Serenity Sep 8/23 - Reykjavik to Quebec City

[Roland4]

We are onboard Serenity and I will be posting some thoughts and observations as we go along. Can't promise it will be every day, but more our impressions of New Crystal, the good, the bad and the "whatever"!!

 

We arrived at the pier at 11:40, health check, outbound immigration and then a 15 minute wait until boarding began. No "tears of joy" as we boarded, the wind and drizzle howling down the side of the ship saw to that, but as I said to Rick Spath and others, more a feeling of "meeting an old friend that you thought you would never see again"!

 

Rooms were ready on arrival, so dumped the backpacks and set off the explore. Met our Butler, Rao, almost as soon as we left the room, so our beverage requirements have already been attended to! He has looked after us in the past, so we know we are in good hands! Next stop The Cove, where Barkeeps Cross and Mel welcomed us home! After some prosecco it was off to explore, first stop The Lounge. I have to admit I was ready to dislike it, but it is actually a fairly nice space, and Monica thinks it will be perfect for just sitting and reading, knitting, or working on her art. The lack of natural light is a bit of a problem, but the various pieces of art on the walls tend to lighten the space. For the benefit of Mr & Mrs Stickman, they do have a puzzle table, but not the larger stand up tables a la Regent and Silversea. The other visit was to Palm Court. Not much has changed, though many of the couches have been reupholstered and they have created several new "niche" two-seat spots that I suspect might be popular.

 

After all that walking, it was off to The Grill for a light lunch. Andres has not returned, but Andy, his replacement, seems up to the task. Monica had the Gazpacho, which she deemed good as ever, while I had the tuna wrap, and will admit to my first "knit". They have gone to a smaller sized tortilla wrap and it does not stay sealed at the ends! Small point, really. We also bumped into the ever-present Barkeep Ahl, and also Carmelo, who took good care of us. The gelato passed its first test, and the answer to the most important question that no one ever answered on previous sailings, the oatmean raisin cookies are still here. More of a cookie shape than the scoop shape of old, but still tasty!

 

We have not ventured down to check out Od'O or Umi yet, but plan to do that later. We have lots of time as lifeboat drill is not until 5:30 and our departure has been bumped from 6:00 PM to Midnight! Too windy and cold to be out on deck, or balcony, for a sail away anyway!

 

If anyone has any questions, I don't even pretend to have the contacts Keith does, but I will try and get answers if I can.

 

Looking forward to eleven days of happiness!

 

Larry

Edited September 8, 2023 by Roland4
Typo(s)

[Keith1010]

Bon Voyage. Enjoy every minute.

 

Keith

[nancygp]

Have a wonderful cruise

 

Nancy

[ctjon]

Thanks for the updates - looking forward to hearing more from you.

Have a great time

[krb1000]

Bon Voyage 😊 Thanks so much for raking us along 😊

[Roland4]

We had a great first day onboard! Waterside service was great, the food was great. Problem I see is the total guest count for this segment is only 150! I got that number from Leo, the Maitre D' and he HAS to know the guest count! General conscensus is we should know the names of everyone else onboard by the time of the Captain's party tomorrow!!!😁😁

[Stickman1990]

Yes that wind could have made things challenging. We could have joined you for dinner after all!
 

Bon Voyage and enjoy meeting your fellow guests

 

It’s actually just about midnight now and according to marine traffic you are yet to get underway 

 

 

 

 

[DaisyUK]

Looking forward to hearing about it. 150 guests. Wow!

[Stickman1990]

I’ll be interested to hear with a 25% guest loading whether any services are reduced eg reduced hours or even restaurant closures 

I know we had a similar percentage loading on Symphony on a Honolulu to San Diego leg and there were some reduced facilities

On the positive side of the ledger there should be no issue getting extra dining reservations in Umi Uma and Od’O

The crew will be fighting over you to be the one to provide service! 

[Mr Luxury]

3 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

I’ll be interested to hear with a 25% guest loading whether any services are reduced eg reduced hours or even restaurant closures 

I know we had a similar percentage loading on Symphony on a Honolulu to San Diego leg and there were some reduced facilities

On the positive side of the ledger there should be no issue getting extra dining reservations in Umi Uma and Od’O

The crew will be fighting over you to be the one to provide service! 

Why such a low passenger count do you think?

[TER777]

~300 here on the Symphony this week, down from ~400 last week. 150 in transit. 

[Roland4]

40 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Why such a low passenger count do you think?

Although it is becoming a more popular port with more ships visiting this year than ever before, Reyjavik is still not the easiest place to get to, and the port is fairly small. Serenity arrived Thursday morning for an overnight before turnover and had to tender in. The main pier can only accommodate two ships depending on size. Yesterday we shared the pier with MSC Presziosa, and the day before it was NCL Prima and another smaller ship.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Roland4

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

Why such a low passenger count do you think?

A lot of the counts have to do with the majority of people had cruises booked with other cruise lines. We have some friends who would have booked a cruise for this year but had other cruises and would have lost money to cancel.

[BEAV]

Thanks for taking us along. Looking forward to your experiences and perspectives. 👍

[PaulMCO]

Thank you @Roland4   Looking forward on how it compares to OC and the cruise we took with you in the past...

[DaisyUK]

17 hours ago, TER777 said:

~300 here on the Symphony this week, down from ~400 last week. 150 in transit. 

Any observations on Symphony? 

[Roland4]

First of two Formal nights last night. Saw a few tuxes, but the rest of the gentlemen were about evenly split between suits and sport jackets, most with ties. One interesting "exception" was the gentleman in jacket and tie, blue denim jeans, cowboy boots and a large stetson-type hat that he never seems to take off, including in the Galaxy during shows and lectures. Fortunately he sits on the other side of the Galaxy from us.

 

A couple of observations from yesterday. As I posted on another thread, there is no self-service in the Bistro, apparently having to do with Canada and US Public Health rules. This is to remain in place, I am told, for the next several cruises. Also new to us, there is no longer bar service in the Galaxy before the shows. If you wish to have something, you have to get "take out" at one of the bars. Not really an issue with only 150 guests, but a full ship might cause problems at The Cove, which is really the best option. I also asked one of the barkeeps in The Cove if they also service The Lounge and was told they do not.

[Texas Tillie]

They had stopped having bar service in the Galaxy before. I think it was even before Covid. I'm sure someone will remember the exact date!🤪🥂😉

 

Patty

[Roland4]

1 hour ago, Texas Tillie said:

They had stopped having bar service in the Galaxy before. I think it was even before Covid. I'm sure someone will remember the exact date!🤪🥂😉

 

Patty

Jim Brochu mentioned it was not new, but as far as I remember, they did still have bar service during the 2020 World Cruise.

[Txcotn]

I do remember suspension of bar service in the Galaxy. Then it soon changed to bar service before but not during the show, that was how it was on our most recent cruise in 2020. No service during the show makes eminent sense to me.

[Shorex]

On 9/9/2023 at 5:51 AM, Keith1010 said:

A lot of the counts have to do with the majority of people had cruises booked with other cruise lines. We have some friends who would have booked a cruise for this year but had other cruises and would have lost money to cancel.

Yes, count us among those. We do however, have three confirmed Crystal cruises booked for next year. Actually four considering one is B2B. We waved to the Serenity in Reykjavik the day before we boarded Explora. 🙂

[Emdee]

Between knee surgeries and other bookings I found it hard to find anything suitable until a window of opportunity opened which is why I am on the Reykjavík to Quebec City itinerary right now. 
Now hoping to find something for 2025 when the new itineraries come out. 

[Stickman1990]

13 hours ago, Shorex said:

We waved to the Serenity in Reykjavik the day before we boarded Explora. 🙂

Ditto - I may run into you onboard - speaking to a number of fellow guests there’s a lot who have sailed Crystal in the past

[Roland4]

Yesterday's interesting observation. People seem to be voting on Osterria with their feet, so to speak. When we left Umi Uma at 8:30 last night, every table was full, the sushi bar was empty, but not the tables! We walked by Osterria and there were maybe six tables in use. We are dining there tomorrow night and will make our own judgement.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Roland4

[Emdee]

1 hour ago, Roland4 said:

Yesterday's interesting observation. People seem to be voting on Osterria with their feet, so to speak. When we left Umi Uma at 8:30 last night, every table was full, the sushi bar was empty, but not the tables! We walked by Osterria and there were maybe six tables in use. We are dining there tomorrow night and will make our own judgement.

The regular Umi Uma chef has gone to open Symphony. There is a new chef brought from Nobu in South Africa.

Will need to try Osteria to see how we like it looking forward to trying it in a few days. While Prego was much loved the food was very much American Italian.