Solo Rooms On Crystal Serenity

[Keith1010]

These are photos of one of the solo rooms on Deck 7.  The room is the same as the other double occupancy rooms on Deck 7 other than the location and the cost. The room is the same as the double occupancy rooms on Decks 8 and 9 and 10 other than those rooms have a verandah and the ones on 7 have a picture window.

 

Keith

 

[USCAdventurer]

keith,

appreciate the photos of the single cabin on deck 7.  i am booked in a single cabin on deck 7 on syphony and serenity and it looks fine for me.

[TER777]

Why does a solo room have twin beds? Sure hope they combine to make a king/queen type bed. 

[Keith1010]

13 minutes ago, TER777 said:

Why does a solo room have twin beds? Sure hope they combine to make a king/queen type bed. 

I was told they kept it like this for flexibility.

Keith

[Keith1010]

16 minutes ago, USC Adventurer said:

keith,

appreciate the photos of the single cabin on deck 7.  i am booked in a single cabin on deck 7 on syphony and serenity and it looks fine for me.

David. you are very welcome. 

Keith

[wearesiamese]

12 minutes ago, TER777 said:

Why does a solo room have twin beds? Sure hope they combine to make a king/queen type bed. 

In the guest preferences area of the Crystal website, I was able to chose queen vs twin, so I am pretty sure this will be the case

[FlyerTalker]

56 minutes ago, TER777 said:

Why does a solo room have twin beds? Sure hope they combine to make a king/queen type bed. 

 

Given the dearth of storage space, some might want to use the other twin as a holding area for "stuff".  Or just leave a suitcase up there and use that as a "chest".

 

 

[tnm6217]

I'm a bit confused why there are two robes in the single cabins. I'm hoping that's just for show, because there's definitely not room in that closet for unnecessary things! If it does stay, I'm sure they'll take the extra robe out if asked.

[Keith1010]

3 minutes ago, tnm6217 said:

I'm a bit confused why there are two robes in the single cabins. I'm hoping that's just for show, because there's definitely not room in that closet for unnecessary things! If it does stay, I'm sure they'll take the extra robe out if asked.

I don't think it's for show but yes you can have them removed.

 

Over the years in certain rooms we would have several of the wooden hangers removed and use dry cleaning ones we brought from home for shirt to save on closet space.

 

They are happy to accommodate any of this.

 

Keith

 

 

[Leejnd4]

3 hours ago, TER777 said:

Why does a solo room have twin beds? Sure hope they combine to make a king/queen type bed. 

LOL that was my first thought. 😉 I realize we can ask to have them made up as a queen, but I would have thought that a better thing to do for the SGRs is to have a regular full-sized bed (one that doesn't split into two twins). Since that cabin will always be only for one person, they could even have the bed size be something smaller than a queen, making the cabin feel more spacious. But maybe it was less costly for them to have all the cabins have the exact same beds. 

[wearesiamese]

32 minutes ago, Leejnd4 said:

LOL that was my first thought. 😉 I realize we can ask to have them made up as a queen, but I would have thought that a better thing to do for the SGRs is to have a regular full-sized bed (one that doesn't split into two twins). Since that cabin will always be only for one person, they could even have the bed size be something smaller than a queen, making the cabin feel more spacious. But maybe it was less costly for them to have all the cabins have the exact same beds. 

plus there is no such thing as forever in cruising,  nor in life frankly... I don't care as long as I can select queen size as an option

[Leejnd4]

29 minutes ago, wearesiamese said:

plus there is no such thing as forever in cruising,  nor in life frankly... I don't care as long as I can select queen size as an option

True. They may someday decide they are losing money keeping those rooms as singles. It really is a great deal! I'm sure they are selling out because people cruising together are able to afford to each have their own room. I'm glad I snagged one for a cruise next year.

[Keith1010]

They did this for flexibility.  Let's say the room doesn't sell. It provides options.  Plus they had the beds. As we can see they made use of a lot of what they have. Bathrooms, Kimonos and even the blanket are examples of that.

 

Waste not want not.

 

And maybe one wants to have an overnight guest. Just saying.  😀

 

Keith 

[BWIVince]

45 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:

They did this for flexibility.  Let's say the room doesn't sell. It provides options.  Plus they had the beds. As we can see they made use of a lot of what they have. Bathrooms, Kimonos and even the blanket are examples of that.

 

Waste not want not.

 

And maybe one wants to have an overnight guest. Just saying.  😀

 

Keith 

Bingo!  They need to be interchangeable with the double rooms for a variety of operational reasons, and will likely be needed as double rooms at various points in the future, even if they keep current allocation of solos exactly the same (which they may not).

 

Vince

[Leejnd4]

2 hours ago, BWIVince said:

Bingo!  They need to be interchangeable with the double rooms for a variety of operational reasons, and will likely be needed as double rooms at various points in the future, even if they keep current allocation of solos exactly the same (which they may not).

 

Vince

I'm sure you're right, but I think I prefer Keith's idea that some singles may want to have an overnight guest. Makes me think of a Crystal cruise in a whole different way! 😉

[goldengatecruisers]

All of this discussion on the reduced storage got me thinking of some work-around ideas.  I do like the look of the new bar area in the 'hallway' of the standard guest rooms but as has been pointed out it reduced hanging space by 6-9", per a comment by Vince.  It is an elegant design element and really adds to the stateroom but I know that some don't care for it. The redesign of the cabinetry closest to the window (or in some cases the balcony slider) has greatly reduced drawer space and removed that tall shelving unit, which I really loved.  So what can be done without having to dismantle the expensive work that has already taken place?  How about a redesign of the bed frames, whether in twin format or combined queen format?  If the bed that is nearest to the closet is left with an open area beneath the mattress one can still store suitcases and other items there.  But for the bed that is closest to the living area this could be modified to provide deep drawers that open from the side and toward the living area.   You could easily fit two large drawers that would not interfere with the nightstand.   These drawers would be very useful for folded items and would provide much needed storage space.  As you are not 'adding' furniture, this design modification would not encroach on the square footage thereby leaving the look and feel exactly as it presents now.  I am sure this modification could be easily installed during the regular cycle of cruises without the need to be accomplished in a scheduled dry dock.  I do believe it could be a great solution to the storage issue especially for the longer segments or for longer cruises in general.

 

Anyway, just a thought.

 

Ashley

Edited August 28, 2023 by goldengatecruisers

[AtA]

Ashley what you say might work for the single cabins, but not for the doubles because usually there are double the suitcases that need to go under the beds.

The redesign of those cabins was a huge miss because of all the storage they deleted.

[heather feathers]

Four words: bunk beds!

[crickette]

45 minutes ago, goldengatecruisers said:

All of this discussion on the reduced storage got me thinking of some work-around ideas.  I do like the look of the new bar area in the 'hallway' of the standard guest rooms but as has been pointed out it reduced hanging space by 6-9", per a comment by Vince.  It is an elegant design element and really adds to the stateroom but I know that some don't care for it. The redesign of the cabinetry closest to the window (or in some cases the balcony slider) has greatly reduced drawer space and removed that tall shelving unit, which I really loved.  So what can be done without having to dismantle the expensive work that has already taken place?  How about a redesign of the bed frames, whether in twin format or combined queen format?  If the bed that is nearest to the closet is left with an open area beneath the mattress one can still store suitcases and other items there.  But for the bed that is closest to the living area this could be modified to provide deep drawers that open from the side and toward the living area.   You could easily fit two large drawers that would not interfere with the nightstand.   These drawers would be very useful for folded items and would provide much needed storage space.  As you are not 'adding' furniture, this design modification would not encroach on the square footage thereby leaving the look and feel exactly as it presents now.  I am sure this modification could be easily installed during the regular cycle of cruises without the need to be accomplished in a scheduled dry dock.  I do believe it could be a great solution to the storage issue especially for the longer segments or for longer cruises in general.

 

Anyway, just a thought.

 

Ashley

This might address the loss of drawer space, but for us the lack of hanging space is critical.  I am also skeptical that the loss of hanging space is only 6-9".  I suspect the bar cabinet is 24" deep, and those inches came from the clothes closet.  The old double sliding doors gave good access to the back recesses on both sides.  I know someone made a ridiculous suggestion as to bringing in an additional hanging bar.    I remind myself that they paid the designer big bucks to come up with this design.  The hanging bar solution might give the designer and me a conniption!

 

[goldengatecruisers]

Indeed, I agree the hanging space is critical especially if double occupied.  I haven't been in one of these new rooms so not sure of the exact reduction in space.  I was just going by a comment posted by Vince.  It is sad the design of these rooms is so inadequate because they look really quite lovely.  I have no idea what the designer was thinking but I do wonder if they have ever stayed in a cruise ship cabin before!   My suggestion of adding drawers under the bed was just that, a suggestion!  I am happy to leave it to a future designer to make the necessary modifications to those rooms to satisfy the storage dilemma.

[jollyjones]

 

Awful, awful, awful closet design - they should have sacked whoever came up with that one. 

The rest of the cabin doesn't look too bad - now they just need to offer some for solos that aren't in such a ghastly location and have a verandah.

Then NC might be worth a look.

[Keith1010]

Ashley:

 

I know it is being looked at but not sure if there will be a solution. People who need to know are aware of this. 

 

The reduction in space can be seen in my photo. 

The same goes for a couple of other items.

 

Keith

[BWIVince]

To be clear, I’m not saying the bar unit is 6-9” deep, I’m just reminding everyone that the previous design wasn’t usable space all the way to the hall, and part of this design is recouping dead space.
 

In the end, given there was over a foot of open bar space between the hangers when the closet was empty pre-refit, you should still be able to fit the same number of hangers that you received by default in the past, if you tried.  That’s not to say it’s not less space or that some people won’t have trouble hanging everything (as some always have), that just puts into perspective that those people who were able to fit their clothes on the hangers provided (most of us) shouldn’t notice a difference.
 

I also think we’ve also over-romanticized the previous desk unit.  While I miss the open shelves and the drawers are a little smaller overall, if you take away the fridge and the bar cabinet, the main loss (by cubic feet) is the dead air space where the old TV went, which was far more useless than anything we’ve gained in the refit.  YMMV, but to me this is a net win.

 

Put another way — just take the robes out of the closet, fold them and put them in the bathroom (or hang them in the hall), and you now have MORE closet space than you did pre-refit.

 

Vince

[BWIVince]

Quick correction on my earlier estimate — I found some notes on the closet unit that would have the net loss closer to one foot total than the 6-9” I originally estimated.  The same comments apply about the hangers and bathrobes, but it that is a little bigger loss of hanging bar space than my earlier estimate.

 

Vince

[Keith1010]

22 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

Quick correction on my earlier estimate — I found some notes on the closet unit that would have the net loss closer to one foot total than the 6-9” I originally estimated.  The same comments apply about the hangers and bathrobes, but it that is a little bigger loss of hanging bar space than my earlier estimate.

 

Vince

Vince, your update on the space is in line with me.

 

Please note that t's an issue for longer voyages such as for two people doing a World Cruise.For most people not an issue for solos, particularly on shorter cruises. But for even solos on longer cruises it could be an issue depending on how much clothing they bring.

 

When we stayed in those rooms we already had removed the bathrobes and changed out the hangers.

 

Keith