage, as well as updating our full Ship Review for Crystal Symphony.

 

If there's anything you're curious about with Symphony's relaunch, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to check it out once onboard!

My wife would like to know if they do or intend to have the crafts get together for painting, needlework,knitting 

Thankyou

[Keith1010]

49 minutes ago, Old Sea Dog said:

My wife would like to know if they do or intend to have the crafts get together for painting, needlework,knitting 

Thankyou

I hope I don't get in trouble answering this but the will have Odyssey At Sea so that will be the art and that will be on every voyage.

 

I didn't get a chance to ask about Knitting but at the present time no. People often get together on their own and it is possible they will have this on the World Cruise and possibly their Grand Voyages.

 

Keith 

[AtA]

1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:

I hope I don't get in trouble answering this but the will have Odyssey At Sea so that will be the art and that will be on every voyage.

 

I didn't get a chance to ask about Knitting but at the present time no. People often get together on their own and it is possible they will have this on the World Cruise and possibly their Grand Voyages.

 

Keith 

On the first cruise they didn't have needlework either. I hope they bring both back.

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, AtA said:

On the first cruise they didn't have needlework either. I hope they bring both back.

 

As a throw back, remembering when NYK was the owner, it was the Japanese Hostess who also did the needlework sessions. 😍

 

Patty

[Stickman1990]

2 hours ago, AtA said:

On the first cruise they didn't have needlework either. I hope they bring both back.

No needlework? - So kits are no longer handed out? That’s a shame 

[Princess Calee]

I am a knitter and a needlepointed and I would imagine if you brought your choice of either of these crafts on the cruise, and made yourself visible in one of the lovely chairs or sofas,  that before long you would have a group of ladies join you and the group would be created.  As you know, we are a friendly group!

[Rooster Sparkle]

12 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I hope I don't get in trouble answering this but the will have Odyssey At Sea so that will be the art and that will be on every voyage.

 

I didn't get a chance to ask about Knitting but at the present time no. People often get together on their own and it is possible they will have this on the World Cruise and possibly their Grand Voyages.

 

Keith 

 

I did not intend to get you in trouble.

 

I thought that as a courtesy to Aaron he should be allowed to answer questions from his own topic.

[Keith1010]

5 minutes ago, Rooster Sparkle said:

 

I did not intend to get you in trouble.

 

I thought that as a courtesy to Aaron he should be allowed to answer questions from his own topic.

I know.

 

Having had many questions asked of me while on Serenity keeping track of all of them can be overwhelming. Also I am reminded that the TA/Media cruise is not very long and all things that one might see on regular cruises might not be seen on that one as they have things like group dinners.

 

Anyway, as mentioned often we all answer questions even if not directly asked of us. This one was really an easy one since they eliminated the cheese cart after Waterside was implemented on each ship which was 2017 on Symphony and 2018 (November) on Serenity.

 

Keith

[CruiseCriticAaron]

9 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I know.

 

Having had many questions asked of me while on Serenity keeping track of all of them can be overwhelming. Also I am reminded that the TA/Media cruise is not very long and all things that one might see on regular cruises might not be seen on that one as they have things like group dinners.

 

Anyway, as mentioned often we all answer questions even if not directly asked of us. This one was really an easy one since they eliminated the cheese cart after Waterside was implemented on each ship which was 2017 on Symphony and 2018 (November) on Serenity.

 

Keith

Appreciate you answering, Keith1010 -- the more information, the better.

[CruiseCriticAaron]

9 hours ago, Rooster Sparkle said:

 

I did not intend to get you in trouble.

 

I thought that as a courtesy to Aaron he should be allowed to answer questions from his own topic.

Really appreciate the thought, Rooster Sparkle! I'm sure there will  be plenty of questions to go around 🙂

[CruiseCriticAaron]

23 hours ago, Old Sea Dog said:

My wife would like to know if they do or intend to have the crafts get together for painting, needlework,knitting 

Thankyou

I'll look into it!

[Old Sea Dog]

19 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

As a throw back, remembering when NYK was the owner, it was the Japanese Hostess who also did the needlework sessions. 😍

 

Patty

We were fortunate to cruise many times with her, she was so genuine so much so that when my daughter got engaged onboard she came to my wife and I in tears to congratulate us. A charming person

[May B]

13 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

 

… they eliminated the cheese cart after Waterside was implemented on each ship which was 2017 on Symphony and 2018 (November) on Serenity.

 

Keith

Actually, while Aaron will see there’s no more cheese cart wheeled around, he might not know when it was ended!

 

Of course, who knows … it could appear again at any time!

 

Actually, I was thinking it’s still parked there between the port side and the starboard side, so those of us who are often seated on port walked by it on the way in and out. But perhaps that was only … before!

[ryndam]

So many of the table-side preparations, including the cheese carts, were discontinued (Caesar salads, steak tartare, steak Diane, bananas foster, crepe suzette, etc.) when Crystal went to the open seating concept. After open seating, the only table-side preparation I can recall was when the waiter de-boned the Dover sole tableside.

 

Rob

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, May B said:

Actually, while Aaron will see there’s no more cheese cart wheeled around, he might not know when it was ended!

 

Of course, who knows … it could appear again at any time!

 

Actually, I was thinking it’s still parked there between the port side and the starboard side, so those of us who are often seated on port walked by it on the way in and out. But perhaps that was only … before!

There is no room Muriel.

 

To Rob's point when open seating was implemented they had to implement all of this and that includes stations where the Head Waiters prepared all sorts of items and the Cheese Cart. There is no room for them.

 

Also, with each passing year special ordering is not emphasized and with the latest dry dock there are fewer head waiters in Waterside.

 

With expanded menus offering lots of choice for us we enjoyed what was on the menu.

 

Keith

[CruiseCriticAaron]

Hello from onboard Crystal Symphony off Santorini, Greece!

 

The ship is in great shape, and passengers seem thrilled to be back. Lots of hugs for the crew, cheers, handshakes -- one of the happiest ships I've been on, I think, since the restart.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/live-from-crystal-symphony-s-return-to-service

 

It's still early days, but I've assembled a news article with a number of photos of the ship as she exists right now. There's more coverage to come, and I'm tracking down answers to everyone's questions. To clarify: no cheese trolley, BUT a wonderful selection of cheeses post-dinner in Waterside that was very enjoyable.

 

Service is spot-on; this might be one of the few ships I've been on this year that feels fully staffed. More to come!

[CruiseCriticAaron]

Also, for those interested, the senior officer lineup for this voyage is:

 

• Captain Tonci Hladilo
• Vice Captain Antoniy Gospodinov
• Chief Engineer Rune Halvorsen
• Hotel Director Josef Matt
• Cruise Director Russ Thomas Grieve
• Doctor Maria Chavarriaga

[CruiseCriticAaron]

On 8/28/2023 at 5:03 PM, PaulMCO said:

Speaking of cheese -- did they keep Bistro open in the evening with deserts and cheese as was done in the pre Covid OC past.  

Right now, the Bistro closes at 6pm here onboard Symphony.

[Keith1010]

25 minutes ago, CruiseCriticAaron said:

Right now, the Bistro closes at 6pm here onboard Symphony.

Same as Serenity.

Keith

[comas]

Pleased to have found this post ~ some of the answers have made me laugh out loud!

Having ascertained that the Bistro closes at 6pm, I’m interested to know where else on board can diners enjoy an after dinner coffee, apart from room service?

I really don’t mind who has the answer. 

 

[Keith1010]

12 minutes ago, comas said:

Pleased to have found this post ~ some of the answers have made me laugh out loud!

Having ascertained that the Bistro closes at 6pm, I’m interested to know where else on board can diners enjoy an after dinner coffee, apart from room service?

I really don’t mind who has the answer. 

 

Unless you are in a suite with a coffee maker and other than room service it would be in a dining venue that you are dining at.

 

Keith